Rich Kern grew up in Leonia, NJ. Although the town had only one 7 acre woods, Kern became fascinated with the amphibians, reptiles and birds in that small world. Rich continued his pursuit of nature in college. He received a BA in biology from Colgate University in 1966. An independent study he did on Florida spiders brought him national recognition through an Associated Press article. Spider photos he made on that project were later published in National Geographic Magazine

When Rich graduated from college the Vietnam war was raging. Wanting to make a contribution, Rich entered US Navy Officer Candidate School and later served as commander of a swift boat in the rivers of South Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star. While in Vietnam Rich’s brother Jim, living in Miami, invited Rich to join him and eight others in purchasing 400 acres of cypress swamp surrounding a mile of Florida’s Fisheating Creek... at last, a real wilderness to explore.

After the navy Kern taught high school biology in Miami for three years. During that time, and still a bachelor, Rich used his weekends and summer vacations to produce a film documentary about the wildlife at Fisheating Creek. Back at school Kern would screen the results for his students. In 1973 Kern became a full time wildlife film lecturer for the National Audubon Society. Over the next 10 years Kern would produce films on The Big Cypress Swamp, Smoky Mountains, Suwannee River and Falkland Islands. His lecturers took him to towns and cities in nearly every state. Audiences loved the programs. In 1984 Rich was voted best speaker of the year on the nation’s top series - The National Geographic Film Lecture Series held at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. 

In 1977, while attending church, Rich met another biology major who caused him to rethink his life in the woods and swamps. In 1977 Rich married Judy Prentice from Bridgton, Maine. For several years, before the birth of son Richard, the Kerns worked together on making films and giving lectures. Now, 24 years later, with Richard and daughter Lauren in college, Rich and Judy are able to work together again full time. During the next few years they have plans to produce films in Africa and Costa Rica. 

In the late 70’s it occurred to Rich that the high school and middle school students in his own city of Miami could benefit from assembly-length versions of his films. This idea blossomed into a non profit organization called Encounters in Excellence. With schools desperately needing enrichment in the area of science, the series was an instant hit. Students who were generally restless in class found the animal sequences enthralling. Funded by foundations, the series today reaches an audience of 55,000 students per year. Wife Judy and the Kerns' African American friend John Green each visit the elementary schools while Rich ventures into the upper level schools. Recent films subjects have included The Everglades, The Florida Keys and Indonesia. Rich’s Indonesia expedition and his life as a filmmaker were featured in a Miami Herald article entitled “Call of the Wild” June 20, 2000.

In focusing on animal behavior and the complex interrelationships among species and their habitats, Kern blends art and science into rich cinematic imagery. Whether filming a mosquito hatching, penguins swimming underwater, or
swallow-tailed kites nesting in a 50 ft. pine, Kern does what it takes to get the rare and unusual shots that set his work apart. In addition to Kern’s outstanding series of wildlife videos which are purchased by thousands of tourists and widely used by schools and libraries, his TV work has been broadcast on Discovery and on networks in Germany, Japan, England, Italy and many other countries.