Michael Runtz - Lifelong Learning Program

Michael Runtz is one of Canada’s most highly respected naturalists, nature photographers, and natural history authors, with 14 bestselling books to his name. (See an article featuring Michael Runtz and his Algonquin Park book.) A dynamic communicator, Michael Runtz is equally at home in the television or radio studio, lecture hall or classroom. His Natural History course is the most popular of its kind in Canada, due to his award-winning infectious and enthusiastic teaching style. You may have seen (and heard) him hosting the international television series Wild by Nature, speaking as a frequent guest on television and radio shows such as CBC Radio Noon, or delivering presentations for groups as diverse as outdoor educators, professional biologists, schoolchildren, and naturalists’ clubs.

Read what participants have said they enjoyed most about Michael Runtz’ Early Spring 2022 lecture series The Nature of Birds:

I expected the lecturer to be knowledgeable and able to professionally engage and inform. But I was blown away by his photography and how each topic he touched on was enhanced by his amazing photos. I also loved his enthusiasm and how much he seems to love everything he does, including lecturing this course.

I felt that I really got to know what “makes a bird” and its “species”–its anatomy, physiology, feeding, reproduction, environment , migrations. Also got some sense of the state of birds re health of various species. Good info on bird watching and where to go in Ontario.

Lecturer very knowledgeable, organized, and enthusiastic about his work. This is not work for M. Runtz, it is his passion. And he makes the lectures enjoyable.

Loved this lecture series. Michael Runtz’s passion in his area(s) of expertise is contagious. His knowledge, his enthusiasm, his personable approach, his sense of humour, engages the participant to learn, listen, observe and appreciate the nature that surrounds us. Many years ago at CU I took a Natural History course from Michael Runtz. His excellent ability to connect the student to the subject has not waned at all. Five Stars!!

I can’t say enough about how wonderful this series was and how engaging Michael Runtz is. He is knowledgeable, organized and excited to share his knowledge. His passion for nature is infectious. I have taken two lecture series with Michael and would love to take another one. Highly recommended.

There was a wealth of fascinating information alongside beautiful and pertinent photography and with a very coherent underlying structure.

Michael Runtz is the most experienced and knowledgeable birder I have every met and he has a wonderful ability to transmit his enthusiasm and knowledge on to his students who ranged from beginners to more experienced birders. His photos were super and the range of lectures was well chosen.

This whole lecture series was excellent. Michael Runtz is not only incredibly knowledgeable but his enthusiasm is irresistible. Despite Zoom, these lectures were very personable, almost as though I was right in the room across from him. His photographs are stunning.

Michael’s enthusiasm for nature and birds is just inspiring. It was impossible not to be engaged with a lecturer with so much knowledge and passion for the subject. And his photographs added so much to the lecture material.

I love Michael’s enthusiasm, his obvious love of birds and nature, his wonderful photography and he is so knowledgeable. He has inspired me in many ways to look at birds differently and to respect nature and birds even more than I did. I will look into joining a group of bird watchers.

The lecturer was extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and passionate about the subject. He was the best lecturer I have ever had to privilege to listen to.

Michael Runtz’ incredibly extensive knowledge of and passion for the natural world, and the modest way in which he presents the material. And his photographs are unbelievable. I can’t speak highly enough of his lectures.

For me, visually disabled, being able to see birds in detail on my computer screen was fantastic! And the sheer volume of bird pictures made the experience well worth while.

I loved the ‘Nature of Birds’ lecture series with Michael Runtz!! Each session was so fascinating, informative, interesting, entertaining, and fun!! And all the accompanying photographs were exceptionally beautiful!! Thank you so much (Michael) for creating and delivering such a wonderful lecture series!!

I thought the lecturer was very dynamic and informative. He clearly loves what he does – that came through in the lectures. He used a lot of examples and real-life stories that were very captivating. He also answered questions well. I loved his style and wit.

The lecturers you choose for us are amazing! Michael Runtz is an excellent speaker and certainly knows his subject material extremely well. His photos were unbelievable! One learns quickly that he loves his vocation. He has a wonderful senses of humor which he weaves through his weekly lectures. This only adds to the joy and love he shares for his topic. He is a very pleasant man whose enthusiasm for birds is contagious. I loved each week and learned so much from his sharing and story telling. He certainly increased my already love for nature and our beautiful planet. Thank you.

Michael was the best lecturer I have ever had! His knowledge and enthusiasm made each lecture a pure joy! His photography was phenomenal! His humanity shone through every lecture! In these dark difficult days, he brought a ray of sunshine to my Friday mornings and reminded me of the goodness that can still be found around me. Thank you!

Read what participants have said they enjoyed most about Michael Runtz’ Fall 2021 lecture series The Nature of Nature:

I loved every minute of the lecture series. The lecturer is extremely knowledgeable, very engaging. His enthusiasm for his subject material is infectious and inspiring. The series was organized in a way that flowed well and made complete sense. At no time was I ever confused or lost during the presentations. I learned a great deal and have a new appreciation for nature and the plants and animals of our natural world. Many, many thanks to Carleton for offering this superb lecture series and to Michael Runtz for making it so special!

These are the best illustrated, and without a doubt the most enthusiastically and engagingly presented lectures I’ve ever sat in on.

I loved Michael’s obvious enthusiasm for the lecture material and his genuine love of nature. His photographs were phenomenal and a feast for the eyes. The detailed information he provided greatly increased my understanding of various things and made me want to study certain areas further. If I had taken a lecture series with him many years ago when I was a student at Carleton, I may have chosen a totally different career direction.

The level of knowledge of Michael, his enthusiasm, sense of humor and the absolutely amazing photography. I learned so much, was captivated the whole time and am anxiously awaiting another lecture series offered by him! Absolutely excellent.

… Wow!! I loved this lecture series!! Michael Runtz is a wonderful lecturer! I The lecture material content was so fascinating and detailed, and the accompanying photographs were so incredibly beautiful. It was such a joy to attend each Zoom session and I hope that the Lifelong Learning program offers more Nature inspired lecture series facilitated by Michael Runtz!!

[The series] was loaded with interesting information and beautiful photographs. Michael Runtz has such depth and breadth of knowledge, is incredibly enthusiastic about the subject matter, and is a highly entertaining and engaging speaker. Couldn’t have been better!

This was my favourite lecture so far with this program. I learned so much, Michael is an amazing lecturer, and his photos are spectacular. He has so much passion for nature that it’s contagious! His material was so interesting and so pertinent to our area and then we learned even more through the Q&A parts (with which he was so generous). I looked forward to this lecture each week and loved every minute of it. Can’t wait to do another one with Michael, hope there will be one offered soon.

Everything about it was WONDERFUL. Fabulous photography, quirky sense of humour, his ability to share knowledge without being pretentious, infectious enthusiasm. I have told many friends that without a doubt this was the best lecture I have taken in my entire life.

… Michael Runtz’s knowledge, passion, and infectious enthusiasm for his subject as well as his stunning photographs made the lectures very engaging and interesting. His sense of humour and down to earth nature added to the enjoyment.

Extensive knowledge of lecturer. Deep respect for nature. Deep respect for participants. Inspiring passion for nature. Incredible photography. Ontario content. Well-paced. Excellent organization and balanced presentation.

Michael is a very enthusiastic lecturer. His knowledge is very vast and as a participant you learn a lot. This lecture was one of the best lectures that I took with Lifelong Learning and I would take it again if it was offered again . His photographs were amazing, His love of nature and description of how everything in nature is interconnected makes me appreciate how fragile nature is and how we have to change our ways to preserve our natural world.

Excellent lecture series. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very interesting to listen to Michael Runtz and his enthusiasm and knowledge about the subject was especially delightful. And those stunning photos… I have already recommended his lectures to some friends and hope he returns with another lecture.

I’d relish the opportunity to take another nature lecture with Michael Runtz. Stunning photography matched by Runtz’ intricate knowledge of his subject made this class a standout.

Michael was outstanding in his depth of knowledge, his lively and engaging style and his passion for his topic. He was also very funny. Of course, his photography was truly outstanding. He was polite, respectful, and often encouraging with his replies.

Read what participants have said they enjoyed most about Michael Runtz’ Spring 2019 lectures on Algonquin Park and Northern Ontario:

The lecture was incredibly well prepared and delivered. The lecturer was passionate about his subject and the photographs he used to illustrate his material were absolutely superb!

Michael is so knowledgeable about the nature in Algonquin Park, so many tidbits of stuff that many of us would never experience without him sharing with us. He helps to add to what we might see in the park or in other locations around the province. He is a dynamic speaker and his photographs are stunning.

His encyclopedic knowledge of all aspects of nature, his ability to transfer this knowledge to his audience and his magnificent photography.

The photos were stunning and the lecturer’s ability to take a wealth of scientific information and target it appropriately to the audience was phenomenal. He struck the perfect balance. No one leaving that lecture would not want to learn more about Algonquin Park. It was a most enjoyable session.

Michael Runtz is an excellent lecturer and he made the subject material come alive. There was never a boring moment and I learned a lot.

What a wonderful lecture! Excellent lecture skills, fascinating knowledge transfer, a lot of good anecdotes, & a cornucopia of extraordinary photographs! This experience provided entertaining education at its best! Mr. Runtz’ passion for his subject matter was exhilarating. Well done!!

His knowledge and passion for the topic. If lectures were this interesting when I attended university (50 years ago) I would have attended class with much greater frequency.

The lecturer combined scientific information with personal anecdotes of his experiences in Northern Ontario. I learned a lot of things I did not previously know in a very engaging presentation.

Michael Runtz is a brilliant knowledgeable and speaker.

Excellent! Well structured, coherent, interesting presentation, with lecturer in complete command of his subject. Photographs a treat.

Michael Runtz’ photographs were spectacular, his stories were entertaining and educational.

Loved it! I really liked the manner in which the lecturer presented the topic. He has a wealth of knowledge and interesting facts about Algonquin park and used humour effectively in his delivery. The presentation was well prepared and flowed well. His photos were informative but also visually a delight to see.

Lecturer was so knowledgeable and he was a very interesting and engaging speaker. I loved seeing his portfolio of photographs and hearing all the accompanying stories. It was very fun and informative!

Michael Runtz pairs stunning photography with great stories and insight not only into Algonquin Park, but into research happening that is relevant to what he is discussing. He is a great lecturer and I would be happy to take any lecture that he gives, and recommend his lectures to friends too!