view past presentations on You Tube
May 5  Wisconsin Division of Forestry: Managing more than the trees!
Heather Berklund, Chief State Forester
Heather Berklund was announced the new chief state forester in Oct. 2020, where she has worked since 2000. Heather's early career was spent in Iron and Ashland Counties, managing the diverse public lands, tax law program, fire suppression, education and outreach, and private landowner programs. She worked up the ranks as a team supervisor for the Mercer-Mellen Team, then the Woodruff Area Leader, and most recently as Deputy Division Administer for Field Operations. Her favorite parts of the job have been the people she has worked with and landowners she has met along the way. She believes in strong partnerships across our forestry community in order to ensure a healthy robust forested landscape and industry for the future. Heather hopes this session will offer a better understanding of what the Division of Forestry does, why trees are so important for a long-term ​healthy environment, and how you can do your part for future generations. Heather grew up in the Driftless Area of WI, where her family still owns 120 acres that she enjoys exploring. She has resided in the Minocqua area since 2002, where you can find her and her family enjoying the diverse outdoor recreation opportunities for all seasons, making maple syrup, and trying to grow a more productive garden! 
April 7 Women and Water
 Mary Burns, artist
Mary Burns is an award-winning fiber artistand master weaver. Mary has participated in numerous science and art collaborations, and has been an artist in residence at Andrews Forest, Oregon and UW-Trout Lake Station, Boulder Junction, WI. Mary’s Ancestral Women Exhibit features woven portraits of an elder from each of Wisconsin’s 12 Native tribes. The exhibit has traveled nationally. Mary will be giving a presentation on her latest project,“Women and Water, a Global Exhibit.” This exhibit celebrates and honors water by portraying women from around the world who work with it, protect it and advocate for it.
March 3  Wisconsin Economy How crazy was it?
Dennis Winters, Economist, Dept of workforce development
​Science on Tap welcomes Dennis Winters, Chief Economist, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. In his presentation, Dennis will discuss the 2020 economic and workforce impacts of COVID-19, show what’s on the horizon, and list three steps the state should do to secure its economic future. Dennis has been in his position since 2006 and is  recognized as an expert on human resource challenges in the competitive global economic environment.
February 3  The Fungus Among Us ​Edible, poisonous, and everywhere
Tom Volk, UW La Crosse
Tom Volk is a mycologist and a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Originally from Ohio, Tom completed his PhD and postdoctoral work at UW Madison before he joined the faculty at La Crosse in 1996. While Tom has a broad interest in fungus and leads forays worldwide, his research has often focused on the systematics, taxonomy ,and life cycles of morels and Armillaria. In addition to mentoring graduate students on a broad spectrum of fungal research projects, Tom teaches mycology, Latin and Greek roots, plant-microbe interactions, and one of the only medical mycology courses in the nation. 
January 6  The Other End of the Leash: Dog Behavior 
Trish McConnell​, UW Professor Emeritus
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Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB is an Ethologist who has consulted with pet owners for over twenty five years about serious behavioral problems. She taught "The Biology and Philosophy of Human/Animal Relationships" at the University of Wisconsin Madison and has spoken around the world about canine behavior and training. Dr. McConnell is the author of eleven books on training and behavioral problems
December 2  Music of Vietnam Era
Craig Werner, UW Professer Emeritus


​“Fortunate Son.” “Chain of Fools.” “What’s Going On.” “Purple Haze.”You know the songs, but it’s time to hear them in a new light. Join us as Craig Werner, professor emeritus of the UW-Madison Department of Afro-American Studies, and co-author of We Gotta Get Out of This Place talks about popular music’s place at the heart of the American experience in Vietnam and explores how and why U.S. troops turned to music as a way of coping and connecting to each other and the World back home.
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November 4  Wildlife Health Matters
Tami Ryan, WDNR

​Tami Ryan is the Chief of the Wildlife Health Program in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Wildlife Management. She received her MS degree in Natural Resources, Wildlife Biology and Management, from UW Stevens Point. Tami has been with the DNR for 27 years and in her current position for the past 11 years. The Wildlife Health
Team's mission is to investigate, manage and educate about the diseases and other health issues affecting wildlife to help conserve Wisconsin's rich wildlife heritage. Tami and her team have been integral in studies of West Nile Virus exposure and infection in ruffed grouse, translocation of elk from Kentucky and ruffed grouse to Missouri, investigation of PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in deer, responding to emerging wildlife disease concerns including SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), bovine tuberculosis and RHDV-2 (rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus), and monitoring and responding to chronic wasting disease.​
October 7 Wild Rice
Peter David, Great Lake Fish and Wildlife Commission
​Peter David is wildlife biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC). Originally from Green Bay, he received BS and Master Degrees in Wildlife Ecology from UW-Madison before heading north to work for GLIFWC, which is headquartered on the Bad River Reservation near Ashland. In his new position, Peter developed an interest in manoomin (wild rice), encouraged and guided by the tribal elders and ricers who shared their Traditional Ecological Knowledge regarding this cultural and ecological treasure. More than three decades later his relationship with manoomin continues to expand, as a harvester, finisher, researcher, steward and consumer of wild rice.
April, May and June events cancelled due to COVID 19
March 4  Native Plant Gardening for Pollinators 
Patrick Goggin, UWSP and UW- Extension Lakes



Patrick Goggin is part of the UW Extension Lakes Partnership Program Patrick engages lake citizens and tribal, state and county agencies to help protect lakes Patrick has been interested in gardening for many decades and has created spectacular native gardens at his home in Phelps WI

ppt_poster_goggin.pdfDownload File

native_plant_gardening_resource_listing_goggin_4march2020__002_.pdfDownload File

Patrick and Quita's native plant garden tour - You Tube vitural garden tour
Native Plant Garden Picture Tour of Patrick and Quita's house
February 5  Parasites in Fresh Water Ecosystems
Dan Preston, UW Madison Forest and Wildlife Ecology   ​
Dr. Dan Preston, Ph.D., is a faculty member in the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology . He received his PhD in Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology at the University Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Preston’s research focuses on the ecology of 'natural enemies', which includes parasites, predators and invasive species in freshwater systems. Recent projects have examined the roles of parasites in food webs and aim to determine how parasites alter nutrients in streams.
January 8  Green Energy: How solar became affordable and what that means for other technologies
Greg Nemet, UW Madison, La Follette School of Public Affairs
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Dr. Gregory Nemet, Ph.D is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin–
Madison's La Follette School of Public Affairs. He received his PhD in Energy
and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Nemet’s newest
book is “How Solar Became Cheap: A Model for Low-Carbon Innovation.” In
2015, he received the H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, which honors
outstanding University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty members for their
research contributions. He was named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow in 2017. He
was awarded the inaugural World Citizen Prize in Environmental Performance by APPAM in
2019. He is currently a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPPC) 6th Assessment Report. Professor Nemet's research focuses on the process of
technological change in energy and its interactions with public policy.
Join us on Wednesday night to talk about solar energy, technological innovation in green
energy, and how green energy can be leveraged in the Northwoods.