Elk Rapids from northwest to southeast by Jim Anderson

Aerial Photographer Jim Anderson will give you a case of the winter blues~and aquamarines~on Thursday, February 10 at our next Art of the Watershed exhibit series opening reception. Please join us from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Watershed Center office, 13272 S. West Bay Shore Drive in Greilickville. We’re the bright blue building across the parking lot from the Children’s Museum. RSVP Denise Baker at dbaker@gtbay.org if you can attend.

Blues guitarist Andy Knott will also lift our spirits with some acoustic tunes. A portion of all art sales support the Watershed Center’s vital work to protect Grand Traverse Bay and its 1,000-square-mile watershed. Come get your fill of the blues and local fare!

Join us for the third annual Freshwater Summit! The Summit will be held Friday, October 29 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hagerty Center, 715 E. Front St. in Traverse City.

This year’s highlight is a keynote panel about Asian Carp. Panelists include Mark Burrows of the International Joint Commission, Captain Luann Barndt of the U.S. Coast Guard and Tribal Chairman Derek Bailey of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Other sessions include oil and gas exploration, Chain of Lakes fisheries, Boardman River dams, inland lakes strategies, Grand Traverse Bay hydrographic survey and watershed forestry.

Registration is $20 and includes lunch. You can pay at www.gtbay.org, call Denise Baker at 231~935~1514 ext. 4 or mail a check by October 18 to the Watershed Center, 13272 S. West Bay Shore Dr., Traverse City, MI 49684. You can also pay online. Preregistering is strongly encouraged, as the Summit usually sells out.

Booth space is available for organizations and businesses. The cost for organizations is $50, and the cost for businesses is $200. Business sponsorships are also available for $250. Contact Denise Baker at dbaker@gtbay.org for exhibitor application forms and sponsorship opportunities.

The Freshwater Summit is co-hosted by the Watershed Center, Water Studies Institute, Michigan Sea Grant, Inland Seas Education Association, Network of Lake Associations, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Partial funding is provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment.

The Freshwater Summit is a product of the Freshwater Roundtable. Freshwater Roundtable members include Conservation Resource Alliance, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Conservation District, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, Inland Seas Education Association, Leelanau Conservancy, Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment, MSU Extension – Michigan Sea Grant, Northwestern Michigan College Water Studies Institute, Traverse City Rotary Water Committee and Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay.

Watershed Center Eco Kid Mikayla Trumble doesn’t suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder! She’s outside as often as possible, playing with salamanders (check out the size of that thing!) and digging up aquatic insects with the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa’s Adopt-A-Stream team. Parenting tip: Getting kids to play outside has nothing to do with turning them into tree huggers. Rather, it’s absolutely essential for their mental, physical and emotional development. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv is a good read. So unplug the TV, computer and video games, and chase those kids outside! Then send your photos of them having a blast outdoors to dbaker@gtbay.org!

Loon Cry by Glenn Wolff

Fleda Brown, former Poet Laureate of Delaware, is the featured artist for the next Art of the Watershed installment. Please join us for a book release party and opening reception on Thursday, September 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Watershed Center office, 13272 S. West Bay Shore Dr. in Greilickville. Fleda will release her new book, Loon Cry: Selected and new Michigan Poems. Artist Glenn Wolff will showcase sketches and watercolors from and inspired by Loon Cry. All book sales and a portion of art sales support the Watershed Center’s vital work to protect Grand Traverse Bay and its 1,000-square-mile watershed. RSVP Denise Baker by September 15 at dbaker@gtbay.org or 231~935~1514 ext. 4.

River Raft Recycling Extravaganza August 14!

Join us for the River Raft Recycling cleanup of the Boardman River as part of Bay Day festivities on Saturday, August 14! The River Raft Recycling Extravaganza is hosted by Right Brain Brewery, Bay Area Recycling for Charities and the Watershed Center. Here’s how it works:

• Get together a team of 2 to 4 people age 12 and older. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Pay an entry fee of $50 by July 30. Get your registration form at Right Brain Brewery or the Watershed Center web site. Proceeds benefit the Watershed Center and Bay Area Recycling for Charities.
• Build a raft that actually floats!
• Show up on August 14 at 2:00 in the Farmer’s Market parking lot in Traverse City. You’ll float to Clinch Park collecting trash, which Bay Area Recycling will recycle.
• All rafters get a beverage ticket from Right Brain Brewery. Food from Red Mesa Grill, live music by Devils Dive String Band and mind-bending brews at Right Brain Brewery afterward!
• Prizes awarded for coolest raft, most trash and weirdest trash!

Odom Reuse can donate framing lumber for your raft if you need it, and Bay Area Recycling can donate tight cellular bubble wrap.  Questions? Contact Denise Baker at dbaker@gtbay.org or 231~935~1514 ext. 4. The River Raft Recycling Extravaganza is generously sponsored by Right Brain Brewery, Nielsen Design Group, Oryana, and Red Mesa Grill. Bay Day is generously sponsored by Copy Central, Lawton Gallagher Group, Steinorth Fine Homes, Traverse Area Association of Realtors and WTCM.