How do you spend your summer weekends? Alan Resetar, the Field Museum's McCarter Collections manager in Amphibians and Reptiles, and his wife, Donna, retired associate dean of Library Services at Valparaiso University, spend theirs hunting for turtles in the marshes of northwest Indiana. They are accompanied by their dog, Paulie, who is in training to locate turtles.
Commencing in 2017, the turtle survey focuses on Eastern mud and spotted turtles, both Indiana endangered species. Alan, Donna, and Paulie are attempting to verify their continued existence at a site where the turtles were most recently found in abundance in the 1930s.
Holding a degree from Purdue in zoology and mentored by Bob Inger, Harold Voris, and Hymen Marx, then curators of the Museum's Amphibian and Reptile Collection, Alan was a recently "minted" collection manager in the 1970s when he met Donna. Donna was a librarian at the Shedd Aquarium next door. Alan would drop in at the aquarium library during the lunch hour for research, eventually asking Donna out on a date.
Because of their love for natural history and their belief in the vital work of the Field Museum, Alan and Donna included the Field Museum in their estate plan.
"It makes you feel good knowing that such a simple act will help support collections, scientific research, and student and professional researchers after you're gone," Alan shares. "I've been here 35 years helping to advance scientific knowledge and understanding through sharing our herpetological collections with students and researchers worldwide, and have a lot of fun doing it. Donna and I want to help this continue."
The Edward E. Ayer Society honors those who have included the Field Museum in their estate plans or other planned gifts. To learn how you can fuel a journey of discovery for future generations, please contact Bill Lynerd, at blynerd@fieldmuseum.org or 312.665.7286.