Pre-orders will close Tuesday, May 11 at 5 p.m. so orders can be filled. No problem if you don’t pre-order, plants will be available for sale on Saturday, May 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside the Lab Sciences Greenhouse. Encourage family and friends to check out the Heirloom Plant sale!
Steve Meyer’s salsa (mild, medium, and hot) will also be available at the “checkout stand” if you wish to pick some up and make a donation to the Katie Hemauer Memorial Scholarship.
The process will look a little different than in the past to ensure social distancing and the safety of the community due to the continued impacts of COVID-19, but the impressive selection of plants grown at the Green Bay Campus hasn’t changed.
The new website (https://www.uwgb.edu/heirloom-plant-sale/) has an online shop for you to place an order that you will pick up later. At checkout, we will collect some contact information from you and you will select your pick-up time. Pick-up times will be available on Thursday, May 13, Friday, May 14, and Saturday, May 15; and your plants will be ready to go for you. Be sure and print out your order (there is a handy print button) to keep a record for yourself. Payment will be at pick up (cash or check only).
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Natural and Applied Sciences academic unit will be holding its annual Heirloom Plant Sale again this year in support of student research.
Amy Wolf, a professor of Natural and Applied Sciences at UWGB, says with the abundance of pollinator species that we have in the state, protecting those populations that declining is necessary.
“Here in Wisconsin we have a little over 400 of the 20,000 that have been identified globally,” Wolf explained.
UW-Green Bay professors and instructors, including John Luczaj (Geoscience, Water Science) is accommodating field trips this season for Natural and Applied Sciences, transforming existing and new trips into virtual interactive experiences because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Spring and Summer 2020, virtual field trips were offered in at least four classes two new excursions are planned for this fall. Students can virtually visit De Pere Lock and Dam, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, Baraboo Hills and the Metro Boat Launch, to name a few.
John Luczaj
Modern technology allowed for COVID-19 friendly virtual adaptations of the Geoscience program’s signature field trips. The goal, according to Luczaj, is for students to experience what they might have gotten in an outdoor laboratory or field trip pre-pandemic, and to give them the exposure and confidence to visit the sites on their own one day.
Assistant Prof. Shawn Malone (NAS) and lecturer Bill Jacobson (NAS) are assisting in the creation of the virtual field trips.
Luczaj explains, “Geology of the Lake Superior Region field course (spring ’20), for instance, is normally a four-day field trip in the spring. Students had seven lectures/trips on different topics throughout the region. While not all trips had video associated with them, I was able to incorporate online tools, mapping, and other information into the photo/video part of the trip for an enhanced experience.”
During the summer, Professor Luczaj was able to take his catalog of photos from past field trip stops to incorporate in the online version. For the new Water Science program, he traveled to all field trip stops around Green Bay and was able to record the footage with his cell phone. He recorded his computer screen for relevant website tools like the Great Lakes Dashboard, aerial photographs, and maps to provide videos of things students would not actually see on a bus trip.
“The Water Science trip demonstrates various water related natural and engineered structures in Brown County,” he explains. The trip starts at the De Pere Lock and Dam along the Fox River. A full cycle of operation of the lock is demonstrated so students can see how the boats can pass through. The next few stops describe the East and Fox River systems and associated flooding. The last stops are at the Metro Boat Launch to show the geography, shipping, and erosion from high water, followed with a discussion on sewage treatment. We make a quick stop at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary to look at their deep irrigation well.”
The new Geoscience Field Trip to the Baraboo Hills trip will cover an overview of the major mountain building events that assembled Wisconsin, how the original sandstone was deposited in Baraboo before it was turned into quartzite, site specific structural geology where students can view structural fabrics on the rocks during folding and tectonic compression and Paleozoic history. Prof. Luczaj mentored Malone, a new addition to the Geoscience program, to highlight the links between familiar tectonic processes from around the world and Wisconsin’s geologic history while introducing him to the program’s field experiences.
Luczaj says that field experiences are critical for students in the department. Keeping COVID-19 in mind, he didn’t want students who were graduating soon to miss out on opportunities they had before the pandemic.
Story by UW-Green Bay Marketing and University Communication intern Charlotte Berg.
This time of year you are probably seeing more bugs take shelter in your home. But if you are curious as to which ones may be harmful or even what they’re called, Professor of Natural Sciences at UW-Green Bay and Chair of the department, Mike Draney stopped by Local 5 Live with a lesson.
Associate Professor Mandeep Singh Bakshi (Chemistry, NAS) published recent article “https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2020.114319” in “J Molecular Liquids”. They present a novel method of photophysical detection of nanomaterials of different shapes with relevance to Materials Chemistry.
University of Wisconsin Green Bay Natural and Applied Sciences professor Michael Draney says there are about 50 different mosquito species in the state.
“There’s a reasonable number of mosquitoes, especially this mosquito called the Northern House mosquito,” Draney said. “[It] is kind of a small mosquito that flies and bites in the daytime, and it seems to be pretty abundant in this neighborhood.”
Draney says this year seems to be worse than average, because we’ve had a wet spring.
“They sometimes are attracted to your car, if your engine is running, because it’s warm and it’s giving off carbon dioxide,” Draney said.
A cross-University committee has compiled online Earth Week Events and educational resources as well as an online/virtual event on April 22, 2020, Earth Day 50 at UW-Green Bay. The day includes presentations and discussions from the University community, including live videos and panels to celebrate the 50th Earth Day, together, virtually for the Eco U community.
Here is the current line up for Earth Day 50 at UW-Green Bay, Wednesday, April 22, 2020:
10:30 a.m. – Historical Perspectives on Earth Day, Panel Discussion with Faculty Emeriti
UW-Green Bay Prof. Emeritus H.J. “Bud” Harris (Biology and Environmental Science) 2020 Wisconsin Academy Fellow, Prof. Emeritus Robert Wenger (Mathematics and Environmental Science) and long-time collaborator with the School of the Environment at Beijing Normal University, Prof. Emeritus Michael Kraft, (Political Science and Public and Environmental Affairs) and U.S. environmental policy expert, Prof. Emeritus John Stoll (Economics and Public and Environmental Affairs) was as UW-Green Bay student at the time of the first Earth day and the co-founder of Environmental Business & Management Institute (EMBI) and Prof. Kevin Fermanich (Environmental Science and Water Science) and soil and water resources extension specialist, serving as moderator. Join the discussion via Blackboard Collaborate
Michael Draney, “My life with Earth Day” I was 2 ½ years old during the first Earth Day in 1970 so Earth Day and I have gone through life together. I want to reflect on how it’s doing as we enter our fifth decade together.
Vicki Medland,“Is nature slipping away?” Earth Day wasin part a response to anenvironmentthat the organizers nolonger recognized.Today, we are shockedby what seems to be a sudden and massive loss of biodiversity and natural landscapes. Why do wenot notice these massive changes toour environment?
David Voelker, “Earth Day 2020 in Perspective” How can we understand the 50th Earth Day and the environmental movement that it helped launch in historical perspective, and in light of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Bill Davis, “A New Water Agenda for Wisconsin.” What would a system look like that could achieve our human health and ecology goal regarding water?
Kevin Fermanich, Moderator
‘Earth Talks’ Speaker Biographies:
Michael Draney is professor of Biology and chair of the Department of Natural & Applied Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.
Vicki Medland is the Associate Director of the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and teaches courses related to environmental science and sustainability.
David Voelker is a Professor of Humanities & History at UW–Green Bay. He teaches courses in environmental history and humanities, and he is the program coordinator for the 2020 Common CAHSS conference, which will focus on the theme “Beyond Sustainability.”
Bill Davis is currently the senior legal analyst for the River Alliance of Wisconsin. He has worked in the environmental movement since 1987. He has an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology and a law degree both from the University of Wisconsin. He has served as the executive director of three environmental advocacy organizations: Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade (now Clean Wisconsin), Citizens for a Better Environment, and the State Environmental leadership program.
UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus Assistant Prof. Renee Richer (Natural and Applied Sciences) is seeking election to represent Michigan’s 108th State House District. Read more about Prof. Richer’s desire for election and her qualifications via Richer seeks election to 108th Michigan House seat | Daily Press.
