Newfound Lake Region Assc. welcomes new outreach manager

BRISTOL — The Newfound Lake Region Association welcomes Mirka Zapletal as the new education and outreach manager. As NLRA’s education and outreach manager, Zapletal will build, implement, and oversee programs that connect all ages to Newfound Lake, its watershed, and the natural world around them. Zapletal is the first to hold this new position, which was developed as part of NLRA’s strategic plan to better serve the Newfound watershed’s growing conservation needs. NLRA Executive Director Rebecca Hanson says, “We need to ensure that residents and visitors to Newfound understand the importance of our natural resources and have a passion to protect them. Our new education and outreach manager will boost our capacity to educate and inspire the community.”

Zapletal is a native of New Hampshire and began her career as a high school social studies teacher in New Hampshire and Vermont with a Master of Education from Harvard. She returned to school to focus on conservation and ecology, earning a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England and a PhD in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She returned home after five years in Louisiana, where she missed the weather and mountains of New Hampshire every day. Most recently, Mirka was the Education Director of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. She believes that personal experience with science and research is crucial for both helping people access science and supporting conservation.

Zapletal is jumping right in to revamping and building NLRA’s education programs. She’s preparing for the opening of NLRA’s scenic and educational boat tour program, Newfound EcoTours, partnering with local organizations to offer programs to summer campers and youth, and developing new events for all ages. She looks forward to connecting with local schools to provide environmental education opportunities for students within the curriculum and meeting more of the community at NLRA’s upcoming summer events.

Learn more and sign up for upcoming programs and events at NewfoundLake.org/events.