Bonnie Hay wins 2013 Heart and Hands of Keweenaw Award

HANCOCK -- Environmental Educator Bonnie Hay's enthusiasm and love of nature, the environment, and education is contagious. This year, Hay’s contributions to environmental stewardship and education in the Keweenaw won her the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award.

During the July 4th celebration at Churning Rapids, Bonnie Hay, left, Gratiot Lake Conservancy executive director, receives the 2013 Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award from Terry Kinzel, founder of The Heart and Hands Society. Suzanne Van Dam, right, a member of the Heart and Hands selection committee, announces the award. (Photos by Keweenaw Now unless otherwise indicated.)

Founded in 1998, The Heart and Hands Society gives the award annually to acknowledge Copper Country residents who have "given of their heart and hands in the service of peace, justice, or the environment." The winner of the award is honored at the 4th of July celebration at Churning Rapids (Hancock) and receives a monetary award of $1,000, which is to be donated to the local charity of his or her choice.

"Bonnie Hay is warm, knowledgeable, and passionate about her love of nature," says Suzanne Van Dam, a member of the Heart and Hands Award selection committee. "She’s a role model for us all, showing how one individual really can make a difference. We are proud to select her for the 2013 Heart and Hands Award."

Hay has a long-standing commitment to the Keweenaw. Her grandparents emigrated to the area for work in the copper mines and she spent childhood summers here. In the early 80s, she helped with MNA (Michigan Nature Association) projects and was involved with AWAKE (Association Working Against Keweenaw Exploitation) in the early 90s. She has also been a member of KLT (Keweenaw Land Trust) for many years.

Hay has been executive director of the Gratiot Lake Conservancy (GLC) since it began in 1998. GLC is a Michigan Not-For-Profit Corporation formed in 1998 to conserve Gratiot Lake, its watershed, and environs. The Conservancy promotes informed land stewardship through education and research related to the ecology/history of the lake and nearby areas in the Keweenaw. 

GLC's educational programs for both youth and adults have been Hay's responsibility. She has initiated and facilitated a variety of programs and workshops focused on the environment, including the following: Natural Shoreline Workshop (with KLT); Aquatic Ecology (MTU summer youth program); Aquatic/Wetland Plants; Astronomy; Dragonflies/Damselflies; Animal Track/Sign Identification; Artist-in-residence.

This cabin at the Gratiot Lake Noblet Field Station is the staging area for many of GLC's education and research activities that Bonnie Hay facilitates. Research internships and field studies have included Gratiot Lake clams, algae, birds, and small mammals. Students have also studied Lake chemistry and biology, the Little Gratiot River, and an old beaver dam. Other programs have focused upon creation of poetry, stories, photos, paintings, and illustrations related to the ecology.  (Keweenaw Now file photo © and courtesy Jim Hay)

Bonnie Hay is also actively involved with KISMA (Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area) as a steering committee member.

Botanist Janet Marr, KISMA coordinator, says, "Bonnie’s knowledge, especially of aquatic invasive species control and management, is a huge asset to this group."

Bonnie Hay displays a bag of invasive garlic mustard she collected in Laurium during one of Janet Marr's invasive species projects.

Hay is the editor of the GLC publication Guide to the Aquatic Plants of Gratiot Lake and Other Keweenaw County Lakes. This 22-page full color handbook with accompanying CD is used by organizations and individuals interested in the ecology of U.P. inland lakes and students of GLC-sponsored wetland and aquatic classes.

GLC's award-winning website has a wealth of information contributed by Hay, which her webmaster/ photographer husband, Jim Hay, has posted there. Included are informational pages on diverse watershed topics, programming guide for workshops, and 15 years worth of GLC's information-rich newsletters (Water's Edge) that Bonnie produces and edits.*

Carol Ekstrom, Scott Rutherford are runners-up for Heart and Hands Award

Carol Ekstrom, chair of the Green Sanctuary Program at the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (KUUF) and Scott Rutherford of Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK) were also nominated for this year's Heart and Hands Award.

Heart and Hands Award winner Bonnie Hay, right, holding the sculpture on which winners' names are engraved, and 2013 nominees Scott Rutherford and Carol Ekstrom are honored during the July 4th celebration at Churning Rapids.

Ekstrom, while a geology professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., taught environmental geology and led students in community outreach and service learning. Since coming to the Copper Country four years ago, for "retirement," she has devoted most of her time and effort to the areas of environmental education and sustainability, spearheading and chairing the KUUF Green Sanctuary Program -- a national Unitarian program to encourage members and their community to impact the environment in a more sustainable and conscious way.

The program acted as a catalyst for KUUF to partner with KLT, the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative and the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society in establishing the Green Film Series at Michigan Tech. Ekstrom has also provided leadership in establishing at KUUF a series of Mining Forums featuring guest speakers and open to the public.

Scott Rutherford, born and raised in Lansing, Mich., has a background in economics. During the years he was assigned to USAID in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), he became disillusioned by U.S. policies in third world countries. He eventually took early retirement and became active in the peace and justice movement, advocating non-violence. In California, he worked for the peace movement during the Contra wars in South America. Rutherford organized and participated in a 40-day fast on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while continuing to work for peace and justice in California. He also helped form an organization to help Viet Nam veterans go back to Viet Nam for healing and reconciliation.

Since moving back to Michigan, Rutherford became active in the Michigan Peace Team and, more recently, joined those protesting the Iraq War in Houghton and Hancock. He has also been involved with Native American issues and protests against Rio Tinto's Eagle Mine. Rutherford is now working with Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK) on their educational and research project to help people understand the consequences of possible mining in the Keweenaw.

* Click here to visit the Gratiot Lake Conservancy Web site.

Horsetail Scramble run/walk to be held at Churning Rapids Trails July 4

HANCOCK -- The 16th Annual Horsetail Scramble will be held at Churning Rapids Trails, beginning at 1 p.m. with a 10 k Trail Run and a 5 k Fitness Walk on Thursday, July 4. Registration is on site from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Sue Ellen Kingsley and Terry Kinzel watch for runners and walkers at the finish line for the July 4, 2012, Horsetail Scramble at Churning Rapids Trails. The event will be held again tomorrow, July 4, 2013, to celebrate the couple's 20th anniversary. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

The family-friendly event is held at the home of Terry Kinzel and Sue Ellen Kingsley, 53044 Hwy M203, 4.5 miles north of Hancock Beach.

The Horsetail Scramble will be followed by the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw award at 2:30 p.m. and a potluck feast at 3 p.m. Corn, strawberries (maybe), and some beverages will be provided. Bring a dish to share, your own place setting and your friends.

The pie-eating contest is a favorite activity for the young and the young-at-heart following the feast.

Activities for kids (young and old) follow the feast.

Gina Nicholas, Maria Sliva win Heart and Hands awards

HANCOCK -- The Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award went to two winners this year: Gina Nicholas received the adult award, and Maria Sliva won the youth award.

Gina Nicholas, right, and Maria Sliva display the Heart and Hands sculpture after their awards were announced at the Churning Rapids Horsetail Scramble July 4, 2012, event. At left is host Terry Kinzel, whose late parents' estate funds the annual award through the Heart and Hands Society, founded in 1998. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

The intent of the award is to provide recognition to a person who has given of her or his heart and hands in the service of peace, justice, or the environment -- a person who might otherwise not be recognized. The cash awards, thanks to a small endowment from the estate of Martha and Floyd Kinzel, are given to a local non-profit organization chosen by each winner.

Gina Nicholas: her gift of environmental stewardship

Gina Nicholas has had a significant impact on environmental stewardship in the Copper Country through both innovation and leadership of key area environmental organizations, including the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, the Gratiot Lake Conservancy, Stewards of Bete Grise, and the management boards for both the Eagle River and the Pilgrim River watersheds.

After earning a degree in mathematics from the University of Denver and an MBA from Boston College (1980), Nicholas worked with business consulting firms in Chicago. In 1991 she founded her own business consulting firm -- Wildland Company, Inc. Beginning in 1997, she concurrently entered the field of land management with the Nicholas North Company that held orchards, cash grain, timber and vacant land in the Midwest.

Since migrating to her hereditary Lizzadro family roots in the Keweenaw, Nicholas has applied her valuable business consultant skills to local environmental needs on a pro bono basis.

Gina Nicholas and Chuck Brumleve, both residents of Bete Grise, pull invasive spotted knapweed plants along the Gay-Lac LaBelle Road at the Bete Grise Preserve in September 2011. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

In 1997 she helped to found the Gratiot Lake Conservancy that she served as secretary-treasurer and as a volunteer manager for forestry, natural science and historic preservation projects near Gratiot Lake. From 2003 until present she has been a board member of the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, serving as its chairperson since 2008, working with other local environmental groups to help create the 1,800-acre Bete Grise Preserve, the Brockway Mountain overlook, the Pilgrim River Watershed Management Plan, stamp sand stabilization projects at the former Central and Cliff Mine sites, monitoring of the emerald ash borer, and removal of invasive species. She worked with her family to establish the Lizzadro Preserves in Keweenaw County.

Also in 2003, Nicholas founded the non-profit Keweenaw Community Forest Company (KCFC) that she serves as CEO and President. KCFC conducts sustainable forestry management and research, sponsors graduate and undergraduate research projects with Michigan Tech, and manages more than 4,000 acres of forestlands for timber, conservation and recreation. These efforts were honored by the MTU School of Forestry and Environmental Science with its 2010 Honor Academy.

Maria Sliva: Making a difference in the lives of others

Maria Sliva, winner of the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Youth Award, is a student at Houghton High School. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Maria Sliva will be senior at Houghton High School next year, but she has been working since she was a young girl on a project of her own invention to help women and families lift themselves from unimaginable poverty and deprivation. Maria began visiting Reynosa, Mexico, across the border from McAllen, Texas when she was in 4th grade, on mission trips with her parents, Dennis and Mikki Sliva and older brother Tim. The Sliva's went to one of Reynosa's extremely poor colonias (neighborhoods) to help Copper Country residents Alice and Eldon Kinnunen with their Friends of Christ mission to build houses and donate food, furniture, clothing and bicycles to the residents.

When Maria was in 6th grade, she made friends with Mexican girls by showing them how to weave friendship bracelets. The next year, Maria talked to Alice and together they made plans to bring more supplies for bracelets and teach high school girls to make them. Maria taught the girls while using the little Spanish she knew, and soon they were busy making hundreds of bracelets. Maria brought them back to Houghton and sold them to friends and at her family's stores. She sent all the money with Alice and Eldon back to help families in the Colonia.

But Maria decided of her own accord that what these families needed most was self-reliance and skills that could help them provide for their children. So Maria brought more materials each year for bracelets, and taught more women to make paper beads cut from rolled up newspaper that could be fashioned into necklaces and sold in the States. More than $3,000 has gone from Maria to the women of the colonia over the past few years, with some women making several hundred dollars a year. One of Maria's Mexican friends was able to complete high school by paying the tuition with her earnings from the crafts and now aspires to be the first person from the colonia to attend college.

Maria has not been able to visit Reynosa for two years due to the violence of narco-trafficking along the Texas-Mexico border; but, as she sells the handmade items in the Keweenaw, she tells the story of the poverty of Mexico through her words, photos and videos and explains how a few dollars from this country can have a big impact on people living in such hardship. 

Maria has also taken initiative here at home to help others. Since she was 11 years old, Maria has been presenting story-time programs to young children at the Portage Lake District Library -- selecting the books, themes and crafts, planning everything by herself. Maria is a special young person who looks beyond herself and thinks about how she can make a difference for others.

Editor's Note: Visit the Heart and Hands Web site to learn more about winners of the award and other nominees.

Churning Rapids to host 15th Annual Horsetail Scramble July 4

Runners and walkers cross the finish line during the July 4, 2011, Horsetail Scramble at Churning Rapids Trails. Chip Ransom, right, helps with timing. (Photos by Keweenaw Now) 

HANCOCK -- The 15th Annual Horsetail Scramble will be held on Wednesday, July 4, at Churning Rapids Trails. A 10-k Trail Run and 5-k Fitness Walk will begin at 1 p.m. at Churning Rapids, 53044 Hwy M203 -- 4.5 miles north of Hancock Beach. Registration for the Run and Walk is on site from 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Visitors enjoy a potluck feast at the 2011 Horsetail Scramble event.

At 2:30 p.m. the winner(s) of the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award will be announced.* If you wish to join in the feast at 3 p.m., bring a dish to share and your own place setting. Games for all ages will follow the feast.

Kids and adults have fun during the banana-eating contest, one of several games at the 2011 Horsetail Scramble.

The event is hosted by Terry Kinzel and Sue Ellen Kingsley. Call 906-482-6827 for more information.

* Click here to learn about the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award.

Nominations sought for Heart and Hands of Keweenaw Award

HANCOCK -- The Heart and Hands Award Committee is now accepting nominations! If you know someone who has given of him or herself in the service of peace, justice or the environment in our local community, please consider nominating this person (or couple) for this year’s Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award. This year, two awards will be given -- one for adults and one for youth under 21. The adult winner of this award will be given $1,000 and the youth will be given $250 to be designated to the non-profit charities of their choice.

The winner and all nominees will be honored during a 4th of July Celebration in Hancock. Nominations are due June 22, 2012, so get your nomination in today!

Nominations should include a description of how the candidate has had a significant impact on the Keweenaw community in the area of peace, justice, human needs and/or environmental stewardship. Please be specific about what form their contribution and involvement has taken. The nomination form only takes a moment to fill out and the recognition will mean a lot to a deserving individual!

Click here for a nomination form. Visit the Heart and Hands Web site to read about the award.

For more information, contact Terry Kinzel at 482-6827 or via e-mail at tkinzel@pasty.net.

Joan Chadde wins 2011 Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award

HANCOCK -- If you or your kids have recently attended a family science night, pulled an old tire out of a river as part of an "Adopt-a-Stream" program, watched a "green film," or otherwise gotten involved in some hands-on environmental project, chances are the activity was part of the hard work of this year’s recipient of the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award, Joan Chadde.

During the July 4th celebration at Churning Rapids, Terry Kinzel, right, prepares to present the 2011 Heart and Hands Award to Joan Chadde, left foreground, education program coordinator for the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach and for the Western UP Center for Science, Math and Environmental Education at Michigan Tech. Just behind Chadde is Suzanne Van Dam, Heart and Hands Board member, who announced the award. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

Chadde has been the education program coordinator for the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at Michigan Tech since 1995 and for the Western UP Center for Science, Math and Environmental Education since 2000. She received the award for "going above and beyond her work expectations, tirelessly working to promote environmental education and stewardship in the Keweenaw community." The award selection committee was particularly struck by Chadde’s capacity to affect the future both by working with young people directly and by training the teachers who interact with them.

As one teacher put it, "There would not be any consistent environmental education for students or professional training for teachers to help integrate environmental education into the curriculum if it weren’t for the programs that Joan creates, seeks funding for, and implements."

Chadde was quick to attribute her success to others, saying, "There are very few things that one does alone. All of these activities require collaborators, partners, many assistants behind the scenes, and those who help to pave the way. I feel very humble and appreciative of all of these people over the years. The award means a lot to me, but it also makes me feel undeserving, as there are so many people who do so much for our community in so many ways, some that are not fully visible for us all to see."

In addition to Chadde's designing and implementing numerous K-12 science programs and over sixty teacher professional development workshops and summer institutes, these are a few of her many accomplishments:

• Compiling the Walking Paths and Protected Areas of the Keweenaw publication (2009) which took three and a half years to develop and describes 22 sanctuaries and preserves.

• Co-leading (with Shawn Oppliger and Lloyd Wescoat) the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) which connects schools and communities in the stewardship of Lake Superior.

Joan Chadde, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) co-stewardship project advisor and community organization coordinator, is pictured here with the LSSI photo display at the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition's "Celebrate the UP" event in Hancock March 19, 2011. Chadde has selected LSSI to be the recipient of her $1000 award.

• Engaging the community in exploring environmental sustainability in a very successful Green Film Festival.
  

• Annually conducting family science and forest nights in 20 schools in a 5-county area of the U.P.

Founded in 1998, The Heart and Hands Society gives the award annually to acknowledge Copper Country residents who have "given of their heart and hands in the service of peace, justice, or the environment." The winner of the award is honored at the 4th of July celebration at Churning Rapids (Hancock), and receives a monetary award of $1,000 which is to be donated to the local charity of his/her choice. Chadde selected the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, as it involves both of her passions -- stewardship of an important ecosystem and environmental education for youth.

Also nominated this year were Dave Harmon and Lynnette Borree. Harmon has contributed significantly to many organizations, such as FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw), UPEC (Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition), and Suzuki. Described as a quiet "family man," Harmon has done everything from writing a grant for the waste-oil collection site located at Houghton’s transfer station in the 80s, to building a passive solar home, to forming a recreation committee to work with the Stanton Township Board.

Joan Chadde accepts the 2011 Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award from Terry Kinzel. Dave Harmon, right, was also nominated for the award. Not pictured is Lynnette Borree, the third nominee for this year's award.

Lynnette Borree was nominated for her important work in starting a non-profit organization called Simple Kindness for Youth (SKY). She continues to lead the group, whose mission is "to help young people build and maintain their self-esteem by providing means to access basic needs, enable them to feel accepted with their peers, and enable access to educational activities and community participation." Borree’s work was acknowledged as "behind the scenes but crucial, helping teachers and human service staff meet the very real needs of kids in our community."

To obtain more information or to nominate a deserving person for next year’s Heart and Hands Award, contact Terry Kinzel at tkinzel@pasty.net.

Editor's Note: Learn more about the Heart and Hands Award by checking out the Heart and Hands Society Web site.

Heart and Hands Award nominations due June 23

HANCOCK -- Do you know anyone who has given of Heart and Hands in the service of peace, justice or the environment in our local community? Please consider nominating this person (or couple) for this year’s Heart and Hands Award. The nomination form only takes a moment to fill out, and the recognition will mean a lot to a deserving individual! Nominations are due June 23, 2011.

In 1998 the Martha and Floyd Heart and Hands Society was founded with a small endowment from the estate of Martha and Floyd Kinzel. The intent of the society is to provide recognition to a person who has given of her or his heart and hands in the service of peace, justice, or the environment who might otherwise not be recognized.

As the endowment has grown, the Society has been able to offer an accompanying monetary award which is given to a local, nonprofit organization designated by the awardee. This year the monetary award will be $1000. There is also a youth award for a young person age 18 or under for $250. The award is announced on July 4th at the annual HorseTail Scramble at Churning Rapids.

Submit nominations by June 23, 2011 to: Heart and Hands Award, 53044 Hwy M203, Hancock, MI 49930 or email tkinzel@pasty.net.

Please include the following information: Candidate name and address; your name, address, phone number, and email. Answer in 500 words or less: How has the candidate had a significant impact on the Keweenaw community giving of themselves in a caring, committed, or heartfelt way in the area of peace, justice, human needs and/or environmental stewardship? Please be specific about what form their contribution and involvement has taken.

Click here for the nomination form.