For two decades, Jeff Rennicke traveled the globe as an award-winning travel writer and photographer seeking adventure in the exotic and far away. It took staying put to show him that beauty and meaning can also be found in the familiar. Using poetic explorations in the Apostle Islands aboard his boat the “Little Dipper,” Rennicke shares how the art of slowing down and looking closely can deepen our sense of place and our commitment to the landscapes we love.

Karen S. Oberhauser, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Monarch Butterfly Conservation in a Changing World”

Professor Karen S. Oberhauser, Director (retired) UW-Madison Arboretum and her students have conducted research on Monarch Butterfly ecology for almost 40 years.  She is passionate about the conservation of the world’s biodiversity and building connections between humans and the natural world. Click here to RSVP.

Peter Annin, Director, Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, Northland College.
“How Recycled Sewage is Transforming Our Water Systems”

Veteran water journalist Peter Annin shows that purified wastewater is the unexpected hero in America’s efforts to address water scarcity.   He delves into the complex, sometimes controversial, water recycling movement, describing how it is playing out in key water-strapped states from California to Florida.  He cuts through the fearmongering to show that the controversies around recycled water are based on misinformation, not facts, and that potable water has become the hottest frontier in the race for expanded water supplies.  In the climate-change era, reuse has become an integral water supply option in many parts of the country, showing that water cannot be taken for granted anymore — and that includes sewage.

NANCY LANGSTON, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY,
MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
“THE GIFT OF THE LOON”

Noted author and environmental historian, Nancy Langston, explores the history and restoration of common loons in the upper Great Lakes region. She delves into how climate change, toxic chemicals, and energy extraction have affected loon populations, and ways we can ensure a hopeful future for loons as well as ourselves.

MARK WELLER, PHOTOGRAPHER AND VICE CHAIR, FRIENDS OF THE APOSTLE ISLANDS NATIONAL LAKESHORE

“THE LIGHTS OF THE APOSTLE ISLANDS”

For over ten years photographer Mark Weller has led a quest for spectacular nighttime shots of the Apostle Islands historic lighthouses. Set against the outstanding dark skies of Lake Superior, his mission has been to capture the Milky Way rising behind the lighthouses, which celebrates one of the most beautiful scenes in the upper Midwest.

Dr. Robert Sterner
“The Outsized Role of Large Lakes”

A few “dimples” of the Earth’s surface hold a large fraction of the planet’s liquid fresh water. We will will consider how human action has altered these environments, how we value the water they contain, and what responsibilities come with our region being “water rich.”

JAMES FELDMAN 

“A STORIED WILDERNESS: REWILDING THE APOSTLE ISLANDS” 

How did the Apostle Islands become wild? How do we understand the meaning of human history in places we today value as wilderness?

Jeff Richter

Love Letter to Lake Superior 

Take a photographic circle tour of Lake Superior and its surroundings. 

JOHN BATES

“A Spring Phenology: Celebrating the Beauty, Science, and Spirit of the Northwoods”

"Out On The Ice"

Bob Mackreth

TWO CENTURIES OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CHEQUAMEGON REGION TRAVELING, WORKING AND PLAYING ON THE ICE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. DOGSLEDS AND WINDSLEDS, LOGGERS AND LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS, FARMERS AND FISHERMEN, NEAR DISASTERS AND NARROW ESCAPES, A FEW SAD STORIES AND A FEW JOYOUS ONES.

THOM HOLDEN

“Shipwrecks of the Apostle Islands”

There are many stories hidden among the islands and lighthouses of the Apostle Islands and Chequamegon Bay. This illustrated program gives a glimpse of several of these accidents, large and small, found and yet to be discovered; ships wrecked by fire, groundings, fog, and storms ... some lost, some recovered, some still missing.

“Full Circle Superior is not just the first shoreline circumnavigation of Lake Superior by foot in recorded history - it is an incredible international bridge that brings together people, ideas and issues from areas as diverse as science, community, economy, education and the environment intricately into a web interlacing around and in the midst of this great lake.”