by Shannon Richards John MuirElementary

(For photos from workshops, go to link at Home)

Put Your Photos on the Web    Led by David Wirth and Mark Wagler,  UW Co-Lab
Take photos, either inside at the conference, or outside at the Arboretum. We'll upload a few of your photos to the Heron Network web site. If you have a digital camera with a cable for downloading photos, you may want to bring both along. Otherwise, you can share a camera with a few other students.

Bringing Back Nature!     Led by Brad Herrick,  UW-Arboretum
What did Madison look like before buildings, houses and roads were built? What did this land look like before the Arboretum was here? Come learn about how the natural landscape has changed over hundreds of years. How have these changes affected the plants and animals living here? We'll take a short field trip outside so be sure to bring your hats and gloves!

The Winter World Around Us    Led by Kevin Neimi, UW’s Center for Biology Education
Investigate and learn about the many ways animals and plants survive the cold winter months of Wisconsin. We will investigate the winter world, look for signs of life around us, and see if we can figure out how the animals and plants meet their basic needs to survive.  Dress warmly!

One Bird, Two Birds. Red Birds, but no Blue Birds
Led by Robert Bohanan, UW’s Center for Biology Education
How are birds the same? How are they different? Why do birds sing? Is the song always the same? We will observe and learn to identify birds by sight and by song. We will compare how birds feed, how they fly, where they live, and how they sing.

Carbon, Climate, Conifers and Conservation   Led by Dolly Ledin, UW’s Center for Biology Education
Become a carbon dioxide molecule and experiment with carbon dioxide to learn how this "greenhouse gas" is changing our climate. Learn what this means for Wisconsin's lakes, plants and animals. Learn where carbon dioxide comes from and what you can do about it!

Learn How Plants Grow, Eat What You Know!   Led by Nathan Larson, Friends of Troy Gardens and Brent Kramer, Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch
People depend on plants to live and grow. But how much of your food comes from plants? And how many different parts of plants can you eat? Join us to talk about (and taste!) some of the nutritious and delicious food that plants make for people.

Wanna' Boogie?   Led by Sue Hogg (Fitness Instructor)
The body is a fascinating machine.  It has it's own alphabet.  Let's explore it from head to toe & how it love love loves to move!

What Does Music Have to do with Mathematics?
Led by Daithi Wolfe (Coordinator Bright & Early Public Education Campaign & member of 2 bands)
Learn about the circle of fifths, a tritone, 1/64 note, and 7/8 time, and the difference between a jig and a reel (with fiddle demonstration). Do re mi = mc2?

Poetry: Into the Wild with Words   Led by Heather Swan-Rosenthal, UW English Dept
How can poetry help us pay closer attention to our experience on the earth? Come listen to poems, play some games with words, write some of your own poetry, and learn how poems can help us tune in to the wonderful world around us.

Heron Conference
By Jacky Kelley

When an innovative educational concept was established in Madison several years ago, many classrooms were deeply engaged in studying our local watershed. One of its species, the Great Blue Heron, became a symbol for the network.

To continue the Heron Network tradition, now in its 11th year, more than 100 Madison elementary school students, all bundled in Arctic-ready outerwear, arrived at the Arboretum Visitor Center at 9:30 sharp, February 9, full of enthusiasm and small talk. An important day lay ahead.

The children would become part of an ongoing program organized by Madison school teachers - the Heron Network -- in which students would be encouraged to do their own research by asking questions and finding answers. The Arboretum and the Earth Partnership for Schools sponsored the Heron Conference this year.

The theme of the 2007 conference was "Passions," an attempt to discover from committed adults just what they're interested in, what questions inspire them, how they try to answer such questions, what they do when they get stuck and how they stay motivated -- a tall order but typical of Heron projects. One of the discussion leaders, for example, was UW professor of music and world-renowned bass viola player Richard Davis, an African American who is also a facilitator for the Institute on the Healing of Racism. His group talked about the ramification of skin color.

Other discussion leaders included Brenda Baker talking about Madison Children's Museum exhibits, Edgewood professor Jim Lorman discussing Lake Wingra, artist Eileen Dawson explaining how a book is made, and many more experts in widely varied fields - each a passionate presenter who asks questions and finds answers. Arboretum guides also accompanied many sessions, especially those exploring outdoors. Each child attended several sessions.

After the children leave, they will formulate their own questions (if they haven't already) and search for answers. The results will be published in May in Great Blue: A Journal of Student Inquiry. Some of the many topics investigated last year were Penguins, Animals in Cherokee Marsh, How Many Break-dance Styles Are There?, How Do Scary Movies Affect People?, Why Do We Read?, and Civil Rights Movement.

Mark Wagler, a recently retired Madison teacher long associated with the Heron Network, explained that the network's main purpose is to interest the students in working on a long-term investigation -- a first-hand exercise in problem solving.

"The students will become deeply engaged in something they really care about," he said. "Along the way they will find that everything is connected to everything else, learn how to make someone else care as well, and become involved in authentic writing that will be read by fellow students. They have become part of something important."

Wagler added that he thought the Arboretum was a good choice for this year's site because it is a calm, different kind of arranged outdoor space for both learning and for pleasure that seems to say "this is a good place for you."

Reprinted with permission of the author.