By Mark Peterson, SOEI Executive Director For the Duluth News Tribune Socrates wrote over 2,000 years ago that, “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” But wonder gets short shrift in our world today, and the sense of wonder dims in many people as they grow older. Thus, to all of this year’s graduates — whether…
By Evan Coulson, Bro Professor Conversations have been taking place across the country that question the decreasing amount of time that young people spend engaging in rich experiences in the out-of-doors. This decrease is concerning as research suggests that time spent at play in the outdoors increases a young person’s physical well-being as well as…
By Adrian Wydeven, TWA Coordinator Isle Royale National Park wolves are doing poorly. This year only two highly inbred wolves inhabit the wilderness island in Lake Superior. To determine what should be done, the National Park Service (NPS) has developed a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) and recently collected comments on the options presented in…
A photograph of a loon dad and his chick won the hearts and minds of judges of the 2017 Loon Appreciation Week poster photography competition. Photographer Lorna Kane-Rohloff from Glover in northern Vermont, captured the photo during a mid-afternoon rowboat ride on a nearby lake. The judges said they appreciated the educational value and the beauty of the photo. What set it…
In 1999, Mary Griggs Burke conveyed her family’s Forest Lodge estate to the USDA Forest Service via the Trust for Public Lands. Situated on 872 forested acres along the southern shore of Lake Namekagon east of Cable, Wisconsin, the estate includes fifteen log buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Burke,…
Northland College has announced the winning 2016 books for the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award (SONWA) in adult, young adult, and children’s literature. Since 1991, the SONWA has honored the literary legacy of Sigurd Olson, who attended Northland College, and is the namesake of the College’s environmental institute, by recognizing and encouraging contemporary writers…
Northland College will host a four-day Lake Superior Youth Symposium, April 27-30, offering a dynamic menu of field experiences, programs, presentations, and entertainment. The Symposium is a biennial event—this is the 12th—open to teachers and students in grades 8-12 throughout the Lake Superior watershed——Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the province of Ontario. Registration deadline is April 15. “What…
As often is the case with ecological issues, simple answers or solutions are often inadequate or incorrect. By Adrian Wydeven, Timber Wolf Alliance Everyone likes a good mystery, especially one where an unlikely candidate is revealed as the culprit. This “Ah ha!” moment is a staple of the genre and most of us can remember the…
Sixty middle school students participated last summer in the Northland College Apostle Island School, held on Stockton Island. The twenty-eight-year-old outdoor and environmental residential program is a partnership between the Northland College Outdoor Education Department and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore with participating middle school teachers and parent volunteers. The Island School is a group…
The Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute will award Kurt D. Fausch the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award for his book, For the Love of Rivers: A Scientist’s Journey Thursday, October 13 at 7 p.m. Fausch is an ecologist who spent a career studying how fish make a living in streams and how streams…
