Join us for a presentation by Andrew Tri, a research wildlife biologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. From an era of persecution to conservation and management, Minnesota’s black bears are truly a conservation success story. We’ll discuss bear ecology, management, conservation, how to coexist with these amazing critters and why rivers can be corridors for range expansion. This program is part of the 2026 Big Year of Rivers Speaker Series.

Join us for a presentation by Lee Hendrix—pilot and riverboat captain. Learn about the exciting and dangerous work that accompanied a five-decade career of working on America's river with Lee Hendrix, pilot and former captain in the US Army Corps of Engineers. Lee piloted commercial towboats and the last three overnight passenger steamboats on the Mississippi—the Delta, Mississippi and American Queen. Through engaging storytelling, Hendrix sheds light on his rare experience along one of the most powerful and important waterways in the world. This program is part of the 2026 Big Year of Rivers Speaker Series.

Join us for a presentation by Abby Cichocki of the Hudson Bay Girls. Learn about the Hudson Bay Girls' groundbreaking 1,300-mile canoe journey from Lake Superior to Hudson Bay, where they retraced a historic Voyageur Fur Trading Route and championed environmental stewardship, outdoor education and gender equality in outdoor spaces. This program is part of the 2026 Big Year of River Speaker Series.

Join us for a presentation by Sharon Stiteler, The Birdchick. Sharon Stiteler is a local author and bird expert known online and on air as The Birdchick. She worked on the Mississippi River as a park ranger for 13 years doing bird surveys, documenting the metro heron rookeries and eagle nests, and flying over it for fall migratory bird surveys. Even when she lived in Alaska, she found ways to connect with the river through birds. This program is part of the 2026 Big Year of River Speaker Series.

Join us for a presentation by Dr. Mary Kosuth, an educator at Dunwoody College and research scientist at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. This presentation will cover the history of plastic, plastic pollution and microplastic research. We will talk about what is known, what isn't known and what we can all do in the meantime. This program is part of the 2026 Big Year of Rivers Speaker Series.

Join us for a presentation by John Sheppard, Associate Professor & Assistant Director at the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University. In its 90-day run from source to sea, America's magnificent Mississippi River transforms itself from a cheerful, clearwater stream to a roiling, muddy anaconda that runs 200 feet deep and floats ships from around the world. She spans a continent and across history, gathering sediment and stories. This presentation will offer highlights from the river's journey through a series of short videos and vignettes drawn from decades of interpretive storytelling by John Sheppard and Hamline University's Center for Global Education. This program is part of the 2026 Big Year of River Speaker Series.