Category Archives: News

Extra credit: Holy Boulders fundraiser movie or volunteering

My dear students: as always, volunteering at an event related to our coursework is always one way to notch some extra credit for the semester. The Illinois Climbers Association is holding a fundraiser screening of a pretty wild documentary on rock climbing at Yosemite National Park over the years. Friday Nov 4th Doors: 5pm Movie: […]

Emerald Ash Borer workshops for Southern Illinois

Emerald Ash Borer Community Preparedness Workshops in Southern Illinois. Recent discoveries of Emerald Ash Borer in Perry and Williamson counties underscore the need for communities to be proactive against Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The University of Illinois Extension is offering the following programs for local officials, municipalities, park districts, arborists, and others impacted by the […]

Outdoor Education Internship(s)

We run an outdoor education program called Nature’s Classroom during the fall and spring, and are currently looking for instructors. Our season runs from Sept. 24-Oct. 24, and could be a 1 month internship in Outdoor Education. Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your response, and hope that […]

Open positions at The Field Museum – Spread the word!

​We have several open positions at The Field Museum that we’re trying to fill soon. We have everything from temporary part-time, part-time, to full-time gigs. Please spread the word! All positions can be found at: http://fieldmuseum.org/about/employment. Mighty Acorns Partnership Coordinator/Urban Conservation Educator: supports and provides coordination and leadership for the Chicago Wilderness Mighty Acorns Partnership […]

National Wildflowers week at the Shawnee National Forest

Join with the Shawnee National Forest (NF) in celebrating the arrival of spring as Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack has proclaimed May 18th – 24th, 2014 as “National Wildflowers Week.”  Warmer weather has officially arrived to the region, and with it comes a multitude of native wildflowers around the Shawnee. For outdoor enthusiasts looking to connect […]

Invasive Species Events at the Shawnee National Forest

Shawnee National Forest Announces Invasive Species Events in Support of Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month HARRISBURG, Ill. (APRIL 21, 2014) – On Thursday, May 8th, 2014 at 6:00 p.m., the Shawnee National Forest will host an Invasive Species Presentation. The event will be held at the Crab Orchard Visitor Center located in Marion, Illinois. Matthew […]

Chris Benda Leads Wildflower Walks Throughout Southern Illinois

In 2014, the Illinois DNR is sponsoring 10 wildflower walks led by naturalist/botanist Chris Benda. The hikes will be held at different state parks in southern Illinois and will feature basic wildflower and plant identification.  Invasive species and the threats they pose to natural areas will also be discussed. All the hikes will start at […]

Fish Tales on the Shawnee

Download Link: Fish_Tales_2014_Pounds_Hollow_Lake_Flyer SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST PRESENTS: FISH TALES An aquatic education adventure!    2014 Program Vision Statement – Fish Tales is a fishing program designed to involve children from underserved communities in an environmental education program that introduces environmentally healthy habits to last them a lifetime, while enjoying a fun summer experience. Come join us […]

Extra Credit Opportunity

Ag in the Classroom is looking for a few great aggie volunteers!     We are sponsoring an Earth Day celebration to the 2nd graders from Carruthers and Gen. John A. Logan Attendance Center at the GJAL Center in Murphysboro on Tuesday, April 22 from 9am -12:30pm. We will have 7 stations set up outside (weather permitting) […]

Invasive Weeds Presentation May 8th

INVASIVE SPECIES PRESENTATION Hosted at the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge May 8th, 2014- 6:00 p.m. Presented by Karla Gage; River To River Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) in cooperation with the Shawnee National Forest        www.rtrcwma.org                                                www.fs.usda.gov Download link: CWMA_NNIS May 8

Forest Rec Summer Camp Meeting 2: Tuesday April 15th 5-7pm OR 7-9pm

Bring everything you’re intending to use on summer camp to our meeting in Ag 166.  Not done borrowing/renting/buying?  No problem, bring everything you do have. We will go over skills, equipment use, safety training, etc. As with the first meeting, this session is mandatory if you intend to go on summer camp. If you missed […]

Sustainable Forest Management PSAs with Christina Hendricks

Taking a minute to share three short PSAs that we developed in support of the Montreal Process and Sustainable Forestry.  The PSAs, 14 months in the making, feature Emmy Nominated Actress Christina Hendricks, most famously known for her role in Mad Men, though she has appeared and will be appearing in a number of high […]

Seminar I Just Gave: Rise of the Robots: Machine vision and your cellphone’s all-seeing sensors in forest recreation ecology

Long title, interesting talk.  This seminar was about the hard work we’re doing to train cellphones to make detailed measurements for recreation ecology.  It is going very well. 🙂 Links to downloads below.  If you use the PDF version, I don’t believe it will include the embedded videos… Logan Link to presentation powerpoint slide deck […]

Heartland Region Student Symposium (Conference)

The Student Summit is a phenomenal opportunity for Students to attend there first conference, present for the first time, or network with their future colleagues.  The purpose of this email it two fold. 1.  It is my hope that you will spread the word and encourage your students to attend the summit. This model was […]

Heartland Regional Student Symposium Is Coming Up!

The Third Annual Heartland Region Student Summit is taking place at the Touch of Nature Environmental Center in Carbondale, IL in a little over two weeks!  Thanks to you, and the others who joined you around the fire at Camp Ondessonk in 2012, the momentum surrounding this event continues to build.  We are now reaching out for […]

Arduino Laser Rangefinding in Recreation Ecology: Lightware AL_01 Kit

My research group is furiously hammering away at some custom field instrumentation. I thought I’d put down a few thoughts on how it’s going. Currently we’re focused on a data-logging laser rangefinder instrument custom built around the Lightware Arduino kit, AL_01. We received two units freighted from South Africa a few weeks ago. Dr. Park’s […]

Dissertation Available: Three Useful Studies on Recreation Ecology and Visitor Use

Download it here: Logan Park’s Doctoral Dissertation Abstract: The issues and concerns facing recreation managers, academicians, and other practitioners are now often complex and important enough that solving them requires more than the sum of parts from social and physical disciplines. To that end, this dissertation document identifies and addresses three research projects that in […]

Visual Impacts In Parks: Jet Contrails in Denali National Park

We can use simulated ranges of conditions to learn about visitor preferences.  Below, I show a series of images I developed to depict one potential aesthetic impact to wilderness recreation.  It is a nice, reliable, quantitative, repeatable technique for basing difficult and controversial management decisions on data.  Often used in people per viewscape/shed (PPV) and […]