FINEVIEW — Nancy A. Boynton has volunteered in Namibia with the Cheetah Conservation Fund for the past four summers, and on Saturday she will share the experience at the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center in Wellesley Island State Park.
Miss Boynton, Watertown, will give a presentation about her work with the endangered cheetahs.
Although the nature center usually is not associated with cheetahs, Miss Boynton said that the people who visit it are often interested in appreciating and protecting wildlife across the world, not just in Northern New York.
"I decided to use this venue to expose as many people as I could to the plight of cheetahs," said Miss Boynton, a music teacher in the Watertown City School District.
The presentation will include information about cheetahs and the CCF, a Namibia-based organization founded by Laurie Marker.
"Her mission is to find a way through education and research to have people and cheetahs cohabit the same place," said Miss Boynton.
Miss Boynton said that her work with the CCF can involve anything from feeding animals and doing computer work to aiding research specialists and assisting clinical studies.
Because the organization maintains a large animal herd with which to train Anatolian shepherd dogs for Namibian farmers, Miss Boynton said, she has even combed fleas and ticks from 118 sheep and goats.
"The scope of it is very wide," she said. "We also have a lot of programs to educate local children and farmers to help them better appreciate and protect their livestock against cheetahs."
Miss Boynton, who became involved with the CCF through an organization called Earthwatch, will be returning to Namibia this summer for the fifth time. However, wildlife enthusiasts don't have to have traveled to Africa to enjoy her cheetah presentation.
"They just need to want to learn something about it and maybe help make a difference," said Miss Boynton.
Donations to benefit the Cheetah Conservation Fund will be accepted Saturday. For more information, contact the Nature Center at 482-2479.
