About the Event
Spring is an explosion of life in the North! Discovering the birds, wildflowers, insects and more of this dynamic and rich northern landscape is the focus of this festival. Participation in the festival is open to anyone interested in hands-on learning and curious about the dynamics of the northern landscape.
This year's course offerings allow nature-lovers the chance to explore the North Shore and learn more about the local ecology and geology. Discover the language of birds, forage for spring wild edibles, and learn the identifications and uses of many local plants.
Schedule of Events:
Course Offerings:
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Botany for Naturalists, Ecologists, and Herbalists
Instructor: Cynthia Lane
Take your botanical chops to the next level with plant taxonomic skills—the foundation of any plant-based practice. A weekend intensive designed to provide natural resource professionals, master naturalists, and herbalists with a solid basis in botanical science. Through the course, you will learn terms for key plant structures, characteristics of common plant families, and how to use dichotomous keys. We will spend the mornings in a lecture-lab setting, then head out on field trips to forests and wetlands in the Grand Marais area to observe and study plant structures in a natural setting. This course is geared towards students interested in learning technical botanical terms, plant taxonomy, and using botanical keys. A knowledge of local flora, experience identifying plants with image-based field guides, or similar experience will be an asset as the course is intensive. Students should have the ability to sit in a classroom setting for 2-4 hours (with breaks) and walk several hundred feet or more into a forest, bog, or other settings off-trail and over uneven terrain.
Required Tools:
A 10x hand lens; a few options are:
Wanapure 10× Metal Jewelry Loop Magnifier, Jewelers Eye Loupe: $15
Ade Advanced Optics 10x21TB-A Triplet Professional Loupe: $25
BelOMO Jewelers Loupe 10x Triplet Magnifier 21mm (.85"): $40
Note: A 20x hand lens is useful to have in addition to the 10x, but is not required.
Clipboard and paper, or hard covered notebook to take notes in the field
Sturdy boots for hiking on the Saturday field trip, rubber boots for the Sunday field trip may be useful, depending on recent rainfall
Hat, long pants, and long sleeve shirt to protect from sun and bugs
Rain gear
Backpack to carry water and snacks
Insect repellent and head net
Required book: "Botany in a Day", Thomas Elpel
Optional Tools:
Recommended book: "Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary", by James G. Harris and Melinda Woolf Harris
Camera or phone to take photos
Baggies and sharpie to collect plant samples
Tuition: $230.00
Materials fee: $5.00
Register Here
6:00 am - 2:00 pm: Birding by Ear
Instructor: Ann Russ
Most birds are not known for sitting still. By learning to recognize their songs, calls, and the habitats they live in, you can have a satisfying birding experience every time you step outdoors, with or without your binoculars! In this one-day workshop we’ll travel to various habitats and birding hotspots in Cook County, listening and watching for spring migrants. Ann will share tips and tricks for remembering bird songs. Bring your binoculars, but be prepared to listen to the birds. Students will meet at North House and drive to several locations: due to the remoteness of the area and limited parking, students will need to carpool. Please consider whether or not you would be comfortable with this option, and/or consider registering with a few friends that you would be comfortable traveling with. Bring your own coffee! Students ages 12-17 are welcome with a full paying adult.
Required Tools:
Sturdy footwear that can get wet or muddy
Clothing layers for any weather
Hat with a brim
Skinny gloves are often nice to have along for cooler days
Rain gear if needed
Binoculars
Water
Snacks
Lunch!! We will be in the field for lunch, so please bring something with you.
Optional Tools:
Spotting scope
Bird book
Tuition: $115.00
Register Here
8:00 am - 3:00 pm: Discovering the Language of Birds
Instructor: Michael Karns
We call them songs, but in reality, those sweet bird chirps and calls are more than a happy little tune on a spring day. Birds are “saying” a lot with all the vocalizations they make. Explore the world of bird language and discover the difference between a comfortable bird and a bird that is in full alarm mode. Learning bird language will open up a whole new understanding of why birds sing and call, and lead to a deeper connection to these wild inhabitants of our natural world. No previous experience or identification skills are needed, but participants should be able to hike distances of up to a mile over uneven terrain. Youth ages 14-15 are welcome to participate with a full-paying adult (a 25% tuition discount applies to the youth student); ages 16+ may participate on their own, but will be responsible for transportation to the field sites.
Required Tools:
Clothing, footwear and any gear you need to be comfortable outdoors on the North Shore in the spring. This might include rain gear, sun protection, bug protection, and warm layers.
Lunch, snacks, water bottle, and something to carry them in. Our timing will depend on the birds; please bring what you need to stay fueled throughout the day.
Optional Tools:
Note taking materials
Binoculars
Tuition: $115.00
Register Here
9:00 am - 4:00 pm: Foraging for Spring Wild Edibles
Instructor: Ian Andrus
Have you always been interested in gathering wild foods but just weren't sure where to start? This class is a great first introduction to spring edibles as we focus on just five common, nutritious, and often abundant plants. These early risers sprout up almost as soon as the snow is gone, so you can be eating nutritious local green vegetables long before the farmers market gets rolling. We will start with introductions, ethics, and identification, and then take a field trip to locate and harvest the spring bounty. We will then come back to the classroom and sample what we collected. Participants should be prepared to hike 1-2 miles in the woods.
This course is open to students ages 16+.
Required Tools:
Appropriate clothing and footwear to be in the spring woods, which can be muddy, wet and buggy. This should include rain gear.
Water bottle
Snack; we will take a lunch break in town
Tuition: $105.00
Register Here
4:00 am - 6:00 pm: Northwoods Nature Through the Lens
Instructor: David Brickner
The beauty of the Northwoods inspires countless photographers in all seasons. And now that everyone carries a smartphone, taking a quick snapshot is easier than ever. For those who would like to move beyond smartphone photography and learn to use a DSLR or mirrorless camera to capture the beauty they discover, this course offers an introduction to nature photography.
This course is designed for beginners and those newer to photography. We’ll spend time getting to know our cameras, including learning the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO—the key to creating a well-exposed photo. We will also cover gear, composition, editing, and organizing. It will be a mix of time in the classroom and time outside. This course is designed to be hands-on with time spent learning concepts in the classroom before heading outside to practice. We will explore several scenic locations in and around Grand Marais, capturing whatever catches our eye—landscapes, waterfalls, the scenic shoreline of Lake Superior, birds, and maybe a few mammals. On the final day of class, we’ll practice using editing tools like Adobe Lightroom and share some of our favorite photos.
Students should be comfortable hiking 3-4 miles during the course of the day over uneven terrain and come prepared for varied weather conditions.
This course is open to students ages 12+ if accompanied by an adult.
Required Tools:
A camera body and lens that you own
Tripod
Extra batteries and memory cards
Rain gear,
Long sleeves
Long pants
Hat
Bug net
Sunscreen
Bug repellent
Hiking boots/shoes
Optional Tools:
While not required, a laptop or tablet for uploading and editing photos will be helpful for our final day of class as we will be spending time learning about editing software (specifically Adobe Lightroom). Feel free to bring any additional photography gear that you own and want to practice with and/or need help with. This may include additional lenses, filters, etc.
Tuition: $210.00
Register Here
9:00 am - 5:00 pm: Puukko Knife: Forge Your Own
Instructor: Robert Burns
For hundreds of years the puukko knife has been the prized tool of northern Europe and Scandinavia for its versatility and simple elegance. In this course, students will be introduced to the traditional techniques and fundamentals of knifemaking while learning how to produce a fully functional tool that will last a lifetime. Over the five days of the class, students will learn how to forge a blade, heat treat, make a handle, and sharpen the new blade. In addition to these practical skills, we will discuss the history of knifemaking and how to design a knife with intentionality. This course will be well suited to beginners all the way to advanced students. This course is open to students ages 14-15 if accompanied by an adult. A 25% tuition discount applies to the youth registrant when registering with a full paying adult; call to register. Students ages 16 and up may attend on their own.
We will be using hammers and working around fire/heat while standing on concrete throughout the day, so some degree of physical stamina is required. This course is designed so that the most physically demanding day will be the first day with a transition to more fine-hand skills.
Required Tools:
All natural clothing (no synthetic fabrics can be worn in the shop due to fire safety)
Work boots (preferably with steel toe)
Hearing and eye protection will be provided, but you may bring your own for fit and comfort
Optional Tools:
A favorite forging hammer
Personal tongs
Personal files
Personal Apron
Tuition: $575.00
Materials fee: $225.00
Register Here
4:00 am - 6:30 pm: What's this Rock Too? Central North Shore's Geologic Story
Instructor: Jim Miller
How many times have you walked along a cobbled beach or a rocky ledge along the North Shore and wondered, “What’s this rock? Where did it come from? Why is it here?” Well, lace up some sturdy footwear and head into the field to be immersed in the fascinating geology of the central part of Minnesota's North Shore with UMD emeritus geology professor Jim Miller. This is a second in the “What's This Rock?” series of coursework, but does not need to be taken sequentially. This course will focus on “reading” rocks that tell part of the billion-year-old geological story of the Lake Superior area—a tale of fire and ice. However, What's This Rock Too will visit roadcuts and shoreline exposures that illustrate the volcanic and glacial history of the central part of Minnesota's North Shore. After an introductory presentation on Friday night, the class will travel by mini bus to Tettegouche State Park on Saturday morning and visit classic North Shore exposures on the way back to Grand Marais. The field trip will include stops at Tettegouche State Park, Caribou River, Sugarloaf Interpretive Center, and Temperance River State Park. Sunday morning class will carpool and start out with a hike up the Cascade River, followed by viewing roadcuts of the gemstone Thomsonite, and then rock-hounding on the shore of Lake Superior in Grand Marais. After this excursion, you’ll never see the North Shore the same way again, too! Students ages 12 and up are welcome to participate with an adult; a 25% tuition discount applies; call to register. The materials fee for this class includes the cost of transportation on Saturday to sites to reduce the driving necessary for this course and to promote group discussions.
Note, field stops on Saturday and Sunday will visit roadcuts along Highway 61 as well as rock exposures along or near the shore. Most stops will involve short walks (<.25 mile) along roads or hiking trails with slight to moderate inclines and several stops will require walking along cobbled beaches or uneven rock surfaces. As such, participants with mobility issues or a poor sense of balance are discouraged from participating
Required Tools:
Sturdy Footwear
Rain Gear
Hat
Water Bottle
Lunch for Saturday
Optional Tools:
Camera
For safety reasons, rock hammers are not allowed
All participants will be given a high-visibility orange vest to wear during field stops
Tuition: $230.00
Materials fee: $35.00
Register Here
9:00 am - 5:00 pm: Wool: The Full Experience
Instructors: Elise Kyllo, Heidi Quist
Wool is an incredibly versatile, durable, and beautiful fiber that is surprisingly easy to make into fabric. Start at the very beginning of the process in this team-taught class, as we shear sheep from Prairie Willows Farm and then go through processing wool, step by step together; shearing, skirting, washing, drying, carding, making batts, spinning, and finally felting. Once the wool is processed and sdivided amongst the class, we will learn and practice the very foundation of making fabric; spinning fibers, which leads to knitting and weaving. We will also work on the ancient method of making fabric, wet felting.
Wet felting wool pre-dates weaving and knitting and has recently seen a resurgence of popularity, as it is relatively easy and extremely versatile. Students will go home with new skills and one substantial wet-felted project. The course will be led by two fiber experts: Elise Kyllo, a former artist in residence at North House Folk School, specializing in wet felting, and Heidi Quist, a shepherdess from central Minnesota who raises sheep and is in charge of bringing and shearing the wooly guests of honor. This is a unique opportunity to immerse fully in wool craft and connect directly to the source. This course is open to students ages 12+ if accompanied by an adult. A 25% tuition discount applies to the youth registrant when registering with a full paying adult; call to register.
Required Tools:
2 large towels
Clothes that can get dirty/wet or an apron
Plastic bags to bring your wet projects home
Optional Tools:
Feel free to bring your favorite tools and whatever materials you might feel appropriate for this course. Apron, rubber gloves, etc. If you have your own carders and spinning tools you may bring them. Also, feel free to bring your own raw wool that may be processed and felted with, if suitable for felting.
Tuition: $345.00
Materials fee: $70.00
Register Here
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Friday, May 31, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. CT 
1:00 p.m. ET • 12:00 p.m. CT • 11:00 a.m. MT • 10:00 a.m. PT 
