Banquet marks Leopold weekend celebration
Wild game menu, guest speakers and the Chris Silver Bluegrass Band headline night's festivities
Mike Hildebrandt
Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: Campus News
In the upcoming weeks, students, faculty and community members will have another chance to honor the memory of Aldo Leopold. On Feb. 27, the 4th annual Aldo Leopold Banquet will be held at the Westgate Sportsman Club in Eau Claire.
According to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Leopold was a "conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast." His collection of the essays, "A Sand County Almanac," "is one of the most well-respected books about the environment ever published, according to the Foundation. They include that the last essay in the book, "Land Ethic," outlines a new relationship between man and the environment and "sets the stage for the modern conservation movement."
In March 2004, the last weekend in March was named "Aldo Leopold Weekend" by Gov. Jim Doyle. The banquet, sponsored by the Environment Adventure Center at UW-Eau Claire, is a celebration of this occasion and Leopold's life and writings.
"The most influence a campus can have on the environment is in their own backyard," said Dan Langlois, assistant director of EAC. He added the area around the Chippewa River near campus and near Westgate is part of the lower Chippewa Valley, "the largest lowland continuous forest in the upper Midwest," and the highest concentration of endangered species can be found in this corridor. He said it is "fitting that we have this at the entrance of this 60-mile corridor."
Westgate Sportsman Club, along with several other conservation organizations, has bought land around the river to continue Leopold's legacy. Langlois mentioned there has been a lot of collaboration between the Geography and English departments on campus, and with many outside agencies, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Eau Claire Rod and Gun Club, Westgate and other area organizations.
Langlois is looking forward to the banquet, and said he hopes many students will be in attendance. He added students are the "next generation" and will be responsible for continuing Leopold's land ethic.
"They can be exposed to the philosophy of Leopold at an early age," he said.
Sophomore geography major Amy Brickheimer will be representing the "next generation" by speaking at the event.
"I was a student member of the (UW- Eau Claire) Rod and Gun Club, and I was asked to introduce speakers last year, and this year I was asked to be a guest speaker," Brickheimer said. She added there are several new things this year, including a live band, more speakers and more involvement by students.
One of the major changes this year will be the location of the event. In past years, Langlois said, the banquet was held at the EAC, which limited the number of people who could attend. By having it at Westgate, organizers could greatly expand the number of people who could attend, he said, by up to 400.
According to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Leopold was a "conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast." His collection of the essays, "A Sand County Almanac," "is one of the most well-respected books about the environment ever published, according to the Foundation. They include that the last essay in the book, "Land Ethic," outlines a new relationship between man and the environment and "sets the stage for the modern conservation movement."
In March 2004, the last weekend in March was named "Aldo Leopold Weekend" by Gov. Jim Doyle. The banquet, sponsored by the Environment Adventure Center at UW-Eau Claire, is a celebration of this occasion and Leopold's life and writings.
"The most influence a campus can have on the environment is in their own backyard," said Dan Langlois, assistant director of EAC. He added the area around the Chippewa River near campus and near Westgate is part of the lower Chippewa Valley, "the largest lowland continuous forest in the upper Midwest," and the highest concentration of endangered species can be found in this corridor. He said it is "fitting that we have this at the entrance of this 60-mile corridor."
Westgate Sportsman Club, along with several other conservation organizations, has bought land around the river to continue Leopold's legacy. Langlois mentioned there has been a lot of collaboration between the Geography and English departments on campus, and with many outside agencies, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Eau Claire Rod and Gun Club, Westgate and other area organizations.
Langlois is looking forward to the banquet, and said he hopes many students will be in attendance. He added students are the "next generation" and will be responsible for continuing Leopold's land ethic.
"They can be exposed to the philosophy of Leopold at an early age," he said.
Sophomore geography major Amy Brickheimer will be representing the "next generation" by speaking at the event.
"I was a student member of the (UW- Eau Claire) Rod and Gun Club, and I was asked to introduce speakers last year, and this year I was asked to be a guest speaker," Brickheimer said. She added there are several new things this year, including a live band, more speakers and more involvement by students.
One of the major changes this year will be the location of the event. In past years, Langlois said, the banquet was held at the EAC, which limited the number of people who could attend. By having it at Westgate, organizers could greatly expand the number of people who could attend, he said, by up to 400.
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