Last week I had the privilege of attending a two-day meeting at the Field Museum’s Biodiversity Synthesis Center (BioSynC) hosted by museum botanist and early land plants collections manager Matt von Konrat. I joined faculty and students from several Chicago colleges and universities to discuss how to develop college curriculum for the taxonomic study of the liverwort genus, Frullania, one of many under-studied yet incredibly important bryophytes that are the oldest type of land plants and key bio-indicators of environmental degradation and climate change.
Faculty and students convene at the Aug 29 and 30 biodiversity research and curriculum workshop held in the FMNH’s BioSynC center (photo: K. Lugo)
With the rise of molecular genetics and related disciplines since the 1950s, biology as a whole has seen a massive shift away from the traditional natural history-based disciplines of comparative anatomy and taxonomy, pursuits rooted in the 18th- and 19th-century study of nature. Yet the imperative to catalog and assess the world’s remaining biodiversity in our current age of mass extinction, a process largely driven by human action, means that current taxonomists working in museum collections and the field have a critical task ahead of them. The NSF-funded Connecting Biodiversity Research with Curriculum project spearheaded by the Field Museum’s Konrat and his colleagues is a creative way to involve students and non-scientists in the essential data collection and analysis work vital to cataloguing bryophyte species, re-assessing their place on the tree of life, and providing a model for similar work for other organisms.
Last month I was invited to participate in a brainstorming session at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago about kids and environmental science. The event brought together educators, environmental professionals of various stripes, and students to discuss how to make environmental science more accessible and relevant to minority boys and girls, particularly kids in the Chicago Public School system. The organization responsible for this effort is Project Exploration, a non-profit dedicated to increasing female and minority participation in science early on in the educational pipeline: specifically, in junior high and, to a lesser extent, high school.
Jameela Jafri was the dynamo behind this convening, at which I met many exciting and impressive people from all corners of Chicago. Check out her blog post about the event here, and visit to the Project Exploration website to learn more about the amazing stuff they do.
A marsh within the Calumet River watershed in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
I’ve never been invited to a writer’s retreat before (not to mention a writers and artists retreat), and despite long anticipation and careful planning for this one, I almost didn’t get to go to this one when my spouse took ill and the kids needed tending. Thank goodness for CHN retreat organizer and all-around problem-solver Gavin Van Horn’s wisdom and quick decision-making, as he called me up and said, “Bring the girls along.”
I’m glad I did, as we had a terrific time — and I’m grateful to Gavin’s wife Marcie, who generously and graciously volunteered to watch my children during the times when I was occupied with fellow participants in wonderful discussions about our forthcoming City Creatures project.
For me the retreat had a number of highlights. Some of them were formal, in the sense that they were on the planned agenda — like the splendid hike through the wetlands of the Great Calumet Marsh on Friday led by Ron and Joan Engel, who escorted us along some of their favorite biodiversity-rich trails in the Dunes back-country; the lovely reception hosted by the Engels at their beautiful home in Beverly Shores (which surely has the best home study/library I’ve ever seen); the delightful dinner at Sage restaurant in Chesterton; and the “soundwalk” excursion we took in Gary on the grounds of the Paul Douglas Environmental Learning Center at the western end of the National Lakeshore.
Joan and Ron Engel, with Steve Packard
But the less-scripted elements of the retreat held many delights, as well. I became pals with a conservationist and writer I much admire, Stephen Packard, who rode in my car from field site to field site, and delighted my children with his funny stories, endless questions, and brilliant bird call imitations. At one point on our way to the soundwalk field trip, I deliberately got us lost (no, really!) so I could listen to the end of a story that involved “mucking about” a salt marsh on Cape Cod; the ensuing delay was worth it. I met some old friends but also made a bunch of new ones among a group of immensely talented and utterly fascinating people. And I learned a lot about what our collective project is aiming for, and had time and encouragement to think about how my small contribution fits into the bigger picture.
Lea Schweitz holds an opossum mandible
My two girls, Lily (age 10) and Esmé (age 5), had fun cavorting with Gavin’s 5-year-old son Hawkins, and they got a kick out of our field hikes, too. During our marsh walk, we had several great kid discoveries: Steve Sullivan found the mandible of an opossum; Steve Packard found some eggshell fragments, still soft and pliable, from a turtle; and we all admired a large beaver lodge and the abundant nearby evidence of busy-ness on the part of this intrepid wetland mammal and fellow water engineer.
On our Saturday morning hike, I was initially concerned that my chatterbox children would fill the “soundscape” with their songs, stories, and sisterly bickering and thus necessitate my hanging back from the group. Turns out I greatly underestimated them. Lily hiked ahead with the grown-ups, while Esmé and I lollygagged with the renowned naturalist and writer Joel Greenberg, who happily pointed out flowers and identified bird calls for us. Esmé got a nosebleed for no apparent reason, but rather than crying or complaining, she just asked me for tissues until it stopped, and kept trudging along behind Joel and looking at everything he noted.
At a rest stop on our soundwalk, listening to the marsh and woods
The best part of that wonderful hike was when we ascended a hill about two-thirds of the way along the circuitous trail we were following, and stopped for a long listen. Here in the Dunes there’s lot of sand, of course, and this summit we were on was like a big sandbox. As we naturally formed a circle to listen, observe, and talk quietly about what we were experiencing, the girls just played quietly in the sand.
We watched them, too, and I couldn’t help but think about how our project — about connecting with nature and, more specifically, the non-human animals within the urban and suburban environment of the Chicago region — is also, ultimately, about nurturing an ethic of stewardship and love of nature in our children.
Esmé holds a piece of turtle eggshell; Gavin shows another to Hawkins
It had been way too long since I had been to the Dunes. This was a splendid excuse to return to that special landscape, and to introduce my kids to some of its treasures. It was also an inspiring way to begin our work on City Creatures.
I’m looking forward to future gatherings with these new friends and colleagues. I wonder what critters, or the leavings thereof, we’ll come across on our ensuing explorations?
There are many times when I give thanks for having the wonderful job of being a professor — and today is one such day. I’m writing this update from a motel room in Chesterton, Indiana, where I’m attending a writer’s/artist’s conference (with my two children in tow) sponsored by the Center for Humans and Nature, an environmental humanities organization which is leading the development of a book project / art exhibit scheduled for 2014 entitled City Creatures.
As a contributing author to this project, I’m lucky enough to be a part of this retreat to the amazing and inspiring landscape of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, one of the most ecologically significant places in the Midwest and the closest national parkland to Chicago. Our goal is to think of ways in which humans relate to, connect with, and/or learn from non-human animals in the Chicago metro region — precisely the kind of “urban nature” questions my students and I have been grappling with the first two weeks of our summer humanities seminar on “Representations of the Urban Landscape.” Talk about a happy coincidence of timing!
Yesterday afternoon, before taking a leisurely hike in the Calumet River marshlands of the Dunes, I heard a remarkable presentation by Ron Engel, a theologian, social activist, writer, and conservationist who lives in the Dunes community of Beverly Shores with his wife, Joan — herself a gifted writer and fellow conservationist. For four decades, Ron and Joan have dedicated themselves to protecting the Dunes from further industrial/commercial encroachment, advocated for their continued conservation and restoration, and documented their historical and cultural significance to the region. Ron is the author of the well-received book, Sacred Sands: The Struggle for Community in the Indiana Dunes (1983), which is sadly out of print but available at local libraries.
Today we gather again for a morning of discussion, brainstorming, and essay planning — the goal of which is to create a book and accompanying art exhibit that explores our human relationships with and connections to the non-human animals we encounter in a variety of urban settings within the Chicago Region: backyards, parklands, industrial sites, rivers and lake shoreline, etc. Then we’ll take another hike through the rich Dunes landscape to learn more about the complex cultural and natural history of this place — and how they are intricately intertwined.
It’s good to meet people this way — interacting, conversing, exploring . . . all with a common goal in mind. Yes, we could’ve planned and brainstormed this project solely by email and conference call. But I’m glad the project’s organizers, Gavin Van Horn and David Aftandilian, set up this retreat — a rare opportunity for many of us to take time out from our busy lives and collaborate face to face in a deep and meaningful way.
This past Saturday, I attended GR2012, the 3rd annual Celebrating Sustainability festival in my hometown of Joliet, IL. The past couple of years I had attended with my family purely in the role of visitors to the festival’s original location at the Joliet Public Library / Rock Run Forest Preserve. We checked out the many green products and services among the many exhibits, played games, petted a menagerie of animals, and listened to live music.
RU students (Stephanie and Sean) hobnob with JJC students and alumni (Tiffany, Tori, and Antonio)
But the festival outgrew its site in only two years, so this year’s organizers moved it to more spacious grounds: the West Side campus of Joliet Junior College, which has a beautiful new student center as well as a picnic area near the site of a significant prairie restoration underway at the nation’s oldest community college. And this time, I came as a participant: along with SUST majors Sean Hattan and Stephanie Eisner, I ran an informational table among the dozens of exhibitors at GR2012 to meet and greet visitors and prospective students. And I gave a slideshow presentation entitled Sustainability in the Suburbs – GR2012 19 May 2012 (pdf) during the day’s program of public lectures.
For more on the day’s proceedings, check out this post on the Schaumburg’s Sustainable Future blog.
One of the nation’s experts on food deserts and food justice issues, Mari Gallagher, will present her research on Chicago’s food deserts from 2006 to the present at a public lecture at RU’s Chicago Campus this Wednesday, April 25th, at 5:30pm. Gallagher has a flair for discussing a serious topic with a healthy dose of humor and optimism for the future.
In anticipation of Earth Day, Roosevelt University will host a screening tonight (Friday, April 20th) of the acclaimed environmental documentary feature film, Living Downstream, which features the life and work of writer, ecologist, and environmental activist Sandra Steingraber. As explained on the film’s website:
This poetic film follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. After a routine cancer screening, Sandra receives some worrying results and is thrust into a period of medical uncertainty. Thus, we begin two journeys with Sandra: her private struggles with cancer and her public quest to bring attention to the urgent human rights issue of cancer prevention.
But Sandra is not the only one who is on a journey—the chemicals against which she is fighting are also on the move. We follow these invisible toxins as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how these chemicals enter our bodies and how, once inside, scientists believe they may be working to cause cancer.
Several experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research make important cameo appearances in the film, highlighting their own findings on two pervasive chemicals: atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and the industrial compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Their work further illuminates the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health.
At once Sandra’s personal journey and her scientific exploration, Living Downstream is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.
Date: Friday, April 20th, 2012
Time: 6:00-8:30pm
Place: Roosevelt University, Chicago Campus, Auditorium Building (430 S. Michigan Ave)
Room: Congress Lounge (2nd floor)
This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so please reserve your spot by RSVPing to Prof. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu or 312.281.3148). A discussion with RU faculty will follow the screening, and light refreshments will be available. Sponsored by the Sustainability Studies Program in the College of Professional Studies at Roosevelt University.
Roosevelt University will host an Internship and Career Fair at the Chicago Campus on April 12 from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Congress Lounge. Students will have the opportunity to speak directly to employers who have opportunities available immediately. This is also a good chance for those students who still need summer internship options to get that opportunity that they desire. Students must dress to impress and bring plenty of resumes, questions, and a positive attitude. Those who need to polish their resumes or brush-up on interviewing skills contact the Career Development office for help at (312) 341-3560.
For more information, contact Chris Willis, Assistant Director, Employer Relations and Internships, at cwillis@roosevelt.edu.
In anticipation of Earth Day, Roosevelt University will host a screening on Friday, April 20th, of the acclaimed environmental documentary feature film, Living Downstream, which features the life and work of writer, ecologist, and environmental activist Sandra Steingraber. This event is free and open to the public. As explained on the film’s website:
This poetic film follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links. After a routine cancer screening, Sandra receives some worrying results and is thrust into a period of medical uncertainty. Thus, we begin two journeys with Sandra: her private struggles with cancer and her public quest to bring attention to the urgent human rights issue of cancer prevention.
But Sandra is not the only one who is on a journey—the chemicals against which she is fighting are also on the move. We follow these invisible toxins as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how these chemicals enter our bodies and how, once inside, scientists believe they may be working to cause cancer.
Several experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research make important cameo appearances in the film, highlighting their own findings on two pervasive chemicals: atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and the industrial compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Their work further illuminates the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health.
At once Sandra’s personal journey and her scientific exploration, Living Downstream is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.
Date: Friday, April 20th, 2012
Time: 6:00-8:30pm
Place: Roosevelt University, Chicago Campus, Auditorium Building (430 S. Michigan Ave)
Room: Congress Lounge (2nd floor)
This event is free and open to the public. A discussion with RU faculty will follow the screening, and refreshments will be available. Sponsored by the Sustainability Studies Program in the College of Professional Studies at Roosevelt University.
RSVP to Professor Mike Bryson at mbryson@roosevelt.edu / 312-281-3148.
This Thursday, March 22nd, is World Water Day — an annual event sponsored by the United Nations since 1992 to focus attention on the critical importance of freshwater and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
This Thursday at Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg Campus from 2-6pm, students and faculty of the Sustainability Studies (SUST) Program will have a table display in the main hallway where you can learn more about World Water Day, take a Taste Test of bottled vs tap water, go on a Water Resources Hike around the campus, and check out the Water in Schaumburg research project conducted by SUST 220 Water students this past fall. Hope to see you there!
For more information, contact Prof. Mike Bryson at mbryson@roosevelt.edu or at 847.619-8735.
