Future Programs

 

Click on Submit Your Ideas for Future Programs if you would like to suggest other programs or speakers.

 

Note: Meetings start at 7:30 pm on the second Tuesday of the month, except for the May meeting, which is at 7:30 pm on the first Tuesday in May, and the annual meeting, which usually begins at 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday in February. Click here for more information about our meetings.

 

 

September 9, 2008. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Gregg Bruff, who was the featured speaker at our 2007 annual meeting, will give an illustrated presentation on The Group of Seven and the National Parks of Canada. Gregg will provide an overview of how artists have helped create national parks, and an introduction to the Canadian Group of Seven, including A.Y. Jackson (who assisted with Parks Canada projects), Arthur Lismer, Tom Thompson, and Lawren Harris. In addition to working as Chief of Heritage Education, Visitor Services, and Cultural Resources Management at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Gregg leads the Munising Bay Arts Association, which provides outreach activities such as the Lyceum Artis series of monthly evening programs. For more information click on Next Meeting.

 

The previously scheduled September speaker, Aubrey Golden, will instead lead an outing to the Hendrie River Water Caves (near Trout Lake, Michigan) on Sept. 13, and will give a brief presentation near the cave site.

 

October 14, 2008. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

David Wells of Naturally Superior Adventures & Rock Island Lodge will give us an illustrated ecotour of the Canadian Lake Superior Coastline, describing the flora, fauna, geology, and other special features of the area. He will also describe the native and non-native history of the region and may discuss the trap rock issue in Michipicoten Bay.

 

November 11, 2008. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Dee Phinney of Curtis, Michigan, will present an illustrated program Searching for Wild Orchids. Dee’s fascination with the beauty and variety of wild orchids has led her to photograph and document many of the species that grow in the Great Lakes region, particularly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  She will show selected photographs of wild orchids and tell us about their habitats and locations.

December 9, 2008 Holiday Meeting. Central United Methodist Church

A Musical and Literary Holiday Celebration.  Jillena Rose, an accomplished poet who teaches writing at Lake Superior State University, will read some original nature-related poems; writer Leslie Askwith will read one of her nature-theme essays; and songwriter/musician Susan Askwith will sing and play some nature-theme songs. Jillena is a founding member of the Cabin Fever Writer’s Group that meets at Bayliss Library; her poems explore the speaker's relationship to the landscapes all humans are connected to: the natural, the emotional, the intellectual. Susan performs for visitors to the historic John Johnston House in Sault, Michigan and has recorded for Borderland Records. Leslie, who recently retired from her position as Public Health Emergency Response Coordinator at the Chippewa County Health Department, is a free-lance writer who was the first Writer in Residence at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and has contributed to Traverse magazine and other publications.  Refreshments—including hot cider and some homemade goodies—will be served. Come and enjoy the performances and the congenial company of your fellow Naturalists in a relaxed atmosphere. This will be a great way to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season!

 

January 13, 2008. Central United Methodist Church

Deane Greenwood, Trails Coordinator for the Sault Ste. Marie and Region Conservation Authority, and Rhonda Bateman, Source Water Protection Coordinator for the Conservation Authority (CA), will present an illustrated program on The Sault Ste. Marie and Region Conservation Authority and its Activities. The responsibilities of the CA include protecting water sources, maintaining a large area of forest land, supporting recreation in the greater Sault Ontario area, and generally supporting conservation of natural resources. Deane’s presentation will include an overview of the CA that highlights its history and its role in the community, and includes a description of its conservation properties. Rhonda’s presentation will describe how she and her staff are developing the local source protection planning program by gathering watershed information and assessing threats to ensure that local sources of drinking water remain safe.

 

February 10, 2008, 6 p.m. Annual Dinner Meeting, Soo College Cafeteria

Mike Flannigan, senior Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre, will present an illustrated talk on The Future of our Boreal Forests. Flannigan was a member of the International Panel on Climate Change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. Flannigan asks: “Canadian boreal forests have been around for thousands of years, but are our forests now reaching a tipping point?” Climate and the associated weather are dynamic due to changes in the earth’s orbital parameters, solar output and atmospheric composition. Recently, our climate has been warming due to increases of radiatively active gases (carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) as a result of human activities. This altered climate, as modelled by General Circulation Models (GCMs), may have a profound impact on Canadian forests. Historically, the boreal forest has survived and even thrived in a changing climate, but the projected rate of warming may stress our forests beyond a threshold. This stress on the forests will come from the direct influences of an altered climate in the form of drought, wind storms, ice storms, and excess heat or cold. The most rapid and possibly most significant impacts of climate change may be through altered disturbance regimes such as forest fires and insects. This interplay between climate change and disturbance regime has the potential to overshadow the importance of the direct effects of global warming on species distribution, migration, substitution and extinction. Such a scenario suggests that the rate and magnitude of disturbance-induced changes to the boreal forest landscape could greatly exceed anything expected due to atmospheric warming alone.  Recent work suggests that fire activity in Canada may double by the end of this century. The future of our boreal forests will be discussed in terms of global warming and a climate change altered disturbance regime.

 

March 10, 2008. Central United Methodist Church

Ian Ludgate, Manager of Denison Environmental Services, will give an illustrated talk on The Elliot Lake Uranium Mines and their Environmental Impact. His presentation will include a brief history of the Elliot Lake mines, which once comprised the world’s largest uranium find; descriptions of the reclamation and remediation operations begun after decommissioning and the current  monitoring and maintenance activities; and a discussion of some environmental issues associated with the mines and their decommissioning.

 

April 14, 2008. Central United Methodist Church

Cheanne Chellis of Paradise, Michigan, will give an illustrated presentation Wolves in My Back Yard. Fifteen years ago Cheanne acquired three 18-day old gray timber wolf pups that had been born in captivity. They’re still with her, in a large fenced-in area in the woods behind her home in Paradise. Her time with the wolves has been “a fantastic experience, a lot of work, a lot of money,” she says. While living in northern Emmet County, Cheanne joined a team of biologists and trackers that researched wolves, and also began conducting programs on wolf education. Since moving to Paradise in 2002, she has welcomed visitors to her home to see her wolves, continuing her efforts to improve people’s understanding. She calls herself “definitely pro-wolf” and says “Wolves aren’t to be hated or idealized. They certainly have a place and I believe firmly they belong in our wilderness. We need our predators.”

 

May 5, 2008. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

(Tentative) Harvey Robbins will give an illustrated presentation about his recent trip to South Africa.

 

June 9, 2008. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

David Szlag, Associate Professor of chemistry at Lake Superior State University, will give a presentation/workshop, How Not To Get Lost in The Woods. He will provide an introduction to the use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and instructions on the use of hand-held GPS units. (The program may be followed by an outing to demonstrate the operation and applications of GPS units.)

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