Think Wild and Central Oregon Community College Launch Fall Wildlife Speaker Series

Think Wild and Central Oregon Community College (COCC) are partnering to offer a new six-part wildlife education series this fall, giving community members an opportunity to learn from local wildlife experts while discovering meaningful ways to get involved in protecting Central Oregon’s native wildlife.

Beginning October 6, the Central Oregon Wildlife Speaker Series will meet every other Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at COCC’s Bend campus. The series will explore Central Oregon’s most fascinating wildlife groups, including pollinators, reptiles and amphibians, bats, beavers, mustelids, birds of prey, and large carnivores like wolves, cougars and bears.

Led by Think Wild staff and wildlife experts, each session will examine the natural history of wildlife, challenges they face, current conservation efforts, and Think Wild’s work to protect and rehabilitate native wildlife across Central and Eastern Oregon. Each class will also introduce participants to real opportunities to make a difference. Every session includes information about related volunteer opportunities, community science projects, habitat restoration efforts, advocacy initiatives, and field experiences available through Think Wild.

“The more people understand wildlife, the more likely they are to care about protecting them,” said Sally Compton, Executive Director of Think Wild. “We hope this series helps people discover and appreciate the wildlife that share our Central Oregon home and inspires them to get involved in conservation through volunteer projects, community science, and habitat restoration.”

Volunteer opportunities highlighted throughout the series include habitat restoration and native planting projects, bat box and nest box workshops, wildlife hospital volunteering, rare carnivore monitoring, beaver restoration projects, osprey monitoring, humane wildlife conflict mitigation, conservation advocacy, and community science initiatives.

The course is open to anyone interested in wildlife, conservation, or the outdoors. Whether participants are lifelong learners, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, aspiring conservationists, or simply curious about the wildlife that shares our region, no prior experience is required.

The series runs every other Tuesday from October 6 through December 15, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at COCC Cascades Hall in Bend. Registration is $69 for the full six-part series.

Space is limited. Registration is available through COCC’s Continuing Education program.

This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.