A budding group of Blissfield-area artists is hosting the “River Raisin Artists Exhibition” tomorrow (Friday) night.  Here’s the flyer and link from fellow blogger P.L. Deere:

http://picturesinglass.blogspot.com/2008/11/river-raisin-artists-exhibition.html

The Downriver News Herald reports that Henry Ford Community College is hosting free planetarium shows on Tuesdays during November.  Excerpt and link:

As part of its 70th anniversary celebration, Henry Ford Community College will present a free planetarium show, “The Road Not Taken — A Fall Star Talk,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Nov. 25.

For more information, call 1-313-845-9628.

http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2008/11/11/news/doc4919d3055e976514071963.txt

The Humbug Marsh Unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is hosting a Saturday evening “Owl Prowl” at 7PM.  Here’s the info. from refuge ranger Kristi Thiel:

I have attended the “Writers on the River” event at Ellis Library in Monroe several times over the years.  The event gave me a chance to meet Tom Powers, the author of one of the two essential guidebooks to Michigan’s state parks, and Mary Hunt, the amazing co-creator of the Ann Arbor Observer and Hunt’s Guide to Michigan.

This year’s event takes place this Sunday (12-3PM) and offers the chance to meet several more Michigan outdoors writers.  Here are clips from the library’s web site:

Doc Fletcher took his first canoe trip in 1978 on the Pére Marquette River and gets back into a canoe whenever possible. Weekend Canoeing in Michigan is his first book.

William Murphy is a lifelong resident of Michigan and a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marine Corps. He’s been riding motorcycles for 35 years. His recommended routes in Motorcycling Across Michigan take the motorcycle rider through rural countrysides and small towns on roads that William Least Heat Moon called “blue highways”. He spent a career in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and later, the Department of Environmental Quality. He currently has four books in print and looks forward to two more in the near future.

Leslie Mertz is a freelance writer and lifelong resident of Michigan. When she is not writing, she is teaching. She holds a Ph.D. in biology and teaches summer, outdoor courses at a field station for Eastern Michigan University.

Links:

http://monroe.lib.mi.us/writers2008_authors.htm

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081106/ARTS/111069994

The University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center is hosting a public lecture titled “Lake Erie Dead Zone:  Who Killed It?”  The date of the lecture is Thursday, Nov. 6th.  It starts at 7PM.  Excerpt and link:

Title:Lake Erie Center Lecture

http://calendar.utoledo.edu/EventDetails.aspx?data=Nghe9Mdf%2B6pcZnzonuydyjpbB789FezPaEnx5SSoiv08S22lEjqPrA%3D%3D

Kristi Thiel at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge sent me a nice overview of coming events at the refuge.  Several are this weekend.  Check it out:

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge

This week was National Wildlife Refuge Week. It was a great start with the Big Sit on the 12th! Over 50 different species of birds were spotted at the observation deck of Humbug Marsh and over 30 volunteers participated.   On Saturday, October 18th, Humbug Marsh will be open from 9 AM until 4 PM. Walk on your own or stop by the education shelter for kids activities such as coloring, a memory game, and a tree id activity. The ”Let’s Go Outside” backpacks will be available for use throughout the day.  See you at the refuge!    Kristi Thiel Park Ranger

Environmental Education Shelter Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Humbug Marsh Unit Trenton, Michigan 48183 Oct 31st, 2008 10:00AM Volunteer Work  Day       On Sunday, October 19th we will be wood chipping a trail at the Humbug Marsh Unit. The work will take place from 9: 30 AM unitl noon.   OWL PROWL   Humbug Marsh Unit Trenton, Michigan 48138 November 8, 2008 7:00 PM

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge   9311 Groh Rd. Grosse Ile, Michigan 48138 Contact Information Kristi Thiel Park Ranger kristi_thiel@fws.gov 734 692-7649

The Chicago Sun-Times has a good overview of Ohio’s Wilds, a 10,000-acre preserve which hosts a wide variety of free-roaming African wildlife.  Excerpt and link:

One of the largest wildlife conservation centers in the world, the Wilds is located on nearly 10,000 acres of former coal-mining land, about 85 miles southeast of Columbus. Antelope, bison, camels, giraffes, white rhinos, zebras and more live here in a natural, open-range habitat.

Who knew?

The Wilds is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays through October. After that, there are 14 “Winter on the Wilds” events, such as “Calling in the Owls” at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8, where staff teach visitors owl calls to beckon the nocturnal birds, and “Wild Cats” at 10 a.m. Dec. 6, when visitors can learn about the differences between bobcats and cheetahs. What about the cougars from Gibson’s steak house?

During the regular season, guests tour the grounds in a bus or open-aired, safari-style vehicle, depending on the weather. The “Safari Transport” buses run on biodiesel fuel.

Full story:

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/travel/midwest/1215896,TRA-News-DETOURS12.article

The Gerald Ford Presidential Library at the University of Michigan is hosting a forum on energy next Tuesday.  Ann Arbor News excerpt and link:

The public is invited to participate in a forum on energy issues Tuesday from 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor.

Participants will examine three approaches for addressing the cost of energy, including reducing dependence on foreign energy, alternatives to fossil fuels and reducing demand.

The event is free and open to the public. Register by calling 734-205-0567; for more information call 517-264-9840 or 734-994-8100, ext. 1321.

http://www.mlive.com/annarbornews/news/index.ssf/2008/10/in_brief_energy_forum_at_um_op.html

The Observer & Eccentric newspapers have a video report on pumpkin picking and corn maze fun at Northville’s Milan George Farm.

Paula Wethington, the wonderful Monroe on a Budget blogger and keeper of the MEN calendar, forwarded a press release to me about a River Raisin cleanup in Adrian scheduled for Saturday, October 11th.  It is sponsored by the Rotary Club.  Here is most of the press release:

Contact: River Raisin Watershed Council 265-5599

ADRIAN ROTARY CLUB, RIVER RAISIN WATERSHED COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF ADRIAN PARTNER TO HELP CLEAN UP A STRETCH OF THE  RIVER RAISIN

Adrian, Michigan-   Adrian Rotary Club, River Raisin Watershed Council and the City of Adrian are partnering on a clean up effort to remove debris and trash from a stretch of the River Raisin in the city of Adrian.  Volunteers will start the clean up effort at Riverside Park on McKenzie Street and work north to Maumee Street. 

The River Raisin Watershed is home to the world’s most crooked river, the River Raisin.  Eighty four fish species call the River Raisin home.  Four species, the Lake Herring, Greater Redhorse, Eastern Sand Darter and the Silver Shiner (found only in the River Raisin and no where else in Michigan) are listed in Michigan’s Endangered and Threatened Species Program.  At least 216 different genera of aquatic insects and up to 27 species of freshwater mussels live in the River Raisin and its tributaries. 

The river system performs important biological and ecological functions that are essential to life itself.  Human life depends on countless interactions among plants, water, animals and microorganisms. The river also factors into a vast array of economic benefits that are essential for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, recreation and human health.  These include kayaking, fishing, skiing and boating,  water for industrial purposes, irrigation for agriculture and drinking water for tens of thousands of people.  Pollinization, germination, seed dispersal, soil generation, nutrient cycling, predation, habitat maintenance, waste breakdown, and pest control are also all dependent upon the local habitat.   Not only is the River Raisin  a valuable and vibrant natural resource, it provides countless social, cultural and aesthetic benefits that are important to our quality of life and economic well-being.   

The clean up will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2008 from 9-12 a.m. Volunteers are asked to be at Riverside Park at 8:45 a.m.

The River Raisin and its tributaries  are so important to our community that we’ve got to take every opportunity we can to protect it, for us and for future generations. Keeping it clean is one way that citizens can do their part.  A healthy community starts with a healthy river.

Also, be sure to throw a few clicks to Paula’s blog:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/budget/