Botany Workshops Offered on Isle Royale in Lake Superior
TWO ISLE ROYALE BOTANY WORKSHOPS NOW BEING OFFERED IN 2015!
JUNE 8-13 AND SEPTEMBER 8-13
Experience four days in Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park either in the spring or fall and learn to identify the diverse plants that live on this incredible island!
BOTANY WORKSHOP INFORMATION:
These special botany workshops, sponsored by the Isle Royale & Keweenaw Parks Association (IRKPA), and taught by botanist Janet Marr, are open to anyone with beginning/intermediate knowledge of plant identification who is interested in learning to identify the native flora of this species-rich Lake Superior island.
Workshop participants will spend four days on Isle Royale either in the spring (June 8-13) or fall (September 8-13) learning native plant species, using such tools as a dichotomous key and hand lens to identify plants. Other topics will include discussion of island plant communities, rare species, ecology, and invasive species.
Most workshop activities will take place outdoors. Optional evening sessions will also be offered to review plants learned earlier.
REQUIREMENTS for both workshops:
Workshop participants should be able to walk up to 7 miles in one day with a daypack on rocky, sometimes steep, trails and bedrock, sometimes slippery, shoreline.
INSTRUCTOR for both workshops:
Botanist Janet Marr, the workshop instructor, has had many years of experience studying plants across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale. Janet taught the 2007-2014 Isle Royale botany workshops as well as many botany, aquatic, and wetland plant workshops in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. She is co-author of the Isle Royale Natural History Association’s Island Life, an Isle Royale Nature Guide.
ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS. Past botany workshops have filled up very quickly so sign up soon! Contact Kristine Bradof at 906-482-7860 or kbradof@irkpa.org for more information about workshop registration or to register. Contact Janet Marr at 906-337-5529 or jkmarr@mtu.edu for details about the workshops themselves.
MICHIGAN K-12 TEACHERS. State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) may be available by participating in either workshop.
INFORMATION SPECIFIC to each of the two workshops is below (June 8-13 workshop info is first followed by September 8-13 workshop info). NOTE: The fee for each botany workshop covers instruction, camping, meals on the island, notebook, Slavick/Janke’s Flora of Isle Royale, and transportation to and from either Houghton, Michigan, on the Ranger III (June workshop) or Grand Portage, Minnesota, on the Voyageur II (September workshop).
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JUNE 8-13 workshop (Rock Harbor area):
Field trips in the June 8-13 workshop near the northeast end of Isle Royale will include Tobin Harbor, Scoville Point, and Raspberry Island, places that are all located in the vicinity of Rock Harbor. Workshop attendees will meet in Houghton, Michigan, on Monday (8 June) afternoon and travel from Houghton to Rock Harbor (on Isle Royale) on the Ranger III boat on Tuesday (9 June). Participants will return to Houghton on the Ranger III on Saturday (13 June).
NOTE: It is also possible to reach Rock Harbor from Grand Portage, Minnesota, via the Voyageur II. Information at: http://www.isleroyaleboats.com/default.asp
If you decide to leave from Grand Portage, you may contact Kristine at 906-482-7860 or kbradof@irkpa.org so that she can adjust the workshop registration fee to remove the Houghton to Rock Harbor transportation cost.
WORKSHOP FEE for JUNE 8-13 workshop (Rock Harbor area):
$699 per person if registered by March 6 ($25 discount for IRKPA members;
see http://irkpa.org/ for information on becoming a IRKPA member).
$725 per person if registered after March 6 ($25 discount for IRKPA members;
see http://irkpa.org/ for information on becoming a IRKPA member).
A $200 deposit is required in reserve your place in the workshop. Mail your check, payable to “IRKPA,” to the Isle Royale & Keweenaw Parks Assoc., 800 East Lakeshore Dr., Houghton, MI 49931. The balance is due by April 17.
A cancellation fee of $75 will be charged for cancellations between May 1 and May 22. There will be no refund for cancellations made on or after May 23 (although partial refunds after May 23 will be issued if a replacement participant is available).
LODGING/CAMPING for JUNE 8-13 workshop (Rock Harbor area):
Participants may camp for free at a Rock Harbor group campsite. You may also stay in the Rock Harbor Lodge or Housekeeping units at your own expense (consider sharing a room with another participant or friend to reduce your lodging cost). For information about lodging (at Rock Harbor Lodge or Housekeeping units), boat rentals, etc., please see: www.isleroyaleresort.com or call 866-644-2003 (winter season) or 906-337-4993 (summer season).
If you wish to share a lodge or housekeeping room, contact Kristine at 906-482-7860 or kbradof@irkpa.org
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SEPTEMBER 8-13 workshop (Windigo area):
Field trips in the September 8-13 workshop near the southwest end of the Island will include the Windigo nature trail and trails to Huginnin Cove and along Washington Harbor to the Grace Creek overlook. Workshop attendees will meet in Grand Portage, Minnesota, on Tuesday (September 8) afternoon or evening and travel from Grand Portage to Windigo (on Isle Royale) on the Voyageur II on Wednesday (September 9). Participants will return to Grand Portage on the Voyageur II on Sunday (September 13).
NOTE: It is also possible to reach Windigo from either Houghton or Copper Harbor, Michigan. You can fly from Houghton airport to Windigo on a seaplane. Info at: http://www.royaleairservice.com/ You can also take the Ranger III out from Houghton or the Isle Royale Queen IV from Copper Harbor. Both go to Rock Harbor and then you can take the Voyageur II from Rock Harbor to Windigo. Website addresses for each of these boats are below:
Ranger III http://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/ranger-iii-fares-and-reservations.htm
Isle Royale Queen IV http://www.isleroyale.com/schedules-and-fares.html
Voyageur II http://www.isleroyaleboats.com/default.asp
If you decide to leave from either Houghton or Copper Harbor, you may contact Kristine at 906-482-7860 or kbradof@irkpa.org so that she can adjust the workshop registration fee to remove the Grand Portage to Windigo transportation cost.
WORKSHOP FEE for SEPTEMBER 8-13 workshop (Windigo area):
$699 per person if registered by March 6 ($25 discount for IRKPA members;
see http://irkpa.org/ for information on becoming a IRKPA member).
$725 per person if registered after March 6 ($25 discount for IRKPA members;
see http://irkpa.org/ for information on becoming a IRKPA member).
A $200 deposit is required in reserve your place in the workshop. Mail your check, payable to “IRKPA,” to the Isle Royale & Keweenaw Parks Assoc., 800 East Lakeshore Dr., Houghton, MI 49931. The balance is due by June 30.
A cancellation fee of $75 will be charged for cancellations between July 15 and August 15. There will be no refund for cancellations made on or after August 16 (although partial refunds after August 16 will be issued if a replacement participant is available).
LODGING/CAMPING for SEPTEMBER 8-13 workshop (Windigo area):
Two lodging options at no cost are a group campsite and Adirondack-type shelters (the latter will very likely be available). In addition there are two Windigo camper cabins that we already have reserved. One of these cabins is available to the first person/group that commits to renting it (that person/group would set the terms, either paying the whole cost themselves or offering to share with others). The cabin sleeps up to 6 and rates in 2014 were $54.45/night (and likely similar in 2015) for the cabin no matter how many people (up to 6) stay there. Info about this cabin is at http://rockharborlodge.com/Windigo If you would like additional information or would like to rent the cabin, please contact Janet at 906-337-5529 or jkmarr@mtu.edu
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For information about Isle Royale National Park, see their home page at www.nps.gov/isro/ or call 906-482-0984.
If you know of someone who may be interested in hearing about these Isle Royale botany workshops, that would be great if you would be able to pass this announcement on to them. A color flier for posting is attached to this email. Thank you!!
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP:
A six-day long photography workshop taught by professional photographer and former IRKPA Board President Bob Guiliani runs from June 12 – 17 based in Rock Harbor. Contact Kristine Bradof at 906-482-7860 or kbradof@irkpa.org for more information on the photography workshop.
Janet Marr
email: jkmarr2@hotmail.com or jkmarr@mtu.edu
phone: 906-337-5529
23180 Hwy. Rd., Calumet, MI 49913