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.  

December 8, 2009. Central United Methodist Church

Our Annual Holiday Meeting will feature a Nature Photo Contest and a presentation by nature photographer Kirk Zufelt, who will provide information on some of the artistic and technical aspects of bird and nature photography. A secret ballot will be conducted to select the winning photo in each of three categories (flora, fauna, and scenery), and each winning photographer will be awarded an appropriate prize. Refreshments, including hot cider and some homemade goodies, will be served. Come and enjoy the event and the company of your fellow naturalists in a congenial atmosphere!

     A panel of judges will select the five best photos in each category and the prints will be displayed at the meeting site. The winning photos will then be selected by those present at the meeting. All photos submitted will also be displayed as prints or on a monitor.

Go to Next Program for the Contest rules and additional information.

January 12, 2010. Central United Methodist Church

Dr. Jason Garvon, Assistant Professor of Biology at Lake Superior State University, will present a program on the current honeybee crisis, Honeybees at Risk: The Facts About Colony Collapse Disorder. According to the recent PBS program Silence of the Bees, millions of honeybees disappeared from their hives in the winter of 2006 in a phenomenon now known as colony collapse disorder. Because honeybees are essential pollinators of many fruits and vegetables, such disappearances put crops at risk and threaten the food supply. Jason will describe the search to discover what is killing the honeybees and to find out what can be done to help the honeybee population recover.

February 9, 2010. Cisler Center, Lake Superior State University

Dr. Michael Doyle, a consulting scientist and a Kellogg/APLU FSLI Fellow (American Public and Land

Grant Universities/Food Systems Leadership Institute), will provide an illustrated presentation, The End of the Earth—The Southern Ocean, The Falklands, and Antarctica. The Southern Ocean is a distinct ecologic realm which includes a continent (Antarctica), countless islands, and incredible marine lifeabsent elsewhere.  This presentation will provide an introduction to the seldom-visited Falkland (Malvinas) Islands,  Antarctica, and some of its unique wildlife—especially penguins.  The presentation is based on Dr. Doyle's research on the Southern Ocean and a trip he led there last year.

March 9, 2010. Central United Methodist Church

Susan Sanders will tell us about her Travels in Ecuador and Peru. Susan’s cruise took her to five of the Galapagos Islands, down the Amazon from the Andes, and elsewhere in Ecuador and Peru. Her presentation will include photos of some of the flora and fauna she saw, including Galapagos penguins, blue-footed boobies, iguanas, sea turtles, and Galapagos tortoises (the largest living tortoise). She also visited the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, where Galapagos tortoises are being bred to save them from extinction.

April 13, 2010. Central United Methodist Church

Evelyn Simon and Charles (Chuck) Bosley have been world travelers since their retirement; Evelyn will give us an illustrated presentation about her Travels with Charlie.

May 4, 2010. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Bill Purnis will share his travel adventures to Iceland, The Land of Ice and Fire. Bill and his wife Flo have traveled extensively around the world since retiring in 1998-99. Birding becae a serious hobby in June 2008 when they joined 20 dedicated birders on a trip to Iceland with Elderhostel. Their birding experience in this North Atlantic Island setting with its volcanic activity and glaciers made their stay a most unusual and rewarding one.

June 8, 2010. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Harvey Robbins, recently retired from a 33-year career as Professor and Department Head at Sault College, will present a program on Copper Canyon and the Mazatlan region of Mexico. This visual presentation will cover the Mazatlan beach and island shoreline, the Tufted Jay reserve high in the mountains to the east and the Copper Canyon experience to the north. Emphasis will be on the birds, animals and flora of this highly diverse region in northwest Mexico.

September 14, 2010. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Nature photographer Paul Rossi will present a program on bird photography. Rossi's background in biology and animal physiology led him into explorations of bird behavior and an interest in capturing images of the beauty of birds in nature. He says "I have, after many years, come to see photography as an art which allows the photographer to preserve moments in nature, while emphasizing color, lighting, and composition." Current technology allows him "to combine in-the-field experience with reflexes, timing, and hand-to-eye coordination, in order to capture certain flight images and behaviors," but he admits that simply being in the right place at the right time plays a big role in capturing the most rewarding images.