The USS made an epic post-Covid hiatus comeback on July 11th when Mike Marek, of Marek Landscaping, presented: Harmonizing Industry and Ecology

Greetings all!!! In light of all the trials of the past 2.5 years due to pandemic precautions, etc, it was great to see such a gathering of curious minds for our comeback lecture in July!! At this talk, Mike Marek spoke about how he plans to convert an underutilized part of the South Harbor in Bay View into an ecological restoration machine and a destination for people to celebrate the importance and ecological diversity of Lake Michigan. It combined commerce, ecological restoration and placemaking. And it definitely got our science minds turning with great questions and discourse about how to better our great city!! Thanks to all who came out!! And if you missed the lecture, you can find out more about the Perch Point project at the Marek Landscaping website

In 1996, Mike founded Marek with a commitment to provide ecological design and installation services in Milwaukee and the Great Lakes region. Mike grew up in Elm Grove, Wisconsin where he was a hard working kid, and until recently, completely oblivious to the white privilege of his youth. He attended University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point where he studied Urban Forestry and leaving early to start his business with the realization that he did not want to count board feet or manage forests for paper pulp production - a realization he had while living under a huge tree in Alaska. He is a force for positive change in how we design and manage natural areas, parks, shorelines, and green infrastructure, with a long list of innovative first. Mike has presented at local, regional, and national conferences, including Wild Ones, State of Lake Michigan Conference, Southeasters Wisconsin Watershed Trust, Society for Ecological Restoration, American Society of Landscape Architects, and Partners for River Restoration and Science in the Upper Midwest (PRRSUM). His passion lies in connecting our community through placemaking and showing how ecological diversity can exemplify the benefits of cultural and social diversity.

Join us on March 9th as 1840 Brewing's own Kyle Vetter presents: Brewing Techniques to Create the Beers of Today

Greetings all!!! So, we already know you like science (the name of our group gives that away), and pretty sure most of you like beer (since we meet in a fabulous beer bar every month)... which means you all should LOVE this month's talk!!

Please join us this coming Monday as Kyle Vetter, owner and Head Brewer at Milwaukee's very own 1840 Brewing Company, comes to bestow knowledge upon us regarding the biotransformation of hopping, souring with lactobacillus, adding flavor adjuncts, and brewing for balance.

So! Tell your family and friends!! Come grab a frosty beverage and join us in the cozy back room of the Sugar Maple to imbibe and learn things about that very thing we are imbibing!! Hope to see you there!!

Kyle Vetter is the owner and Head Brewer of 1840 Brewing Company in Bay View, Milwaukee, WI. Kyle has been brewing beer for 16 years, and now specialized in sour and wild ale, hoppy beers, lagers, and stouts.

Join us on February 10th as Lindsay Hayward presents: The Savvy Sniffer: Using Scent Dogs in Conservation

Greetings once again to you all!! 2020 has gotten off to a roaring start with last month's riveting talk about community conservation, and I've no doubt our February talk will draw you out of your warm winter hidey holes to come down to the delightfully cozy Sugar Maple for some beer and a talk about the wonders of SNIFFER DOGS!!!

Conservation dogs are using their incredible noses to save the planet. These playful, energetic, and somewhat crazy dogs use their sensitive noses to sniff out plants, animals, fungi, and other organic materials to aid conservation efforts. Dogs can be trained on any scent so they can help detect elusive animals like bears and cougars in a large national park, the presence of a deadly bacteria in a bee colony or find invasive plant species before they’re big enough to be spotted by humans. The use of dogs for conservation is becoming more common as research finds that dogs can be more effective and efficient than other survey methods. This talk will introduce you to the magnificence of conservation dogs and how they are being used right now to help our beautiful world.

So!!! Tell you family!! Tell your friends!! Tell everyone and anyone you know who loves dogs!! This talk is sure to educate and entertain!! Hope to see you there!!

Lindsay Hayward has been interested in conservation dogs since 2016 when she first read about Tucker, the Labrador retriever who sniffs out whale poop off the Pacific Northwest Coast. Lindsay dedicated her grad school research to the methodology of conservation dogs compared with other conservation survey methods. She now works for Midwest Conservation Dogs, a Milwaukee-based organization training dogs to aid in the conservation of Midwest natural areas. Lindsay has been training her Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Fletcher, for scent work for 2 years and may eventually lend his brilliant nose for science. Lindsay is spreading the word about this incredible method and how conservation dogs can exponentially increase efforts to restore and preserve natural areas and protect wildlife.

Join us on January 13th as Julia Robson presents: Conservation in the Parks: A Community-based Approach

Greetings and Happy New Year to you all!! Let's start 2020 off right by gathering in our back room spot at the Sugar Maple!! This month's talk brings it close to home as Waukesha County Parks' very own Julia Robson speaks on community-based research!!

The effects of urbanization have been demonstrated to be the leading cause of the loss of biodiversity on a global scale. Solutions to preventing the extinction of locally rare species and degradation of imperative ecosystems can effectively be addressed by local park and recreation agencies through strategic natural areas preservation, active stewardship, and community engagement throughout the process. In addition to helping connect people to nature, local parks are essential in creating environmental stewards who will advocate for and protect our most precious public resources -- our land, water, trees, open spaces and wildlife. Join us to learn more about how community-based monitoring and restoration initiatives are making an impact in southeastern Wisconsin.

So, bring your family, friends, neighbors, teachers, postal worker, whoever!! It's 2020 and time for some SCIENCE!! Hope to see you there!!!

Julia has over ten years of experience working in natural-resource management. She has worked throughout the Midwest on various projects including multi-taxa biodiversity assessments, habitat restoration, environmental education and community engagement, and environmental planning. Before coming to Waukesha County Parks in April of 2018, she worked for the Urban Ecology Center and Milwaukee County Parks. Julia also serves on several conservation-related boards and committees including the Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium, the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory's Science Committee, and Waukesha County Land Conservancy's land management committee. In 2016 the community-based wetland-monitoring program that she developed for Milwaukee County was awarded the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Citizen-Based Monitoring Program of the Year award. Julia graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UW-M) in 2012 with a BS in biological sciences and a BS in conservation and environmental sciences, and in 2018, she was named "Graduate of the Last Decade" by UW-M's alumni association. In 2017 she created a project called "Walk to Sustain Our Great Lakes" walking over 340 miles from Milwaukee to Lake Superior raising $10,000 for Great Lakes conservation initiatives.

Join us on December 9th, as we host a free screening of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Seasons greetings my fellow nerdlings!!! Now that the week of feasting has ended, it's time to return to the cozy Sugar Maple and digest some SCIENCE (FICTION)!!! That's right!! It's time yet again for a kitchy sci-fi screening. MST3K-style haggling of the most excellent special effects is heavily encouraged (and easier to do after an 11% ABV beer or two...). And don't worry, this will be the 1959 flick, not the 2008 Brendan Fraser one.

So!! Tell your family!! Tell your friends!! Come grab a beer and see a cinematic classic for Freeeeeee!!! (#BYOP - bring your own popcorn) Hope to see you there!!

Join us on November 11th as Dr. KathiJo Jankowski presents: Life on Wisconsin's West Coast: Upper Mississippi River Ecology

Greetings once again my fellow nerdlings!! It is with the utmost enthusiasm I bring to you our November USS speaker: personal friend, college classmate, and ultimate frisbee teammate of mine... Dr. KathiJo Jankowski!!! She is coming from the western reaches of our fine state to discuss the importance of the links between water quality and climate change for the Upper Mississippi.

Wisconsin is surrounded by Great Lakes, but America's Great River traces nearly 150 miles of its western border. The Upper Mississippi River forms the economic and ecological heart of the Upper Midwest, providing recreation, navigation and drinking water to millions of people in the basin and homes for diverse species of fish and wildlife. While pressures in the basin continue to threaten water quality, climate change is adding an extra layer of complexity to our ability to protect and manage the river. Come hear about how water quality and climate change are linked and what we are doing about it!

Kathi Jo Jankowski is the Principal Investigator for the Water Quality Component of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program's Long-term Resource Monitoring Element.  She coordinates water quality monitoring and research on the Upper Mississippi in coordination with several federal and state agencies. Her research aims to understand how land use and climate change impact ecosystem processes in large rivers. She is specifically interested in nutrient and carbon cycling, ecosystem metabolism and food web ecology and has worked in freshwater systems from the boreal zone to the tropics. 

So!!! Tell your family!! Tell your friends!! Tell your neighbors!! Come all to the cozy back room of the Sugar Maple on 11/11/19 for some beers and water ecology education!! Hope to see you there!!

Join us October 14th as Dennis Miller presents: What Birds See

Greetings once again!!! Come one and all as we return to the cozy back room of the Sugar Maple for our October talk on Bird Vision!!!

While bird vision is accomplished by the same chemistry and general physiological structure as mammals and other animals, there are many adaptations which support survival in their ecological niches. While we can’t see through bird’s eyes, by using a number of photographic techniques we can at least get some idea of what they might see. This presentation will describe some of these techniques and illustrate the results.

So tell your family, friends and neighbors!!! Come by, grab a beer and let's learn about how our feathered friends see!! Hope to see you there!!

Mr. Miller is a "retired" engineer having spent 35 years working on topics of building environmental control at Johnson Controls. Since retiring he has done work on mobile robots, virtual reality, photography and numbers of other technologies which has been applied to teaching young people in Marquette University's Engineering Outreach Program and adults in the UWM Osher Program and in UWM's Continuing Education for Engineers. His interest in applying photography to understanding what birds see comes from many hours doing nature photography and volunteer activities at the Milwaukee County Park's Wehr Nature Center.