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Dear Great Lakes Neighbor,
Each
week we invite grassroots activists,
artists, officials, physicians, parents,
young people and others to offer insightful
commentary on their Great Lakes experiences
and views. Of course, we also invite you to
comment on their thoughts!
This week, the Town Hall is pleased to welcome Mike Link, lifelong Environmental Educator and current director of the Audubon Center in Sandstone, MN. Come visit the Great Lakes Town Hall to read and respond to Mike's stories and perspectives about the Great Lakes every day this week - only in the Great Lakes Town Hall!
![MikeLink160.jpg]() Guest Writer this week-- Mike Link
Mike Link and his wife, Kate Crowley, live in the woods near
Willow River with their lab Sigurd and one old cat. The land is an
unusual combination of prairie and boreal forest with loops of trails
for skiing and hiking.
Mike has directed the Audubon Center near Sandstone, Minnesota since
1971 and is the process of training his replacements between now and
his March 20 retirement. In addition to running the residential
learning center he teaches for Northland College and Hamline
University.
Traveling extensively with his wife and family, Mike has enjoyed a love
of nature, a passion for wine, new cultures, new landscapes, birds,
hiking, paddling, and other outdoor pursuits. He and Kate have
published 21 books with the newest releases being the beginning of a
series for grandparents- Grandparents Minnesota Style and Grandparents
Wisconsin Style and similar volumes for Illinois, Michigan, and
Colorado that combines his love of his grandchildren and his commitment
to education.
Environmental education has been Mike's life through teaching, guiding
the Audubon Center, speeches, writing, and lobbying. Nature has given
him his inspiration and he sees the commitment to the environment to be
much more than just enjoying it.
The next adventure for Mike and Kate is a hike around Lake Superior in
2010 because the both believe in the need to protect both the great
lakes and freshwater.
Featured Issue this week - Canadian Leads Right to Water Fight
In addition to guest speakers, the Great
Lakes Town Hall focuses on a new featured
Great Lakes issue each week, provided by
co-moderators Dave Dempsey,
Gary Wilson, and Brenna Wanous. This week, Gary highlights the recent appointment of Maude Barlow as the Senior Advisor on Water Issues to the President of the United Nations, and what that means for water issues in the Great Lakes and world-wide. Gary writes,
"Barlow comes from this region, the most water
rich in the world. It would be easy for someone from a water deprived
area to lead the water as a human right charge. They would have a lot
to gain. But Barlow approaches the issue from a position of abundance,
which enhances her credibility."
Read the rest of Gary's Featured Issue, and put in your two cents!
Bringing you a better Great Lakes Town Hall!
We listened to all of the wonderful
feedback from our 2007 survey and have taken your advice. We will be launching your
new Town Hall this December. You can expect easier navigation, new features, all
past postings and much, much more!
We are looking for sponsors to support
the building of the new Town Hall. Here is a great opportunity for businesses to
sponsor a good cause and see their logo on the front page of the Town Hall. Are
you interested? Do you know someone who might be interested? If so, please
contact Brenna Wanous at bwanous@biodiverse.org or 773-496-4020.
Don't miss this great opportunity to read and
comment on our featured issue - "Canadian Leads Right to Water Fight" - and the stories and perspectives of Mike Link in
the Great
Lakes Town Hall all this week!
Guest speakers contribute content on a Great
Lakes topic of their choice for five days. While
there are basic rules of conduct, guest
speakers are unedited and diverse views are
welcome. If you are interested in serving
as a guest speaker, please reply to this
email. We encourage individuals of all
ages, occupations, and opinions to
participate in the conversation.
Your Great Lakes Neighbor,
![brenna sig.jpg]()
Brenna Wanous
Great Lakes Town Hall Manager
Biodiversity Project's Great Lakes Town Hall
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