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.
A gathering of curious minds, spanning all levels of scientific knowledge. It's a good time to be a nerd!
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Saturday, January 4, 2020
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
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!!
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
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!!
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
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.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Join us September 9th as Dr. Charles Franklin presents: The Past, Present and Future of Public Opinion Polling
Hear ye!! Hear ye!! It's that time once again when we science nerds gather at the Sugar Maple "watering" hole to learn things and stuff about science!! Well, this month we're changing it up a wee bit and looking into the world of political science where we will be hosting Marquette Law School's very own Dr. Charles Franklin to speak on the intricacies of public opinion polling!!
The development of scientific samples of the public and the methodology of survey research grew from the late 1930s when probability samples of households were first developed. These evolved into random samples of telephones in the 1960s and are now evolving to samples and surveys using the internet. Each era has faced challenges while advancing our ability to measure public opinion among a representative sample of the population. We’ll talk about this evolution and pay special attention to the issues facing polling now and for the next few years.
Summer is over now and it's time to grab a beer and learn things!! Tell your family, friends and neighbors!! Hope to see you there!!
The development of scientific samples of the public and the methodology of survey research grew from the late 1930s when probability samples of households were first developed. These evolved into random samples of telephones in the 1960s and are now evolving to samples and surveys using the internet. Each era has faced challenges while advancing our ability to measure public opinion among a representative sample of the population. We’ll talk about this evolution and pay special attention to the issues facing polling now and for the next few years.
Summer is over now and it's time to grab a beer and learn things!! Tell your family, friends and neighbors!! Hope to see you there!!
Charles Franklin is professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School, and director of the Marquette Law School Poll. Prior to joining Marquette in 2012 he was Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison for 20 years. He is past president of the Society for Political Methodology, and an elected fellow of the Society. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Join us on August 12th as Daniel Case presents: Crewed Spaceflight: Engineering Design and Lessons Learned
Hellllooooooooo Space Nerds!!! Please come from the far reaches (of the Milwaukee area) and join us yet again in the back room of the Sugar Maple on August the 12th to hear Daniel Case talk about aerospace engineering!!!
Designing things for humans is complicated, and it is even more so when taking into account some of the quirky things about living and working in space. This will be a low-key presentation on a high altitude subject - part habitat design, part life sciences, and maybe even some radiation protection!!
Daniel Case is a Ph.D. candidate in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado - Boulder. At CU, he researches ways to keep astronauts healthy and safe in the space radiation environment, in an effort to help enable long-term human spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit. His focus is on integrating passive shielding into space habitat design, ideally providing as much radiation protection using as little mass as possible.
So, come get your nerd on!!! Grab a tasty beer at the bar and join us in the back room for some Space Science!!! And as always - Tell your family and friends!! Hope to see you there!!
Designing things for humans is complicated, and it is even more so when taking into account some of the quirky things about living and working in space. This will be a low-key presentation on a high altitude subject - part habitat design, part life sciences, and maybe even some radiation protection!!
Daniel Case is a Ph.D. candidate in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado - Boulder. At CU, he researches ways to keep astronauts healthy and safe in the space radiation environment, in an effort to help enable long-term human spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit. His focus is on integrating passive shielding into space habitat design, ideally providing as much radiation protection using as little mass as possible.
So, come get your nerd on!!! Grab a tasty beer at the bar and join us in the back room for some Space Science!!! And as always - Tell your family and friends!! Hope to see you there!!
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