Upcoming Events and Speakers

"Reintroducing Barn Owls in Illinois", a talk by Dan Thompson

Thursday, October 29
7 pm
CNS C101

Barn owls were once a common breeding species in Illinois. In recent decades their populations have declined throughout the state so dramatically that they are listed as an endangered species in Illinois. Dan Thompson, an ecologist with the Forest Preserve System of DuPage County, Illinois, has been leading a barn owl reintroduction program for the district since 2004. He will discuss his efforts to reintroduce captive-bred barn owls to DuPage County.

"Swapping Russia: Between Soviet Practices and Slow Living Philosophy."
Dr. Aliabieva

November 19th, 2009 Time and place TBA

Dr. Aliabieva is professor at the Russian Humanities University in Moscow. She is also the editor of "Theory of Fashion", an international journal of history and culture of fashion. Her current research is on fashion and environmental issues in present day Russia. In her presentation, she will discuss new environmental practices and activities, compare them with soviet practices, and address the issues of environmental activities in contemporary Russian society.

Selected Past Events and Speakers

"Protecting Illinois Wilderness: New Horizons"
Tuesday September 29
Terri Treacy, Conservation Field Representative with the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter.

"Aeroecology of Flying Animals Encountering Wind Turbines"
Tuesday, March 31
Dr. Ron Larkin,  Illinois Natural History Survey and the Center for Wildlife Ecology at the University of Illinois.

 "Alaska Conservation Issues"
Thursday, March 12
Lauren Hierl, the Alaska Policy Associate for the National Audubon Society

“NatureScaping”
Thursday, February 19
Angela Smith, Director of the Sugar Grove Nature Center in Funks Grove

"Nature Photography"
Monday, March 9
Tom Ulrich, renowned nature photographer

The Heat is On WEEK
Feb 2-6, 2009
The heat is on during the First 100 Days Challenge for universities across the country to green our own actions. What can YOU do? IWU’s GREENetwork  and the SSC sponsored an Action Week  called “The Heat is On” from Feb 2-6 with daily events, including:

 Blackout Monday –  Option to go one hour without electricity, with activities for those who chose to do so.  Community members and students also attended a town hall meeting to learn about climate change, green energy, and green legislation.

 Take-No-Tray (TNT) Tuesday – Encouragment to go tray-less at meals to trim eco-costs and waistlines

 Water Wednesday – Take the “Think-Outside the Bottle” Pledge to get the oil out of your water.
    Think Outside the Bottle Pledge and Taste Test from 11-1:30 in the Dugout
    Showing of "Flow: For the Love of Water", 8pm, Minor Meyer Welcome Center Auditorium

 Hot Thursday – Showing of the Frontline film HEAT (a global investigation into one of the greatest challenges mankind has ever faced- combating climate change) and a panel discussion,

The Joys of a Totally Native Yard
Thursday, October 3
Pat Armstrong, Vice-president and Co-founder of the Greater DuPage chapter of Wild Ones

The Area de Conservacion Guanacaste: Inventing New Modes of  Conservation, Research, and Education in a Costa Rican Wildland
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Dr. Jeff Klemens, Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota and IWU alumnus

Forever Wild: A Multi-media Celebration of Wilderness
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Walkin' Jim Stoltz, Wilderness walker, poet, composer, painter, singer, and environmental advocate

Environmental Studies Program Picnic
Sunday, October 14, 2008

Putting Lipstick on a Corpse: Appalachia and the local costs of U.S. energy policy
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Johanna Haas, Assistant Professor of Geography and Geology,  Illinois State University

Climate Tipping Points:  The Threat to the Planet
February 19, 2008
Dr. James Hansen, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Slide Show and talk by Tom Ulrich on his Nature Photography
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Focus the Nation: A Day of Teach-in on Global Climate Change
Thursday, January 3, 2008

The Future of Utah's Red Rock Wilderness
April 19, 2007
Clayton Daughenbaugh, Southern Utah Wilderness

"Leopold s Legacy and the Conservation Crises in Today's Political Climate"
March 13, 2006
Wellington Buddy Hufacker, Executive Director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation

Tom Ulrich, Nature Photographer
March 1, 2006
Slide presentation featuring wildlife from the Falkland Islands, North America and other locales

"Cougars in the Midwest"
February 16, 2006
Dr. Clay Neilsen, Southern Illinois University

"Treating Sewage: Science, Technology and Labor in an Industrial Ecosystem: 1914 to Present" February 3, 2006
Dr. Daniel Schnieder, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"The Age of Nuclear Terrorism"
October 7, 2004
Dr. Helen Caldicott

Johannesburg World Summit Discussion
April 8, 2003
Michael Dorsey, National Director of the Sierra Club