A Sweet on Public TV

Former Prof. Dee Sweet, Humanistic Studies, is hearing from friends and family these days in reaction to a promo playing in heavy rotation on Wisconsin Public Television. Yes, that’s her son, Damon Sweet Panek, featured in ads touting the WPT production, “National Parks: Wisconsin,” which will air at 7 p.m. Sept. 24, and the related Ken Burns mega-series on the national park system, “America’s Best Idea,” premiering a few days later. Damon, a former UW-Green Bay student, has worked for the National Park Service as a first responder and firefighter, and also as a park ranger and cultural educator at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. In June, a WPT camera crew followed him to the Apostles when he guided local middle-school children on a wilderness camp experience during which he shared knowledge of his native, Ojibwe traditions.

The poetry gene
Former Prof. Dee Sweet, who recently completed her term as Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate, is looking forward to seeing the finished documentary segment featuring her son. She says she is proud her son waxed poetic in Wisconsin Public Television’s promo for the “National Parks” program. His quote: “What I want people to take from this… is to find a place in their heart for the Apostle Islands.” Damon Sweet Panek is currently affiliated with the Green School, an environmentally based charter school that is part of the Black River Falls (Wis.) area school district.