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.  

November 10, 2009. Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Wildlife biologist Damon McCormick will give an illustrated presentation, The Uncommon Loon. Damon is a director of Common Coast Research & Conservation, an Upper Peninsula-based nonprofit that focuses upon the study and protection of common loons and their aquatic habitat, and he is currently working on a book project involving the loons of Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Much of his work over the past decade has taken place at Seney NWR, where the long-term monitoring of a large population of color-marked loons has illuminated many facets of the species' biology and natural history. He will present findings from this research, discuss threats currently faced by loons in the Upper Peninsula and the broader Great Lakes region, and weigh the positives and negatives of our own interactions with this icon of northern wilderness.

Go to Next Program for additional information.

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!

     Both members and non-members (excluding professional photographers) are invited to submit photos for the contest. They should be e-mailed (as attachments) or mailed to the program chair, John Lehman (jwillehman@gmail.com, 4555 S Nicolet Road, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783), by Friday Nov. 27, 2009. 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.

     The rules for the photo contest follow. More information will be provided on this web site and in the Winter program and outing mailing.

Contest Conditions

1. Members of the Sault Naturalists are encouraged to submit photos, but anyone who is not a professional photographer* or one of the judges is eligible to enter.

2. Photos must be submitted on or before November 27, 2009 to be considered. Please include your name, address, and a phone number. Do not include any identifying information on non-digital photos, as they are to be judged anonymously.

3. There will be a limit of 5 photos in each category per contributor.

4. There is no limit on the date of any photograph.

5. Photos in any format will be accepted, but digital photos and large (up to 8 x 10) prints are preferred. Photos in different formats will be converted to prints for display at the meeting.

6. Photos will be judged in the following categories: flora (wildflowers, mushrooms etc.); fauna (birds & other animals); scenery (including people in nature).

7. Photos should be taken within an approximately 100-mile radius of the International Bridge. The area includes the Algoma District of Ontario and the Eastern Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

8. There will be appropriate prizes for the winners in the 3 categories.

*We define a professional photographer as someone who supports him/herself mostly or entirely by taking and selling photographs. The definition would  include someone whose job includes taking photos for publication if that is a major part of his or her job description.

Some of the 2010 programs are tentative. Look for changes and corrections in the next program description mailing (and e-mailing) or on this web site.

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 will give a presentation on Copper Canyon and the Mazatlan region of 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.