Severson Dells

Why bring a child to summer camp? How about because nature experience changes lives.

Rockford Register Star Go columnist Geri Nikolai discovered that last year when she brought her granddaughter to a Grandparents and Grandkids camp at Severson Dells.

The experience changed her granddaughter’s life, replacing a sense of fear about nature with a sense of wonder and opening her eyes to the splendor of nature.

Click here to read the story. GERI NIKOLAI: Teach children to love nature

Learn more about Severson Dells Nature Center’s Summer Camps here.

e-Notes From the Dells

January 2009

In this issue . . . . .
1. Bird Hike This Saturday (Jan. 31)
2. Almost a Full Moon Lake Gathering
3. Darkness and the Return of Light: Kathleen Dean Moore & Paul Bogard
4. What’s Happening!
5. Library 2.0
6. Stories You Don’t Want to Miss
7. Lend Your Passive Support

1. Bird Hike This Saturday

Severson Dells Nature Center volunteer Phil Schwab leads this bird exploration of the winter woods and prairie.
But first, a stop at the feeders at the nature center, for a primer on bird ID. Bring binoculars and dress for the weather.
Meet at the nature center.
When: Saturday, January 31, 2009

Time:
8:30 am - 11:00 am
Where: Severson Dells Nature Center
8786 Montague Road,
Rockford, IL
How to get here
Photo of tufted titmouse by Mary K. Rubey
Another Bird Hike: Feb 21, 8:30-11:00 am

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2. Almost a Full Moon Lake Gathering
Saturday, Feb. 7, 4:00 p.m. -????
hosted by Severson Dells Nature Center and Wild Ones - Rock River Valley Chapter
Rock Cut State Park at the ‘cabin on the lake’

Meet: At the parking lot on the west side of the lake just before the dam (follow the road in toward the fishing pier).
We’ll take a short (1/2 mile) hike through the winter landscape to the ‘cabin on the lake’ where we’ll share stories (bring your favorite moon, lake or winter readings to share) and drink hot chocolate around the fire with friends and new acquaintances.
We’ll watch the moon rise over the lake. Don Miller, hike leader and Education Director at Severson Dells, says, “The moon will be full in two days so we’ll have to squint our eyes a little. We can hike, ski, or sled to our hearts content. It’s February, so this is a “Lover’s Moon” you know so no negative thoughts about cloudy weather! If there is moderate snow, hiking may be difficult.”
Maybe we’ll see some wildlife or hear owls. For more info or to RSVP call Don Miller at Severson Dells 1-815-335-2915 or Kim Risley at 1-815-962-4584.

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3. Darkness and the Return of the Light

Sunday, February 15, 6:30 pm
Sponsored in the memory of Alan Hutchcroft. No fee.

From the dazzling night sky to the silent winter forest, the world
gives us uncountable gifts. Among them are beauty, peace, the wonder of
what is beyond us — and the hope and steadfastness that come from
these. “Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth
are never alone or weary of life,” Rachel Carson wrote. With ideas and
readings from their books, Paul Bogard (Let There Be Night) and

Kathleen Dean Moore (Riverwalking) will explore the beauties and
mysteries of the worlds they walk in and ask the all-important
question, How can our lives be an expression of gratitude for these
great gifts?

Kathleen Dean Moore is best known for her books about our cultural
connections to wet, wild places — Riverwalking, Holdfast, and The Pine
Island Paradox, winner of the Oregon Book Award.
She is hard at work
compiling a new book, For All Time, wide-ranging essays about our
responsibility to the future to leave a world as full of life and
possibility as our own.
Paul Bogard is editor of Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of
the Dark.

It is a collection of essays by twenty-nine writers who share their
personal experiences of night and help us to understand what we miss
when dark skies and nocturnal wildness vanish.

He currently teaches at Northland
College in Ashland, Wisconsin, where he is finishing two new books, one
titled The Geography of Night, and the other Blessings From a
Small House.
Call (815) 335-2915 to RSVP. Books will be available for the authors to sign.

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4. Calendar

January
31: Winter Bird Hike, 8:00-11:00 am

February 2009
07: Almost a Full Moon Lake Gathering (at Rock Cut State Park), 4:00 pm

14: Sweetheart of a Chili Feast (at Sugar River Forest Preserve), 12:30-2:30 pm
15: Darkness and the Return of the Light, 6:30 pm
21: Winter Bird Hike, 8:30-11:00 am
22: Wolves in Our Area? Fact and Fiction, 2:00-3:30 pm

March 2009
7, 14, 21, 28: RRFC Beginning Fly Tying Course, 9:00 am-noon

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5. Coming Soon: Library 2.0
The new year brings a new library project to the Deer Lodge. Volunteers are reorganizing our collection of 1,000+ environmental and nature related volumes and putting them in a database. There’s even been talk of becoming part a regional lending library.
Next time you’re in, check out the library. And if you’re a member, check out a book, too. That’s just one of the perks of membership.

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6. Stories You Don’t Want to Miss
Don Miller on the lost art of skipping stones: Just Skip It
Don Miller on making peace with nature: Winter Land Relations
Brian Leaf on messing with Mother Nature: The Cost of Rebalancing Nature
Severson Dells Blog: Severson Dells Board Elects New Officers
Winnebago County Forest Preserve District: January Newsletter

Notes From the Dells: Jan.-Feb. Print issue (pdf)

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7. Lend Your Passive Support
The economy is bad. We all know it. But we also know that people still want to help. Here are some passive ways you can support Severson Dells.
GoodSearch.com will donate 1 cent to Severson Dells each time you use it to find something on the Internet. Visit the site, designate Severson Dells as your charity and use it as your primary search engine. Make those pennies add up.
Become a fan of Severson Dells Nature Center on Facebook. Let your friends on in one of the region’s best kept secrets.
When you shop Amazon, start your search on our homepage, http://seversondells.org and we’ll earn commissions on your purchase.

GoodSearch.com will donate 1 cent to Severson Dells each time you use it to find something on the Internet.

Spread the word about Severson Dells Nature Center and become our Facebook fan.

Use this box, or the one on our Website, to make your Amazon purchases. We’re an affiliate and will earn a percentage on your purchase

Video

WTVO Stateline Green Visits
Camp-Peek-Into-Creek

If you missed it last week, Severson Dells Nature Center and the Natural Land Institute teamed up with 74 6th graders from Rockford Christian to sow 6.5 acres of drainage area with the 40 native species.

The site drains the Red Oak Estates subdiivsion on Rockford’s east side, near the southwest corner of Bell School and Rote roads.

Rockford Register Star reporter Melissa Westphal and photographer John Elbers came out to cover us, as did a videographer WTVO 17 and Fox 39.

Click here to read the story.

PDF version

It was a great, fun and muddy day! Thanks to the students, for giving back to nature, to Greg Keilback of the Natural Land Institute, to Rockford Christian science teacher Julie Rohl and especially to Rockford developer Herb McKiski, who had the idea to bring nature into his subdivision.

 

Tune in Thursday morning, Oct. 18, to Channel 13 WREX-TV for live broadcasts from Severson Dells Nature Center.

Weatherman Adam Painter will be here and will talk about the center with Don Miller and Brian Leaf between 5:30 and 8 a.m.

This is part of our efforts to let people know about Severson Dells and its mission of linking people to nature. 

Severson Dells inaugural race gets friendly with nature

By Mike DeDoncker
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
ROCKFORD — Running a race certainly affects an individual’s health, but one local runner wants people to understand that it also affects the health of the environment.

Former Rockford Auburn track and cross country standout Stephanie Baliga, now an economics and geography major with a minor in an environmental fellows program at the University of Illinois, is the race director for the Hall Creek Scamper, scheduled for July 21.

Click here for the full story  (.pdf)

Severson Dells Nature Center was presented with the Chairman’s Special “Eye on the Future” Award by the Winnebago County Soil and Water District for a rain garden project at the Hudson Place Condominiums on North Main Street.

Severson Dells partnered with William Charles Investments and Spectrum School to plant a drainage basin with native plants that will filter urban runoff before the water is discharged into the Rock River watershed, while providing habitat for birds and butterflies. Spectrum students seeded the basin and will use it to for nature studies.

William Charles, which built the condos on the site of a former Kmart store, was also recognized by the district for the rain garden project, receiving the “Innovation in Urban Development” award. The awards were presented Jan. 26 at the district’s annual meeting.

Severson Dells Nature Center, 8786 Montague Road, Rockford, is a non-profit organization that provides nature programming for about 15,000 people each year. It’s mission is to link people to nature. The Nature Center is based at the Severson Dells Forest Preserve.

Related Links:

Bison, Hula Hoops, Rain Gardens and Smart Growth

Pictures from Planting the Hudson Place Rain Garden