2015 Forest Lodge Summer Academy

Registration for the 2015 Forest Lodge Summer Academy is now Closed.

3 Sigma Institute is offering Summer Academy courses and workshops in affiliation with Northland College and the US Forest Service. During the next few years the US Forest Service will be stabilizing and renovating the Historic Forest Lodge Estate (described below).

Restoration is moving forward on the Forest Lodge historic buildings; however, the buildings are not expected to be available until 2016.

The 2015 courses will make use of the estate’s grounds and other areas within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.  Several of this year's courses/ workshops will be offered on the Northland College Campus.

Summer Academy Location

The USFS Forest Lodge Historic District is located on Lake Namakagon within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest near Cable, Wisconsin. It is about a 1.5 hour drive from the Duluth, Minnesota airport. Forest Lodge boasts lake access and several private islands. Go here for more information about the Historic Forest Lodge Estate. Please note that the rally point (initial meeting) for most of the courses will be at the Northland Campus in Ashland, WI and one will be at Forest Lodge (see course details).

Registration

Registration is now CLOSED.

To take a course for credit use the NRS course numbers, for non-credit use the 3SI course numbers.

Accommodations, meals, and working conditions

Scholarships

2014 Summer Academy Curriculum

2015 Summer Academy Courses

Restoration of the dormitories at Forest Lodge is not yet complete. Undergraduate credit (in some cases, graduate credit) is offered through Northland College for these courses or courses can be taken as a non-credit option. Systems Modeling, Batik, and Cultural Understandings will be offered on the Northland campus in 2015; however, students will make day trips to Forest Lodge and Chequamegon Bay during these courses. Students registering for the Wetland or Lake Ecology classes will have the opportunity to camp and take meals on the estate.

Short Courses

Short courses can be taken either as a credit or non-credit option

Introduction to Environmental Modeling: Linking Social and Natural Sciences
Instructor: Elizabeth Allen, Ph.D. Candidate, Washington State University

Course #NRS 250 F1 (1 credit) or #3SI 250 1 (non-credit) | August 3-12, 2015 (10 days) | Max 15 students

Students will learn about the important role models play in understanding the environment and making policy decisions. They will get hands-on experience building system dynamics models of integrated systems and will explore how collaborative modeling might be used to support a decision-making process among stakeholders with diverse interests.

Additional Information:

This course can be taken for college credit or as a non-credit option
Meeting Point: Northland College, Ashland, WI
Logistics: Meals and Lodging on Northland Campus
Location: Northland Campus, Forest Lodge & Region

Price (1 credit): $1593 includes 1 college credit, tuition, meals, and lodging
Price (non-credit): $1280 includes tuition, meals, and lodging

Assessment of Wetland Food Web Support – Patterns in Primary and Secondary Production
Instructor: R. J. Garono, Ph.D.; University of Minnesota and J. Kooser, Senior Ecologist, Gomez and Sullivan Engineers, DPC

Course #NRS 350 F1 (1 credit) or 3SI 350 1 (non-credit) | July 31- Aug 6, 2015 (7 days) | Max 20 students

In this course, students will sample Great Lakes and inland lake emergent/submergent plant communities and the insect assemblages that these communities support. Students will compare multiple survey and collection techniques, construct and analyze data sets, and calculate and compare diversity indices. Students will compare community classification techniques to determine if wetland plant communities support characteristic invertebrate assemblages.

Additional Information:

This course can be taken for college credit or as a non-credit option
Meeting Point: Northland College, Ashland, WI
Logistics:Meals and Camping at Forest Lodge
Location: Northland Campus & Forest Lodge

Price (1 credit): $1800
Price (non-credit): $1490

Course #NRS 250 F2 (1 credit) or 3SI 250 2 (non-credit) | July 24 - 30, 2015 (7 days) | Max 15 students

The course will introduce students to the study of lakes as sentinel systems capable of tracking these types of environmental change along natural and human-produced gradients. Students will participate in the field collection and analysis of data from coastal Lake Superior, Lake Namekagon and other Chequamegon and Nicolet National Forest lakes as they help establish and maintain a regional network of sentinel lakes of climate change.

Additional Information:

This course can be taken for college credit or as a non-credit option
Meeting Point: Northland College, Ashland, WI
Logistics:Meals and Camping at Forest Lodge
Location: Northland Campus & Forest Lodge

Price (1 credit): $1800
Price (non-credit): $1490

Workshops

All of the following workshops are offered as a non-credit option. Cultural Understandings and Batik will be offered on the Northland campus in 2015; however, students will make day trips to Forest Lodge and Chequamegon Bay during these courses. Students registering for the Amphibian Monitoring will have the opportunity to camp and take meals on the estate.

Amphibian Inventory and Monitoring Survey Techniques
Instructor: B. Hill, 3 Sigma Institute

Course #3SI W001 | June 22 - 23, 2015 (2 days) | Max 25 students

This two-day workshop introduces students to aquatic and terrestrial amphibian survey techniques. During this event, students will become acquainted with commonly used methods for amphibian inventory and monitoring projects. Students will learn the importance of amphibian surveys, and what species assemblage and relative abundance data translates to in terms of ecosystem health. They will be exposed to a variety of different survey techniques and methodologies, understand the benefits and short falls of each, and will implement many of them first hand in the field on day two.

Performing pre-survey site assessments in small groups, with desired project goals in mind, will help students recognize the most appropriate method and time of year to use it at a given site, and why. The course format is a combination of classroom lecture and “hands-on” field exercises. This course is designed for biology or environmental majors, those interested in herpetology, or those who work in the wildlife biology field who have an understanding of basic biological principles. This workshop is field intensive; students should be prepared for all weather conditions.

Additional Information:

Meeting Point: Forest Lodge, Cable, WI
Logistics:Meals and Camping at Forest Lodge
Location: Forest Lodge

Price (non-credit): $520 includes tuition, equipment use, camping at Forest Lodge (meals not included)

_________

Cultural Understandings and Relationships to Nature
Instructor: S. Perez, Land Management Consultant/PhD Candidate Cornell University

Course #3SI W002 | July 20 - 24, 2015 (5 days) | Max 15 students

This land of lakes and forest is the ancestral home of the Native Americans.  It also became the home, and workplace, of the French, Scots, Swedish, and Norwegians.  Each of these groups had a particular understanding of nature.  The latter groups came with their understandings and developed their own relationship to the new lands.  In this 5-day course, we will explore the historical records, listen to stories from the past, and visit various sites in the area.  Students will come away with a deeper understanding of not only how different cultures interpret and adapt to their surroundings, but also how the area we see now has changed over time due to the activities of humans.

Additional Information:

Meeting Point: Northland College, Ashland, WI
Logistics:Meals and Lodging at Northland College
Location: Northland College

Price (non-credit): $855 includes tuition, lodging, and meals

_________

Batik
Instructor: A. Gray, Ph.D.

Course #3SI W003 | July 27 - 31, 2015 (5 days) | Max 15 students

Explore the Chequamegon National Forest to find inspiration and then use wax and paint to capture your imagination in the positive and negative space on cotton, silk, rayon or linen. Course combines interpretive
hikes in the forest with regional ecologists with learning techniques of the ancient art form of batik, and includes learning the history of the art form, a survey of batik art, and various aspects of the technique such as the importance of wax mixture and temperature, application using painting tools, painting techniques, and dyeing and finishing work.

Additional Information:

Meeting Point: Northland College, Ashland, WI
Logistics:Meals and Lodging at Northland College
Location: Northland College

Price (non-credit): $850 includes tuition, lodging, and meals

Mission    About Us    Projects    Publications    News    Home

For more information about 3 Sigma Institute, please contact ralph_garono at 3sigmainstitute.org.
3 Sigma Institute | P.O. Box 2421| Corvallis, Oregon 97339
Web site last modified: January 2015