We're so very excited for our upcoming Educator Network Meet-Up on November 16, from 10-11:30 am on Zoom! We'll be hearing from conservation champions and ACTUAL SISTERS Heather Berklund, who is Wisconsin's current and first ever Chief State Forester, and Erin Schneider, who is a farmer, educator and artist at Hilltop Community Farm. You won't want to miss this wonderful virtual event!
"We all need to feel connected to the natural beauty and people that surround us. Connecting people to the land: learning from history, observing and embracing evolution, diverse perspectives and multi-use, and working together moving forward is the foundation for a healthy, sustainable future," says Berklund, who has been connected to Wisconsin’s 17 million acres of forestland and industry for over 23 years. She has worked for WI Department of Natural Resources in diverse roles as a field forester, wildland firefighting and incident management, supervisor at various levels and was appointed as the first woman chief state forester in Oct. 2020. Outside of work, you can find Heather in the Northwoods cheering on her 2 high school kids, hanging out by Lake Superior, engaged in an outdoor activity for all seasons (winter is her favorite), making maple syrup, and yearning to have a flourishing garden like her sister, Erin!
Erin Schneider, along with her partner Rob McClure, stewards Hilltop Community Farm, a diversified market farm in La Valle, specializing in organic fruit and flowers. Alongside farming, her writing and community artwork reflects her love for the people, plants, and 'dirt'scapes’ in landscapes near and far. Entering into conversations with people, the land, the occasional woodchuck and furthering possibilities for reciprocity, healing and transformation, are themes she loves to explore in her land stewardship and artwork.
If you are a conservation educator working with women landowners in Wisconsin, you are warmly invited to join the WiWiC Conservation Educator Network at this virtual meet-up. The WiWiC Conservation Educator Network is an inclusive network of conservation educators to collaboratively support each other in our conservation outreach and work. The goal of this network is to regularly connect educators who work with women farmers and landowners, to share best practices and challenges, to develop cooperative strategies for effective programming, resource sharing, and how to work most effectively together.
Together, we will amplify support and bring together Wisconsin women farmers and landowners to collectively champion and celebrate land stewardship and conservation practices in our state. We look forward to your being a part of this unique new initiative. Anyone who works with Wisconsin women farmers and landowners, from agency and non-profit staff to educator volunteers and both men and women, are welcome to join the WiWiC Conservation Educator Network (free).
Note: If you cannot attend on November 16 but would still like to be a part of this network and be informed of future events, please email eshekinah@michaelfields.org with your name, organization/position and contact information. This fall meet-up is one of two annual such gatherings via Zoom, with the second one happening in spring, 2024.