By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Question: What do you do if you catch a fish with a virus? Answer: Call the fish veterinarian. (And, really, you shouldn’t use a virus to catch a fish; you should use a lure.) Actually, that is not a joke and we now all know […]
Something Fishy at Crossroads
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Construction on the new bridge at Crossroads at Big Creek is on hold until June. The reason is revealed in the name of the bridge – Pike Passage. Big Creek is up, our floodplains and wetlands are full of water and Northern Pike are making […]
EGG-Stravaganza
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. After extensive review of scientific research, we at Crossroads have determined that it is highly unlikely that rabbits deliver eggs to Crossroads at Big Creek. But other creatures, large and small, do. Consequently, our programs this week will all focus on eggs in one way […]
Casting Change in Northern Sky Board: A Legacy of Leadership
On April 1, our longtime beloved board member Cyndy Stiehl will step down from the board after 26 years of service. We hope you enjoy these thoughts about Cyndy’s incredible legacy. As Cyndy Stiehl prepares for the curtain to close on her long tenure on the Northern Sky Board, Northern Sky Theater knows it has […]
My Double Life, Memoirs of a Naturalist
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. To commemorate Women’s History Month, Crossroads at Big Creek’s Book Club has selected the book, “My Double Life, Memoirs of a Naturalist,” by Frances Hamerstrom. Fran Hamerstrom was among the first, possibly THE first woman wildlife field biologist and she was the only female graduate […]
How Cranes Became a Symbol of Hope and Healing
Sadako Sasaki was a young girl living in Hiroshima in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped there. Sadako was merely one-year-old at that time. Ten years later, in 1955, she was diagnosed with Leukemia caused by the bombing. Agonized at her disease and confinement, the young Sadako remembered the popular myth about the thousand […]
Daylight Savings Time
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. This is the week we return to Daylight Saving Time, and “losing an hour” makes us more aware of photoperiod—the hours each day that a plant or animal receives light. But Daylight Time, clocks, and even hours are human inventions. Yet each of the Crossroads’ […]
Aldo Leopold Day 2023
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Crossroads at Big Creek will honor the legacy of Aldo Leopold this weekend with two Leopold-themed hikes and a special guest lecture at our monthly Bird Club meeting. Back in 2004, Governor Jim Doyle designated the first Saturday of March as Aldo Leopold Day in […]
February 2023 News from Crossroads
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. The big news at Crossroads is that (finally) we are replacing our Pike Passage Bridge. The original structure was removed last Wednesday, and, for the next few weeks, the sounds of heavy machinery will ring through the forest. Bridges are installed during the winter months […]
Science of Great Lakes Fisheries
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Crossroads at Big Creek is proud to host the kick-off event for this year’s FIRE & ICE celebration in Sturgeon Bay. A luminary-lit hike, with bonfires and hot chocolate, will take place from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 17. On Saturday, in keeping with the […]