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Jack Hanna to Headline Environmental Event at Ohio State

April 3, 2014

This article was originally published on the CFAES website on April 2, 2014, and was written by Kurt Knebusch. Photo credit to Rick A. Prebeg, World Class Images, via Mills Entertainment.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Zookeeper turned TV star Jack Hanna will meet some friends for breakfast next week -- among them nearly 700 students from Ohio State University.

Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and host of the nationally syndicated Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild,headlines the next monthly breakfast program of the Environmental Professionals Network from 8:15 to 10:15 a.m. on April 10 at Ohio State.

He’ll talk about Earth Day, April 22, and about myActions.org, a new social media effort promoting sustainability.

The event takes place in the Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom in the university’s Ohio Union,1739 N. High St., Columbus.

“Ohio State is nationally recognized as one of the greenest universities in the U.S.,” said David Hanselmann, the network’s coordinator and a lecturer in Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources. “But knowing there is much more we can do, when we learned the Columbus Zoo and other zoos around the world were mounting the myActions.org campaign, it was a logical choice to partner with the zoo and Jack Hanna to celebrate Earth Day 2014.”

The network is a service of the school, part of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The event’s co-sponsors are providing free admission, which includes a full breakfast, to the first 680 Ohio State undergraduate and graduate students to register.

About 660 students have already registered, Hanselmann said, leaving only about 20 free student spots as of April 2.

“Many Ohio State students grew up watching Jack Hanna’s TV shows about wildlife, and shared his excitement about caring for our world’s biodiversity,” said Jeff Sharp, the school’s interim director. “His passion rubbed off, and whether they’re now a natural resources major or a business major, they’re still eager to keep learning and working with him.”

The registered students so far represent more than 50 majors, Hanselmann said.

Paid registration is available, too, to both members and non-members of the network for $10 or $15, depending on payment method, and also includes breakfast. Payment by credit card is due by 5 p.m. April 7.

Attendees can get details, register and pay online at http://go.osu.edu/eEX.

Co-sponsors of the free student registration are AEP Ohio, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Environmental Professionals Network, the school’s Coalition of Student Organizations, and Ohio State’s Office of Energy and Environment and Office of Student Life.

For more information, contact Hanselmann at hanselmann.3@osu.edu or 614-247-1908.

EPN membership is free and open to anyone working in or studying an environmental field. Details about the network are at http://epn.osu.edu/home.