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Happening
at the Crossroads
November 10,
2008
by Coggin
Heeringa
This
week, Crossroads at Big Creek received a $4000 grant from the Arts Fund
of the Door County Community Foundation to partially fund an
artist-in-residence who will create an extensive mural/display
featuring Great Lakes Ecosystems.
This project is one component
of an educational effort which began several years ago when the
Executive Director of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, David
Naftzger, presented a lecture called “Deciding the Fate of the Great
Lakes ” at Crossroads.
Naftzger talked about the priorities to
protect and restore the Great Lakes. He also told a of an agreement - a
compact - signed by all eight governors of Great Lake states and the
premiers of Quebec and Ontario in 2005.
Though at that time, passage the Great Lakes Basin Compact seemed improbable, we at Crossroads were inspired by the lecture.
For
the past three years, many of our environmental programs have focused
on water quality. We have sponsored a WaterFest, hosted beach testing
and non-point source research, developed a septic system demonstration
project and have offered lectures, programs and classes pertaining to
water.
During the the debates and subsequent passage of the
Great Lakes Compact, we learned more about the value of the lakes and
have become more even more concerned, and consequently, committed to
our educational objectives.
This year, our Environmental Theme
is: “The Great Lakes and Their Tributaries.” As a part of this
emphasis, Crossroads is creating the Great Lakes Ecosystems Display in
the entry level of the Collins Learning Center. Using the grant money
from the Door County Community Foundation and gifts from Friends of
Crossroads and Betty Pierquet, we have engaged Patty Clark as our
artist-in-residence.
Our artist currently is in residence. With
the help of the Crossroads “Fish Committee” and mason, Russ Cihlar, the
interior wall now resembles a dolostone escarpment with the elevator
door morphing into a cave.
Another component of the Great Lakes
theme is to train teachers. This weekend, (Friday from 4 - 7:30 and
Saturday from 9 - 5) and Friday, November 21, from 4 - 7, a graduate
level education class called “Water and Wildlife” will be offered at
Crossroads through the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Scholarship
money is available for Door County teachers who take the class, but a
non-credit option is open to educators as well as community members who
have in interest in this topic.
On Tuesday, November 18, at 7
pm, the Global Lens Film Series will return with a film set in South
America. “Kept and Dreamless” takes place during Argentina’s economic
crisis of the ’90s. Nine year-old Eugenia and her mother, Florencia,
live a seemingly colorful life surrounded by eclectic neighbors and an
offbeat collection of family. But for Eugenia, who must deal with her
mother’s dysfunctional and drug-addled lifestyle, life is anything but
pleasant in this darkly inspiring story of expectation, acceptance and
nontraditional family.
This free film series is presented in
collaboration with the Green Bay Film Society and Neville Museum . The
films are not rated but are intended for a mature audience.
Crossroads
at Big Creek is a donor-supported center focusing life-long learning in
science, history, and the environment. Located on Michigan Street
(Highway TT) across from Whitetails Unlimited, the Collins Learning
Center is open daily from 2:00-5:00. Trails are free and open to the
public. Bicycles and pets (on leash and under control) are permitted.
Crossroads
is a donor-supported learning preserve providing programs for lifelong
learning in science, history and the environment. It is located at 2041
Michigan (County TT) in Sturgeon Bay. The Collins Learning Center is open
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.
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