Tribute to Arthur "Art" Langton
(November 8, 1939 - February 21, 2025)
As a 9 year’s old boy scout he was required to earn a bird-study merit badge, identifying 40 species of birds. He completed this requirement which was a kick-off to his lifetime commitment-dedication to nature and science.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree, 1966, at UCLA in geography and earned his teaching credentials. He also began joining his mother, Irene Langton, on Audubon Society volunteer field trip studies. Art’s teaching experience began at John A. Sutter Middle School and he was chairman of the science department. Along with Roger Keen, both Sutter Middle School science teachers, they conducted lectures/workshops at Griffith Observatory Planetarium.
He was for many years a member, as well as a President and board member of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society (SFVAS), devoting years of volunteering as a nature leader, and bird counter in greater Los Angeles and beyond. Both Helen Treend and Art, school teachers, during the 1990s, provided school children’s educational nature visits and adult trips inside of the Chatsworth Reservoir-Chatsworth Nature Preserve. He was a co-leader, along with Mark Osokow, on behalf of the Simi Hills Wildlife Observatory (SHWO) in the 2024 Mid-Winter and Spring Bird Surveys. He began his leadership/participation in the annual international Christmas Bird Count for the Audubon Society for decades, starting in 1958. He worked on the ”Canada Goose Project” organized by Dr. Rose Marie White. He can be considered the godfather of CNP bird studies. He also participated in countless other bird scientific field studies inside and outside of the CNP.
Please read the complete tribute.
