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Happening
at the Crossroads
October 19,
2009
by Coggin
Heeringa
Fall Foliage Feeding the Forest, Roy and Charlotte Lukes on "Trees of Door County," Oct 27
The
trees at Crossroads at Big Creek were productive last summer. The
leaves, using the energy of the sun, carbon dioxide and water, made
food. But fall came and the leaf “factories” slowed production. Before
tree leaves fell during autumn, the sugars and minerals migrated from
the leaves into the roots for winter storage.
 Maple
trees are different... so different that ecologists call them nutrient
pumps. During summer, the roots of maple trees absorb nutrients from
the deep in the ground. These minerals go into the maple leaves, but in
autumn, these nutrients are not reabsorbed by the trees. This means
that when maple leaves fall in the fall, they still contain magnesium,
calcium, and potassium.
Maple
leaves, full of the nutrients they gained during the summer, improve
the soil. And though it is sad to see the color season end, we can be
reassured that the fallen leaves will become a protective mulch on the
forest floor and that maple leaves will serve as a fertilizer for
the next generations of forest plants.
The
fall foliage of Door County was extraordinary this year and Roy Lukes
was able to capture the beauty through photography. On Tuesday, October
27 at 7 PM, the Master Gardeners bring Roy and Charlotte Lukes to
Crossroads. These well-known naturalist/educators will present: “Trees
of Door County." The program is free and open to the public.
Just
as maple trees provide nutrients for the next generation of trees, we
at Crossroads would like to facilitate knowledge being passed from
generation to generation. That is the objective of the Crossroads
Cross-Generational Education Project.
Thanks
to a generous grant from the Door County Community Foundation,
Cross-Gen Workshops are designed for one youth and one adult to attend
as a pair. We believe that learning together provides the highest
quality of “quality time” between a young person and an adult. The
workshops will be scheduled for school vacation days with the "Door
County Fossils" on Friday, October 30, from 1:30 - 3:30 pm and the
second, "Great Lakes Ecosystems" on Wednesday, November 11 from 1:30 -
3:30 pm. Participation and materials are free, but pre-registration is
required. Call 746-5895 for more information or to register.
Crossroads
at Big Creek is a donor-supported learning preserve welcoming learners
of all ages to programs focused on science, history and the
environment. The Collins Learning Center, open daily from 2- 5 pm, is
located at 2041 Michigan Street (County TT) in Sturgeon Bay. Telephone
920.746.5805.
Friday, October 23, 11:00
Nature Hike
Enjoy
the fruity smells of autumn leaves on this one hour hike through the
Crossroads preserve. Meet at the Collins Learning Center.
Sunday, October 25, 1:00
Nature Hike
Enjoy
the fruity smells of autumn leaves on this one hour hike through the
Crossroads preserve. Meet at the Collins Learning Center.
Tuesday, October 27, 7:00
Master Gardener Lecture: “Trees of Door County”
Well-known
naturalist/educators, Roy and Charlotte Lukes will present a slide
presentation of the trees of Door County. The program is free and open
to the public. Lecture Hall of the Collins Learning Center.
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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