Happening
at the Crossroads
September 22,
2008
by Coggin
Heeringa
GLOBAL LENS RETURNS TO CROSSROADS
Autumn
colors are appearing at Crossroads at Big Creek and throughout the
peninsula. Like the grand finale of a film or a musical, nature rises
to a stunning climax right before the the end.
We celebrate the
color season, but it is interesting to reflect on what is really
happening. Our trees have adapted to survive the winter. If our
trees did not drop their leaves, their branches would break under
the weight of snow. Less obvious, but just as important, leaves
require an enormous volume of water to sustain photosynthesis. In
winter th ground is frozen so water is unavailable.
So, leaves
die (gloriously) and fall from the trees. Researchers tells us the
chemicals in the leaves are sensitive to light. When the days
start getting shorter (and they have) these chemicals signal the
leaves to shut down.
Before this happens, the leaves empty
themselves. They send all of the food they have manufactured back into
the tree. Most of the extra food is stored in the roots during the
winter.
Some leaves send their minerals and other
chemicals into the roots. In other plants, the chemicals stay in the
leaves (which partially explains the variety of autumn colors.)
Grasses
and shrub also send energy into their roots this time of year, which is
why this is the best time to apply herbicides to invasive plants.
Consequently, Crossroads is dedicating the next three Friday mornings
to invasive species eradication activities.
Friday, September 26
from 10:00-12;00, Invasive Species Coordinator Bob Bultman will present
a "learn by doing" Workshop on Phragmites (the incredibly tall plumed
grass which is taking over our beaches and wetlands.) He will
demonstrate the best management practices for bundling and applying
herbicide to kill the invasive grasses without harming native wetland
species.
Foreign films can be as colorful as autumn leaves or as
drab as the poverty in various cultures. Crossroads is delighted
to continue the Global Lens Series which we start last spring in
collaboration with the Green Bay Film Society. See the world in the
most economical way. Films are offered free of charge (and
besides that, consider the fuel saved by attending these films at
Crossroads rather than driving to the Neville Museum. ) The remaining
films in the series will be offered on five Tuesday evenings in October
and November. Films are not rated, but are intended for mature viewers.
On September 30, THE KITE will be screened at 7:00 PM. In
director Randa Chahal Sabbag's ‘fairytale for troubled times,’
sixteen-year old Lamia must cross a border checkpoint between Lebanon
and Israel to marry a man she has never met. Neither she nor her
betrothed are eager to consummate a marriage to a stranger—a matter
further complicated by Lamia's surprising admission that she is in love
with the Israeli soldier guarding the border. Sabbag's enchanting drama
about marriage and tradition is underscored by delicate symbolism and
artful references to politics of Lebanon's territories that have been
annexed. Presented in Arabic, with subtitles in English (80
minutes)
The Historical Society continues to offer free tours of
the Historical Village on Sunday afternoons. And the Collins Learning
Center and Wisconsin Wildlife Exhibit are open daily from 2:00-5:00.
Crossroads
at Big Creek is located at the intersection of Highway 42/57 and
Michigan in Sturgeon Bay. The trails are free and open to people and their keen-nosed pets - if the pets are on leash and
under control. The Wisconsin Wildlife Exhibit in the Collins Learning
Center is open to the public 2:00-5:00 daily.
Many of
the Past News articles may be retrieved from this directory,
indexed and named in the following manner: 080101-news.htm
where
the first two numbers are the year, the second two the month and the
last two the date.
