"Living in the Landscape" art, natural history trips begin June 27

GRATIOT LAKE -- "Living in the Landscape," the Summer 2009 Reading the Landscape series of art and natural history field trips for adults, will begin with a session on Sustainable Living, to be held from 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 27. Using as illustrations the work being done at the Keweenaw Land Trust’s Marsin Nature Retreat Center and at Churning Rapids, a Keweenaw Land Trust easement property, participants will learn about the many ways in which we can all live making less environmental impact.

During a 2008 Reading the Landscape session in Central, artist Linden Dahlstrom, right, explains the purpose and possibilities of using objects found in Nature for making art. In addition to doing an art project, participants visited the historic Central Mine site and learned about the coming Stamp Sand Stabilization Project and the unnatural and natural history of stamp sands. Watch for an article on this project, coming soon. (Photo © 2008 Keweenaw Now)

The Reading the Landscape program, which is in its seventh year, is co-sponsored by Copper Country Audubon, Gratiot Lake Conservancy, Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, Keweenaw County Historical Society, Keweenaw Land Trust, Michigan Nature Association and Copper Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Additional sessions on diverse topics will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on July 18, August 22 and September 19 at a variety of places in the Keweenaw. The fee per session is $15. Teachers interested in attending any of the field trips may apply to the Gratiot Lake Conservancy (contact: 337-5476) for a Janet Avery Scholarship that will cover the fee. Reservations for the trips are necessary and group size is limited.

The following are the July, August and September sessions:

July 18 -- Sustainable Farming: The how, why and what of sustainable, local farming. We will visit the Hughes commercial farm. We will talk with the staff at Keweenaw Co-op that markets local produce, and we will collect an organic picnic lunch from the Co-op to eat at the Weglarz homestead where Viki and Ray have been no-till organic gardening for many years.

August 22 -- Living With Our Wildlife: Explore the love/hate relationship we often have with wild animals such as beaver, wolves, bats and deer. We will look for signs of wildlife, begin to understand our complex relationship with our wild neighbors and examine ways that we can live in the landscape amicably.

September 19 -- Heritage Apples: This session will take place at Central, the historic mining town owned and operated by the Keweenaw County Historical Society. We will explore the history and development of these ancient apple orchards, discuss and try to identify some varieties and learn how to care for them for the future.

Call 906-482-0160 or 906-289-4930 to request a brochure or visit the Gratiot Lake Conservancy website to download brochure and registration information.