Season Watch Newsletter: 12/9/22

This newsletter features an exciting conference, a mob of students pursuing voles, and how to amaze your friends by identifying a Chestnut-sided Warbler nest in December!

FEATURE: 8th Fire Green Jobs Conference

Y'all, get excited! Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef), Robert Blake of Solar Bear, and Will Steger (polar explorer and creator of the documentary “After Antarctica”) are all headlining the 8th Fire Green Jobs Conference! Will Steger will also show his documentary, "After Antarctica," which has yet to be screened outside of film festivals. The conference is for job seekers, people who want to get inspired or tweak their career, or anyone else who wants to participate in building a more sustainable and just society. To hear more, check out this interview with award-winning singer/songwriter Annie Humphrey!

Listen in!

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STUDENT AND LISTENER REPORTS

This week, we hear about a pack of students pursuing voles, how to distinguish a wolf spider from a fishing spider, and finding bird nests in the snow!

Hear our students' voices!

JOHN LATIMER'S WEEKLY REPORT

John's report this week covers winter birds, the physics of sun pillars and snow dogs, and how to use detective skills to determine the species of bird that created a nest, even in December!

Listen to John's report!

Support Season Watch here!

More dates and locations will be announced. Desperate to get in on the fun? Send me an email, and we'll set up a zoom meeting!

Save the date: 1/16: Phenology in the Classroom. Lac qui Parle Valley High School. Registration information TBA!
2/11/23: Phenology in the Classroom and on the Radio. Back to Basics Conference, Pine River MN. Register here (opens 1/2/23).

SARAH'S RECOMMENDATION

If there's one thing you're desperate for after months of these newsletters, it's definitely more of my questionable humor. Well, you're in (bad) luck! I've been loitering around Instagram posting videos on winter birds, animal tracks, and tips on identifying wayward leaves. (My lovely co-workers also post about music, community, events, and things that are supposedly 'of interest to well-rounded people.') So, in shameless self-promotion, that's what I'll recommend for this week!

Enjoy!

Bonus:

Don't click strange links on the internet. Except for this one. Definitely click this one.

Downy Woodpeckers have smaller beaks compared to Hairy Woodpeckers. Downy beaks are just 1/3rd the length of their heads: Hairy beaks are almost as long as the whole head!

Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus)

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens).

Ojibwe: Baapaasens.

Cut loose, go chase a goose!

Northern Community Radio

KAXE/KBXE

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Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.