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Archive of the 2003 5th Biennial Lake Superior Youth Symposium

Forty-two western Upper Peninsula students and teachers from Baraga High School, Chassell High School, Jeffers High School, Hancock High School and Lake Linden-Hubbell High School head to Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin today for the Lake Superior Youth Symposium. After circumnavigating Lake Superior, the fifth biennial Lake Superior Youth Symposium will once again be held at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, April 24 - 27, 2003. The Lake Superior Youth Symposium is designed for high school students who live near Lake Superior. It provides an ecological, cultural, and social exploration of the problems and responsibilities of Great Lake basin residents.

This year's symposium focus is titled "Embracing an Inland Sea: Living in Community Around Lake Superior." Participants study environmental stewardship, personal responsibility, and leadership, as well as, explore career opportunities in the environmental and natural resources fields.

Symposium participants will attend scheduled presentations and participate in field experiences conducted by forty different educators and professionals from Northland College, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, Honda Motorwerks, the Clear Water Folk School, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Artists, writers, historians, and educators will also conduct specific presentations in their areas of expertise. Presentations include wetland ecology and extinction, renewable energy, sustainable food production, culture, geology, native plants, fishery restoration, folk art, nature writing, photography, and more. Field trips to Copper Falls State Park, the Chequamegon National Forest, and the Bayfield State Fish Hatchery are also planned.

Featured presenters include National Geographic writer Jeff Rennicke and Christian W. Cold, a wildlife technician and educator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Rennicke has traversed the globe in search of stories, but he always returns to Lake Superior, from which he draws his inspiration. He will share a poetic look at Lake Superior and how it shapes the lives of those who come to its shore. Cold will offer an insightful look into wildlife ecology and management in the Great Lakes Basin and the issues influencing its future.

The Lake Superior Youth Symposium is hosted by Northland College and the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, the environmental education outreach arm of the College. The 2001 Lake Superior Youth Symposium was held at Michigan Technological University and hosted by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics & Environmental Education.

The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute's namesake, Sigurd F. Olson (1899 - 1982), is one of America's most beloved nature writers and most influential conservationists of the 20th century. Best known as the author of nine books about the north country, Olson also helped shape national conservation policy and played an important role in the preservation of many national parks, seashores, and wilderness areas. He was an early wolf researcher, producing his pioneering 1920s study on timber wolves and coyotes of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. The Institute strives to preserve Olson's legacy and carry on his work, helping protect the unique character of the north woods through the dissemination of environmental and social knowledge.

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