2011-2012 Luncheon Lecture Series
All luncheon-lectures are held from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the Arboretum Visitor Center Auditorium. A buffet lunch is served at 11:45 a.m., with the program beginning after lunch.
Individual Luncheon-Lecture programs are $20 for members ($25 for non-members).
We will send confirmation of your individual program reservations by postcard and will contact you promptly if the program is full. Refunds, available on individual tickets only, will be given upon request for reservations canceled at least two weeks prior to the event.
All reservations are transferable; please call the office (608.263.7760) when transferring tickets to someone else or if you are unable to attend. Reserve with friends and enjoy the programs together! Please make your reservations early as seating is limited. Dietary needs can be accommodated with advance notice at least two weeks prior to program date.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
H. H. Bennett, Photographer: His American Landscape - Sara Rath Filled
Henry Hamilton Bennett (1843-1908), a celebrated photographer in the half-century following the American Civil War, is admired for his superb depictions of dramatic landscapes of the Dells of the Wisconsin River and for his many technical innovations in photography, including a stop-action shutter and a revolving solar printing house now housed at the Smithsonian Institution.
He gained recognition for his striking images of moving subjects, such as lumber raftsmen shooting river rapids and his son leaping in midair from a bluff to the craggy pillar of Stand Rock. Bennett also contributed to the growth of American tourism: his nationally distributed stereoscopic views of Dells rock formations and his portraits of local Ho-Chunk Indians played a significant role in creating the Wisconsin Dells as the popular tourist destination it is today. Despite personal challenges--a crippling Civil War injury, the death of his first wife, and continual financial worries--Bennett produced an extensive portfolio that captures the Midwestern culture of his time.
During this presentation, Rath will share his fascinating life story, illustrated with his remarkable photographs. She draws on the photographer's own letters and journals to portray the sweep of his career and personal life. Rath earned an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MFA in writing from Vermont College, and is a versatile author with award-winning work in a wide variety of genres.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Planetwalker: Connecting environmental stewardship and cultural understanding - John Francis Filled
In 1971, John Francis witnessed an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The effects of the spill compelled him to stop using motorized vehicles. Several months later, to stop the arguments about the power of one person's actions, he took a vow of silence. For the next 22 years, he trekked and sailed around North and South America, carrying a message of respect for the Earth -- for 17 of those years, without speaking. During his monumental, silent trek, he earned college and graduate degrees in science and environmental studies (including a doctorate from UW-Madison in land resources).
His Planetwalk Foundation consults on sustainable development and works with educational groups around the world. Francis' practical approach lays the groundwork for the audience to learn more about oneself, to set goals and accomplish dreams, to build strong relationships, and to appreciate and be a steward of the Earth.
Francis reveals the planet in a new and inspiring way, combining history, adventure and practical experience to teach us about ourselves and other cultures more deeply, and to inspire us to be responsible not just for our own life but for the life of the planet.
Francis will speak on his journey, his unique perspective on environment, and how we can each make a difference in our world. He has been employed by the U.S. Coast Guard working on oil spill legislation, is a United Nations Environmental Program Goodwill ambassador, and is the author of Planetwalker: How to Change Your World One Step at a Time and The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding peace in a noisy world.
http://copperculture.homestead.com/
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Old Copper Industry: the origins of prehistoric metal technology in eastern North America - Dr. Thomas Pleger Filled
Great Lakes Archaic Indians were the first to experiment with metal fabrication technologies in North America. Nearly pure copper was discovered in the Western Great Lakes and, through experimentation, prehistoric Indians learned to hot and cold hammer the copper to produce a variety of projectile points, woodworking tools, harpoons, fishhooks and jewelry.
These tools were used for everyday subsistence activities and traded to cultures outside of the region for exotic materials. Archaeologists refer to these peoples, distinguished for their manufacturing of tools between 4000 B.C.E. and 1000 B.C. E., as the Old Copper complex or industry. Pleger provides an overview of what archaeologists have learned about the subsistence, social organization, and trade of these ancient peoples.
He is associate professor of anthropology/archaeology and campus executive officer and dean at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County. He has taught anthropology and archaeology courses at UW-Marinette, UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse, Lawrence University, UW-Fox Valley and UW-Baraboo/Sauk County. In addition, Pleger has directed and worked on a wide variety of archaeological research projects in Wisconsin and adjacent states. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research and is a regular guest on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
From Weeds to Wildflowers on Gobbler Ridge - Tim Eisele Filled
Tim Eisele, freelance outdoor writer/photographer from Madison, will show how he and his wife, Linda, restored prairie on their land in Crawford County. The Eiseles own 100 acres in the Town of Seneca, about one mile east of the Mississippi River. This part of the state, known as the Driftless Area, was not covered by glaciers during the most recent Ice Age, and is characterized with steep ridges, wooded hillsides and deep valleys.
At one time the land had been a cornfield, and prior to the Eisele's ownership was cool season grasses, goldenrod and some trees. Their goal was to restore warm season grasses and forbs and to increase the biodiversity of the land. Eisele will use photographs to show what the land was like originally when they purchased it in 1990, and the process they used to restore the land to prairie. The results of their efforts will be shown in color photos with many close-up photos of flowers and grasses. Viewers will see the required upkeep along with the insects, birds and wildlife that now use the prairie. Sit back and enjoy these unique color photos of Gobbler Ridge. In 2005, Tim and Linda Eisele were recognized for their work with the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation's Wild Turkey Woodland Owners of the Year Award, and in 2010 received an award from the Crawford County Land Conservation Department. In 2011, Tim received the James Zimmerman Award for Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication from the Madison Audubon Society.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Madison: History of a Model City - Erika Janik Filled
Erika Janik's delightful books about Wisconsin have enlightened many readers about the history of the Badger State in ways both serious (in her Short History of Wisconsin) and offbeat (as the author of Odd Wisconsin: Amusing, Perplexing and Unlikely Stories from Wisconsin's Past). Both books have been local bestsellers, fed by the author's passion for all things Wisconsin.
In Madison: History of a Model City, Janik narrows her focus to the city that surrounds the Arboretum. She narrates the story of Madison from its beginnings, carrying it up to the present day in a book that many readers have been waiting for.
Janik is a superb storyteller with an eye for detail. As she follows Madison's history through the Civil War, industrialization, two World Wars and its growth in the postwar era, she makes the city around us resonate with its historical past. She will pay special attention to the personalities, planning and development that led to the establishment of the Arboretum.
Janik is a writer and editor obsessed with food, the environment, language, farms, architecture, history and anything else she recently read or saw. She is the recipient of the 2009 North American Travel Journalists Association award for historical travel writing as well as the 2007 William B. Hesseltine Award. Interested in nearly everything, Janik writes on local food and drink, Wisconsin history, and green living, among other things. Her work has appeared in Mental Floss, Midwest Living, Isthmus, the Wisconsin Magazine of History, the Wisconsin State Journal, The Onion, MyMidwest, Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine and in the book Renewing the Countryside: Wisconsin.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Mongolia: Traveling in the Land of Chinggis Kahn - Bill Volkert Filled
Join us as we explore the unique and diverse environments of Mongolia with veteran traveler, Bill Volkert, an accomplished photographer, world explorer and expert birder. In 2004, he and his wife Connie traveled 900 miles across Mongolia exploring remote areas, searching for rare wildlife and visiting culturally significant sites of Chinggis Khan, Ogedei Khan and Kublai Khan as well as old Buddhist temples. They stayed with nomadic families in their traditional gers and ate the local food.
Traveling from the northern Khenti Mountains into the desert grasslands of the Gobi and west to the great sacred lake Hovsgol, this program will provide an insight into this largely unknown landscape.
Mongolia is a mysterious land in central Asia, located between Siberia, Russia and China. It is about the size of Alaska, stretching 1,000 miles east to west and 600 miles from the Russian to the Chinese border. Even today, it is a land of nomads who seasonally move across the sparse grasslands of the Asian steppes as they have for countless centuries.
Volkert has been the wildlife educator and naturalist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at Horicon Marsh since 1984. Over the years he has conducted more than 3,400 education programs for 195,000 people. He is also a federally licensed master bird bander and has banded more than 9,000 birds over the past 27 years. In addition to his work at Horicon Marsh, Volkert has also worked in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia and Mongolia and helped to develop a national bird conservation education plan for Nicaragua.
In his spare time, he enjoys exploring remote lands and learning about the birds of the world, and in his travels has seen over 2,200 species of birds. Volkert, an engaging and entertaining speaker, will share his experiences and adventures exploring this vast and distinctive country and delight us with his expert photography.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Children Are The Hope: Creating environmental awareness through cultural connections in Wisconsin and Cuban schoolchildren - Korie Klink
Children Are The Hope (CATH) engages students in the United States and Cuba in environmental awareness with classroom instruction, field trip learning opportunities and a unique chance to learn about cranes and the ecosystems that unite us all.
Using sandhill cranes as a common denominator, students in both countries discover the power that lies in each of us to make the world a better place for cranes, people and all of nature's wonders. Through written expression, performance art, visual creation, classroom learning and outdoor exploration, the world comes to life in exciting ways.
CATH is proud to connect countries, communities, conservation and creativity. These programs explore crane biology, ecology, wetlands, and culture, encouraging cooperative, individual reflection, and increasing the confidence of each child to contribute to conservation in significant and creative ways.
CATH is dedicated to bringing Cuban and American students together through an international nature- and crane-based art exchange. By exchanging artwork, students see how their individual and collective decisions and actions impact the global community. CATH is a partner-based project of the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, University of Havana and Empresa Nacional para la Proteccion de la Flora y Fauna with financial support from the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board.
Korie Klink, CATH Project Director, has been involved in environmental education in Cuba and Wisconsin for over a decade. She has been a DNR naturalist and an environmental educator for the International Crane Foundation, is a member of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative's Education Committee, a certified interpretive trainer, certified interpretive guide, and a facilitator for Project WILD/Aquatic, Project Learning Tree and Flying WILD.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Driftless Land - Kevin Koch Filled
The Driftless Land, a collection of essays by Kevin Koch, is a search for spirit of place among the bluffs, woodlands and prairies of the upper Mississippi River valley.
The Midwest is commonly known for its flatlands, for oceans of corn pressing toward the horizon beneath a big sky. Lesser known are the steep hills and bluffs, the ravines and towering rock outcroppings where the upper Mississippi carves its meandering path. These rugged lands amid the prairies are known as the Driftless Area, a 20,000 square-mile region of northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois, southeast Minnesota, and southwest and central Wisconsin, bypassed by most of the glaciers.
"You can 'love nature' and 'love the land'--but you won't know place until you've walked slowly and attentively through Lost Canyon or the Kickapoo Valley Reserve or Swiss Valley or Trempealeau Mountain, and then returned to learn what you can about them," Koch maintains.
Hidden within the woodlands are the imprints of human history and the deeper geological story as well, the story of a land untouched by the ancient onslaught of leveling glaciers. The result is a call to know place deeply, whatever place that you inhabit.
Koch, a Professor of English at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, teaches courses in creative nonfiction and nature writing. A native of Dubuque, he loves to hike, bicycle, cross-country ski and snowshoe amid the hills and bluffs along the Mississippi River, and to canoe its backwaters. Koch is also author of Skiing at Midnight: a Nature Journal from Dubuque County, Iowa.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Friends of the Arboretum Annual Meeting: "Natural History of Turkey Vultures in Wisconsin" presented by Lisa Hartman and Michael Mossman
Please join us as we celebrate another year of providing interesting and enlightening programs, activities and trips for our members and financial and volunteer support for the Arboretum. We will start the day with a delicious buffet breakfast, followed by our business meeting and short reports. We'll end the morning with an inspiring presentation with Hartman and Mossman sharing information they have gained from their extensive research on turkey vultures in Wisconsin, as well as sharing stories and facts about these birds throughout this hemisphere.
Hartman's and Mossman's long-term study involved capturing adult and young turkey vultures on their nests, marking them with wing tags and monitoring their movements. A captive turkey vulture named Uncle Butzie will join them, giving the audience a rare chance to observe a tame vulture up close. This is an opportunity for people to learn the inside story of these fascinating birds that have the largest breeding distribution of all the breeding birds in the western hemisphere.
Mossman is a forest ecologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Hartman is an educator with the Sauk Prairie School District.
As a special bonus to series ticket subscribers, we are including a ticket to the Annual Meeting at a discount.