By Shelley Harms

Renowned naturalist Roland C. Clement has donated 26 watercolors of birds to Aton Forest, Inc. All are invited to come to Aton Forest’s Open House on October 20 to view the paintings and bid on them at silent auction. The artist will present a talk and answer questions about his life and art.

At age 94, Clement is an active naturalist and watercolorist. He started his career as a staff biologist who rose to become Vice President of the National Audubon Society. He was also the first president of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. Clement is the author of three books and many articles about birds and the environment.

Roland Clement offers advice on “How to Paint a Bird” at the Peabody Museum.

When he reached his 80’s, Clement started painting birds. An immediate success, he has taught classes on bird painting at the Peabody Museum in New Haven and his artwork has been featured in many shows. A show of his bird paintings will take place at Yale University later this year.

Clement became connected to Norfolk through his friendship with ecologist Frank Egler, which spanned 40 years. Both Clement and Egler were friends of Rachel Carson and supporters of her book, “Silent Spring.” Recently, Clement spoke at Harvard’s Kennedy Center with E.O. Wilson in a forum to mark the centennial of Rachel Carson’s life.

Clement worked with Egler as he assembled the lands that were to become Aton Forest, and was an original member of Aton Forest, Inc.’s board of directors when it became a nonprofit in 1990. Still on the board today, Clement strives to ensure that Aton Forest continues the long-term, low-key research that Egler advocated.

Clement also supports Aton Forest’s efforts to increase its protected lands. The silent auction of his paintings is intended to help Aton Forest purchase two important parcels to add to its preserved acreage of forest and wetlands.

The paintings to be sold are watercolor portraits of individual birds in the style of John James Audubon, as well as natural groupings of birds in flight. They feature birds such as herons, terns, puffins, purple gallinules, and cardinals. The Open House activities will be preceded by a hike through Aton Forest.

For directions to Aton Forest and other information visit <www.atonforest.org>.

Photo courtesy of Yale University.