NewsPress Release - 11/3/99

MARLBORO, VT - Marlboro College professor John Hayes will give a presentation on the biodiversity of Borneo, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 16, in the Reading Room at Brooks Memorial Library. The event is free and open to public.

Sponsored by the Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society, the slideshow and talk with focus on plant and bird life, as well as primates, snakes, lizards, and many other animals. Hayes, who teaches biochemistry and environmental science, has traveled to Borneo twice, in addition to taking expeditions to Central America, Africa, the American Southwest, and the Florida Everglades.

Borneo, the third largest island in the world, is home to the oldest rainforest -- with a canopy that rises to 175 feet -- and the tallest peak in Southeast Asia. It harbors several thousand species of orchids, plus arboreal rhododendrons; terrestrial leeches that wait on leaves for unsuspecting passers-by; carnivorous plants that trap and digest animals as large as rats; a plant that has blossoms measuring one meter across; and orangutans, proboscis monkeys, and many other species of primates.
For more information and directions contact: Carrie Weikel, Marlboro College Student Activities Director at (802) 258-9248 or email her at: weikelc@marlboro.edu.