Join us in honoring the 75th Anniversary of the Norman Bird Sanctuary–a beloved non-profit wildlife sanctuary and environmental education center–across seven evening lectures in 2024. A broad array of speakers will explore the disciplines celebrated by Norman Bird Sanctuary founder, Mabel Norman Cerio: art, culture, ornithology, and conservation.

Middletown’s Paradise Valley is one of the most culturally signifigant landscapes in Rhode Island. In addition to its ties to the Hudson River School painters, Transcendentalist writers, and noted philosopher Bishop George Berkeley, Paradise is also important in the context of modern conservation efforts on Aquidneck Island.

Norman Bird Sanctuary Executive Director, Kaity Ryan, will share an historical overview of the cultural influences connected to the present-day Norman Bird Sanctuary along with a look into Mabel Norman Cerio’s legacy and how it has impacted Paradise Valley.

Speaker Bio: Kaity Ryan is the 10th Executive Director of the Norman Bird Sanctuary. A certified architectural historian and member of the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission, Kaity has spent more than fifteen years working at the intersection of preservation, education, conservation, and the arts.