Ecologist Nature Walk

Internationally known forest ecologist Lee Frelich will lead this hike at Toft Point on September 30 from 1 - 3 pm. The woods walk will be approximately 2 miles long, including woods and shoreline.

We will explore the boreal ecosystem that thrives on this shallow bedrock running along cool Lake Michigan. And we’ll focus on the succession of native tree types, from old growth pines to newer spruces and firs, and adaptation occurring and predicted with climate change.

The hike starts at the Toft Point parking lot. The approximate address for rustic Toft Point Rd is 1980 Ridges Rd, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202. From that address, take the small rustic road north (inland, away from the water) approximately a block until you reach the trailhead.

This Toft Point Rd trailhead parking lot is extremely small, and carpooling is strongly encouraged.

He spent summers in the woods of the County as a boy, so he knows his way around. Following his Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from UW-Madison, he has served as the Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology.  His research has been featured in the media hundreds of times, including in The New York Times, Newsweek, CBS Radio Osgood Files, and National Geographic.  

The hike is limited to 20 participants. The cost is $50 per person, and all proceeds support the Climate Change Coalition’s climate education and action mission.  Advance registration is required and is open through Sept 15. To register, please go to our Eventbrite site here.

Any questions, please email Jeff at jeff@lnrp.org.

Celebrating 10 years of climate action and education…

Let's celebrate the life we're continually creating with our climate-forward Door County friends, neighbors & community.

Wednesday, September 20th, 4:30 - 8:30 pm

About Thyme Farm

8425 County HIGHWAY F

Baileys Harbor, WI 54202

We are having a party! Please join us to celebrate 10 years of climate education and community climate action. See old friends and meet new ones. Great music and climate friendly food catered by Thyme plus wine, beer, dandelion spritzer, & hibiscus tea!

We will be joined by President Obama science advisor, Wisconsin Discovery Center Director, and UW professor Jo Handelsman , author of the book “A World without Soil: The Past, Present and Precarious Future of the Earth We Stand On."

Let’s have fun, learn and create lots of momentum for all we must do together and in our lives for our kids and their kids! For the world and for the Door!

Mark your calendar and reserve your seats here now.

Keynote speaker:

Jo Handelsman

White House Science Advisor 2014-17

Director, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, UW-Madison

Music by Colin Welford

Our event theme is "The World We Make." With lively discussion & music and food and energetic, youth art, please join us to celebrate 10 years of raising awareness of Earth’s warming climate and taking action to prevent and mitigate the change. Together we grow and learn and improve... and together we celebrate!

Thank you dearly, Synergy Heating & Cooling, for being our premier sponsor and a robust supporter of our actions. And thank you Gwenn & Joseph Graboyes and the Blacksmith Inn for sponsoring and allowing this important celebration to take place!

Reserve your seats now… and stay tuned for additional information.

Questions? Or are you interested in volunteer and sponsorship opportunities? Please contact Jeff Lutsey, executive director, at jeff@lnrp.org or 920.217.4304

Ecologist Nature Walk

Internationally known forest ecologist Lee Frelich will lead this hike at Peninsula State Park on August 26 from 1 - 3 pm.  The woods walk will focus on the local forest ecology, climate change response with our native trees, and specific deer and worm impacts.

We’ll meet at Eagle Tower, address 10120 Shore Rd, Fish Creek, WI 54212. Eagle Tower is inside the park and requires a vehicle car pass, so allow 10 additional minutes if you don’t yet have your annual WI State Park pass.

This will be a 2-mile moderate-exertion walk through the woods (and NOT the difficult Eagle Trail that goes down and up the escarpment). Please be prepared with good shoes, water, and insect repellent, as appropriate.

Lee spent summers in the woods of the County as a boy, so he knows his way around. Following his Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from UW-Madison, he has served as the Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology.  His research has been featured in the media hundreds of times, including in The New York Times, Newsweek, CBS Radio Osgood Files, and National Geographic.  

The hike is limited to 20 participants. Cost is $50 per person, and all proceeds support the Climate Change Coalition’s climate education and action mission. Advance registration is required and is open through August 21.

To register and reserve your spot, please go to our Eventbrite site here.

Any questions, please email Jeff at jeff@lnrp.org.

A solar power education + group buy opportunity.

Adding solar power at your home or business is one of the best ways to reduce your fossil fuel burning and overall carbon footprint. AND if you convert some of your energy use to solar, you will be able to reduce your monthly power bills and greatly reduce your taxes (with the 30% federal solar tax credit).

Thanks for co-sponsoring, Door County Solar, Eland Electric, and Shirley Weese Young, very much appreciated.

Thank you for your interest. Please come… and bring a friend!

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA

Sunday movie matinee at 2:00pm, followed by a discussion on its relation to climate change

A moving dramatic play by Anna Ouyang Moench.

John and his daughter Caitlyn are birders. As they scan the skies over their backyard in suburban Maryland looking for elusive birds, years go by. Relationships begin and end. Children grow up and parents age. The climate and the world change in small and vast ways. BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA takes a close look at the relationship of a father and daughter over the course of a decade as they struggle to understand the parts of one another that defy understanding.

UPDATE: THIS TOUR IS FULL.

If you are confirmed for the tour, please follow the instructions in the confirmation email sent to you. Thank you, All, for your overwhelming excitement for this special event. We look forward to seeing you and sharing this experience.

Four High-Performance homes will be on display, showing diverse designs and construction techniques.  Homeowners and members of the Wisconsin Passive House Alliance will be on hand to explain design and construction strategies used in each home, all in the effort to reduce global climate impact, reduce energy bills, and create healthier, quieter, and cleaner homes.  

There will be 4 individual home tours, starting sharply at 10 am, 11:30 am, 1 pm, and 2:30 pm.

Attendees will be spread into 4 even sized groups, each group starting at a different house, driving from home to home (For example A -> B -> C -> D … or B -> C -> D -> A, etc).

Please plan to pay $30 with check or cash on the day of the event, at the first home.

Carpooling will be encouraged, starting at a public parking lot close to the first house. Please meet at the public parking lot near the first house at 9:40 am to meet and coordinate, per the confirmation email.

A. Home of Jim Myrland & Mary Moroder.   7895 Church Street, Egg Harbor.  Designed by Architect Virge Temme.  Net-Zero Energy. Emphasis on solar power.

B. Home of Thomas and Arnelle Hardy, 2545 Juniper Ridge Road, Baileys Harbor .  Designed by Architect Meghan Hawkins.  Net Zero Energy. Emphasis air sealing and moisture.

C. Home of Kurt & Jone Kiefer.   7960 Deer Crest Court, Baileys Harbor, Designed by Architect Virge Temme.  Net-Zero Energy. Emphasis on windows and doors.

D. Home of Steve & Denise Mumma.  10659 Lakewood Lane Sister Bay.  Designed by Architect Virge Temme.  Net-Zero Energy-Ready. Emphasis on HVAC/climate control.

Join us for this unique opportunity to meet and ask questions with Door County’s own award winning high-energy-performance home designer. Architect Virge Temme focuses on environmentally responsible and energy efficient design. A leader in green design and LEED certified projects in Northeastern Wisconsin, she is an active member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and is on the steering committee for the Climate Change Coalition of Door County. Virge received her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, and has been a professional residential designer since 1988. Widely recognized as an expert in the field of green architecture and sustainable design, Virge is often a featured speaker, panelist and author on these issues. Virge Temme Architecture, Inc. was founded in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1999.

This is a fundraiser: $30 per person please, with all proceeds going to the Climate Change Coalition.

To reserve your spot: call Jeff at 920-217-4304

UPDATE

Regretablly, this event is CANCELED. We are so sorry to report: our esteemed speaker, Jo Handelsman, cannot make it to our planned event Wednesday 10/12, so we have to cancel. We are planning to have her up to Door County next year when we celebrate our Climate Change Coalition 10th anniversary.

_______________

Jo Handelsman, Ph. D, will discuss our soil, the causes for its degradation, its relation to carbon transfer and climate change, and our relation to the issue. The Master Gardeners of Door County, Crossroads at Big Creek, The Ridges Sanctuary, and Waseda Farms are co-presenting this event on Wednesday, October 12 at 7 p.m. at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor.

She is the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Vilas Research Professor, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. She previously served as a science advisor to President Barack Obama as the Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 2014 to 2017. She is the author of A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet (Yale University Press, 2021).

She received her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Molecular Biology and has since authored over 200 scientific research publications, 30 editorials, and 29 essays. She is responsible for groundbreaking studies in microbial communication and metagenomics. She is also widely recognized for her contributions to science education and diversity in science. She has authored numerous articles about classroom methods and mentoring and she is co-author of six books about teaching, including Entering Mentoring and Scientific Teaching. She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama in 2011 and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.

A fundraiser for the Climate Change Coalition’s Door Community Compost Initiative. Join us for afternoon tea & conversation while enjoying Dave’s culinary creations.

Join herbal pharmacist Dave LaLuzerne for a uniquely wild take on high tea. LaLuzerne, renowned for his herbal tea gatherings, will serve a selection of teas, including chicory / chocolate mint, linden flower and wild marjoram. Sweet and savory herbal treats will be served.

$30 per person, with all proceeds going to the Door Community Compost Initiative.

Limited to 25 guests – please reserve in advance.

To reserve your seat, (1) pre-register in person at Kick Ash Coffee or (2) call Dave at 608-512-9633.

Thank you for joining the education fun! And thank you, beautiful Kick Ash family, for hosting!

Dominique Brossard, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Life Sciences Communication Department at UW-Madison, will emphasize the need for clear, easy-to-understand communication about climate change issues, to successfully engage different audiences and promote well-informed action. This discussion is co-presented and made possible by the Climate Change Coalition, League of Women Voters, the Door County Library, and Write On, Door County.

Dr. Brossard is professor and chair in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliate of the UW-Madison Robert & Jean Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, the UW-Madison Energy Institute, the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Morgridge Institute for Research. Her teaching responsibilities include courses in strategic communication theory and research, with a focus on science and risk communication.

Brossard has a varied professional background that includes experience in the lab and the corporate world. Notably, she spent five years at Accenture in its Change Management Services Division. She was also the communication coordinator for the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII), a position that combined public relations with marketing communication and strategic communication. Her family worked dairy farms for many generations.

Brossard earned her M.S. in plant biotechnology from the Ecole Nationale d’Agronomie de Toulouse and her M.P.S and Ph.D. in communication from Cornell University.

How Health Professionals and Systems Can Make Their Patients and Communities Healthier While Fighting Climate Change

Meet Joel Charles, MD, MPH, chair of the Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action and advocate for equitable solutions to the climate crisis. Dr. Charles will present on the health impacts climate change and fossil fuel use are having on our patients, and the significant health opportunities of transitioning to clean energy. He will help attendees explore why and how health professionals and health systems can engage on this critical issue.

This program is free and open to the public.

Learn more about the Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action’s work HERE

Friday, July 22, 2022 at 6 pm at Crossroads at Big Creek, Sturgeon Bay

This program will be hosted in partnership with the Door County Medical Center and Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action.

Anticipated effects of climate change on Door County and Green Bay, Lake Michigan

Bart De Stasio, Ph.D., professor of biology and environmental studies at Lawrence University, will explain projections for climate change in Door County and discuss the effects on the county’s ecology and surrounding waters in Green Bay and Lake Michigan. These will include more intense rainfall, more and larger algae blooms, an expanded “dead zone” in Green Bay and consequences for fish and other aquatic life. He’ll also explain how resilience and adaptability strategies can make a difference for our future. This program will be presented in partnership with the Clean Water Action Council, Door County Environmental Council, and Lawrence University.

The program is free and open to the public.

Bart De Stasio received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in ecology and evolution, and has been teaching courses in biology and environmental studies at Lawrence University (LU) since 1992. He currently also serves on the Board of the Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust. Professor De Stasio conducts research with students on the impacts of invasive species and climate change on the ecology of Green Bay, Lake Michigan and inland lakes of Wisconsin.

De Stasio’s award winning research on dormancy in aquatic organisms and its impact on the ecology and evolution of lake communities continues with the 2nd edition of his edited book Diapause in Aquatic Invertebrates. In addition, he is lead author on an updated chapter on temperature and climate change as driving factors in lake ecology for the upcoming 2nd edition of the Encyclopedia of Inland waters. He has had grants from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Wisconsin Sea Grant program for his studies of the potential effects of climate change on lakes. He also co-directs the LU Marine Biology Program where students and faculty study the ecology of coral reefs on the Cayman Islands as part of an integrated term focused on marine biology. Over the years he has performed research in Green Bay, Lake Michigan, the Baltic Sea, coral reefs in the Caribbean, Lake Baikal in Siberia, and numerous smaller lakes in New England and the Midwest.

Tour a certified Organic Valley farm by foot and wagon to see fourth-generation farmer Mike Polich’s cows, calves and pasture crops. With his wife, Katie, Mike operates a thriving dairy farm with 200 cows and 1,000 acres of cropland. See the farm’s milking robots and discover organic weed control methods and the key roles of bugs and bees. Learn about both the requirements and benefits of organic farming as opposed to conventional methods. A picnic lunch will follow the tour.

Fee: $50/person (includes picnic lunch)

Capacity: 20 participants

Registration is required. Please contact Nicole at nicole@lnrp.org or 715-330-4660 to reserve your spot.

Nationally known forester Lee Frelich, Ph.D. director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology, will lead a hike in the temperate hardwood forests on the Door peninsula’s warmer bay side. These forests show what might replace the boreal forests on the much cooler lake side in a future warmer climate: forests of sugar maple, beech, and hemlock with trillium and spring ephemerals in the understory as opposed to fir, spruce, pine and paper birch with evergreen herbs like twinflower in the understory of boreal forests.

Fee: $40/person

Space is limited. Registration is required. Please contact Nicole at nicole@lnrp.org or 715-330-4660 to reserve your spot. All funds raised go to support the work of the Climate Change Coalition of Door County.

Volunteer with the Climate Change Coalition of Door County and Crossroads at Big Creek’s Habitat Helpers for a tree planting field day. Tree planting tools will be supplied. Please wear appropriate shoes and clothing that may get wet and dirty.

Tree planting is an easy solution to mitigate the impacts of the climate change. Trees sequester carbon, provide oxygen, protect coastal communities, absorb pollutants & filter our air, anchor plant & wildlife biodiversity, and reduce energy use. Let’s work with the environment to protect ecosystems that will help us adapt to a changing climate and avoid the worst impacts.

This event is presented in partnership with Crossroads at Big Creek and the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership.

Today is Earth Day and we’re celebrating by planting over 10,000 trees in Door County. Participate in the Big Plant by volunteering at a public tree planting event or plant trees on your property. More information and a schedule of events can be found HERE.

Right now, soil might be the last thing on your mind.

But in a moment when the future of our planet and humankind is at stake,

nothing may be more important than regenerating the ground beneath us.

We’re in need of a kind of hope we’ve never felt before.

KISS THE GROUND unveils a game-changer to our climate crisis:

the Earth’s own soil.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.

For a link to watch remotely please email: info@crossroadsatbigcreek.org

Presented by Crossroads at Big Creek, Climate Change Coalition of Door County and Every Day is Earth Day

Regenerative & Organic Practices for Farm Resilience

Join the Village of Egg Harbor and Rodale Institute Organic Consultants for a program focused on orchard growing and regenerative organic farming practices for Door County’s largest exports: cherries and apples. They will also touch on other local crops.

Attendees will learn about Rodale Institute, the benefits, and success of Regenerative Organic Agriculture and how to apply it in their garden or orchard.

For more information and virtual registration, visit: kresspavilion.org/orchard

Soil Health and the Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture

The Climate Change Coalition of Door County will host a panel discussion with four area farmers to speak about their conservation farming efforts and the ways they're building resiliency Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 7:00 pm at the Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI. This in-person program is free and open to the public. Facial masks are highly encouraged.

LIVE STREAM OPTION AVAILABLE. Please CLICK HERE to register to receive the Zoom meeting link via email. Registration is not necessary for in-person participation.

Panelists include:

• Lauren Brey, focusing on rotational grazing. Brey is a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Sturgeon Bay and co-owner of Brey Cycle Farm, which has increasingly deployed cover crops, no-till farming and other conservation techniques to improve soil health and water quality. She is managing director of Farmers for Sustainable Foods, which supports farmer-led solutions to environmental challenges.

• Lee Kinnard of Kinnard Farms, speaking about manure and carbon sequestration. Kinnard Farms is a large family-owned dairy and crop farm in Kewaunee County that has adopted various sustainable practices to protect and enhance soil and water resources. Kinnard is vice president of Peninsula Pride Farms, a farmers’ collaboration in Kewaunee and southern Door counties, and serves on the board of Farmers for Sustainable Food.

• Mike Polich, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, discussing organic farming. After his father sold his herd, Polich and his wife Katie purchased the farm, bought 50 cows and started transitioning the land and animals to organic methods. Since then his family’s farm has grown to more than 200 head of cattle and 1,000 acres of cropland, all certified organic.

• *Char Fatke, owner of Mighty Wind Farms, discussing composting in Sister Bay. Relatively new to farming, Char with her husband Dan and son Tay are working to regenerate the dirt on their land into healthy soil. Mighty Wind Farms works with community members and restaurants to reuse unwanted kitchen scraps and other compostable items to divert organic material going into landfills.

Moderated by Jamie Patton, senior outreach specialist with UW-Madison's Nutrient and Pest Management Program. Patton provides education and technical expertise to farmers, organizations, and agencies to improve soil health with a goal of achieving food sovereignty, farm profitability and resiliency, and ground and surface water quality.

Patton will open the session with an introduction to soils and the connection between soil health and carbon sequestration. She’ll then engage the panelists in a discussion, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

*Chris Schuh of Door Karma Farms, originally slated to present, is unavailable and Char Fatke of Mighty Wind Farms will take his place on the panel.

A fundraiser for the Climate Change Coalition of Door County. Join us for afternoon tea & conversation while enjoying Dave’s culinary creations.

Limited to 30 guests, please RSVP to Nicole at nicole@lnrp.org or 715.330.4660

$25/person. Includes herbal hors d'oeuvres and tea:

Dandelion Wine

Wild Oregano Tea

Hibiscus/ Horsetail Tea

Lemon Balm Tea

Chicory Root/Chocolate Mint Tea

Wild Sarsaparilla Tea

Juniper Gin Tonic

The Perennial Turn

Join the Climate Change Coalition of Door County at 7 pm Wednesday, Sept. 22, for a stimulating exploration of new approaches to agriculture and the cultural and economic systems underlying it. The focus will be on perennial grains, which don’t need to be replanted every year and don't require destructive monocultures.

The program will feature four leaders in this field — Matthew Burke, Marianne Patinelli-Dubay, Kathleen Smythe and Bill Vitek — collaborators with others in writing The Perennial Turn: Contemporary Essays from the Field. This book focuses on natural systems and our integration with them, beginning with agriculture. The speakers will discuss their work and the educational and agricultural initiatives of The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, a global leader in developing and promoting perennial grains. The presentation will last about 45 minutes leaving time for Q & A, through the chat function on Zoom.  Registration is required to receive the Zoom meeting link.

For more information about the work taking root in Kansas and at Middlebury College in Vermont please visit: www.newperennials.org

Download a free copy of The Perennial Turn here.