There’s many ways to learn, explore, experience nature and have fun at the Confluence Learning Center!
Would you like to see a program here or hold a program? Please email info@natureattheconfluence.com
Click the “Categories” button below to see programs and events specifically for youth, adults, families, and free programs!
We have made the difficult decision to move this program to 2021. This is such a wonderful program that we want to ensure that as many people as possible will be able to attend and don’t feel that this is the right time to hold this program.
Portraying Audubon the artist, Brian “Fox” Ellis will enchant children and families with stories of his travels in the wildest places on the planet. Listen to tales of his adventures as he accomplishes something no one had ever done before: drawing every bird in North America. Fox is a storyteller and educator who brings the personality and artwork of Audubon to life. This is a program Of Our “Time Traveler Series” which is supported by a grant from the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.
- This is a free program for all ages.
- This program will be held outdoors if weather permits. Please bring lawn chairs.
- Families are invited to stay after the program for activities
- A guided tour of our new Rock River Birding Trail will be offered after the program.
- Presented in partnership with Nature At The Confluence, Sinnissippi Audubon and Green-Rock Audubon Society
Audubon settled on an ambitious plan to chronicle all 435 bird species in America. According to the National Audubon Society, which bears his name, Audubon ventured mostly on foot into the wilderness to document his subjects’ feeding preferences, calls and songs, courtship rituals, and other unique characteristics. His paintings showed the birds’ typical behavior in their natural habitats. Several of the species that he painted — including the passenger pigeon, the Carolina parakeet and the ivory-billed woodpecker — now are extinct.
Brian “Fox” Ellis is an internationally acclaimed author, storyteller, historian, and naturalist. He has worked with The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, The Field Museum and dozens of other museums across the country. Fox is a highly sought keynote speaker at regional and international conferences including the International Wetlands Conservation Conference, National Science Teachers Association Conference and the North American Prairie Conservation Conference, et al. Fox is also the Artistic Director for Prairie Folklore Theatre a unique theatre company that celebrates ecology and history through original musical theatre productions. He is the author of 16 books including the critically acclaimed Learning from the Land: Teaching Ecology Through Stories and Activities, (Libraries Unlimited, 2011), the award-winning children’s picture book The Web at Dragonfly Pond, (DAWN Publications, 2006) and Content Area Reading, Writing and Storytelling (Teacher Ideas Press 2010). Many of his stories are also available on one of 12 CDs. He and his wife run a Bed and Breakfast, The Twinflower Inn, in Bishop Hill, Illinois.
“Protectors of the Corn Moon: How the Rock River Ho-Chunks Hid 1,200 Fugitive Indians & Mired U.S. Troops During the 1832 Black Hawk War”
- This is a free program, but registration is required as seating is limited. Please register below.
- An optional 1/2 hour guided walk after the program will further investigate Ke-Chunk village and their gardens. You’ll also see the new “Ke-Chunk Ciporke” sculpture by Ho-Chunk artist Truman Lowe which honors the Ho-Chunk Native Americans who once lived at the confluence of Turtle Creek and the Rock River.
Please join us for a fascinating talk by Dr. Libby Tronnes that reconsiders the role of the Rock River Ho-Chunk Indians during the Blackhawk War. After over 1,200 members of the Sauk band led by Black Hawk fled into Ho-Chunk lands and were pursued by over 3,000 white troops, the Rock River Ho-Chunk attempted to thwart violence on their soil and avoid the destruction of their corn crop by guiding both U.S. troops and Sauk band Indians. You’ll learn how White Crow and Whirling Thunder, leaders at Ke-Chunk village located at the confluence of the Rock River and Turtle Creek, played a major part in this crisis.
Derived from Tronnes’ dissertation, this presentation seeks to correct our flawed understandings of the so-called “Black Hawk War” by reconsidering the role of the Rock River Ho-Chunks during that crisis, which began in April 1832 and resulted in Ho-Chunk land loss and removals from Illinois and Wisconsin.
Presented by Dr. Libby Tronnes, assistant professor of history at Bradley University
This is a program Of Our “Time Traveler Series” which is supported by a grant from the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.
Please Register for This Free Program
If this land could talk it would tell you about the people that cared for it, revered it, cried for it, dreamed of it, and shaped it over the millennia. The people of Ke-Chunk, a large Ho-Chunk village, tended crops in the rich soil. When they left in 1832, a fur trader built a small cabin for his two Native American wives and children to live in. Then settlers moved in, taming the land, including Irish migrant railroad workers who created a settlement here they called “Illinoy”. Later, an orphan lad left his home overlooking Turtle Creek to join the Army where he made the ultimate sacrifice through his heroic actions in battle. General Pershing later called him one of the greatest heroes of World War I.
Yes, if this land could talk, it would tell you about those who loved and cared for it, and those who, unfortunately, did not. Nature At The Confluence’s Executive Director, Therese Oldenburg will tell you about the fascinating history of this land and the people who lived here, and she’ll also share with you how she unearthed “dirty” family ties to it. You’ll also learn about how we’re making our own mark on this land by bringing it back to life, one shovel full at a time. Donations are appreciated so we can continue our work on restoring the land.
- Optional short walk about the property after the program to view specific sites discussed in the presentation.
- Free Event. Registration is limited to 40 people. Please register below to secure your spot.
- Held on two dates – Sunday, June 14, 1pm and Sunday, September 13, 1pm
About The “Time Traveler” Discovery Series – If this land could talk it would tell you about the people that cared for it, revered it, cried for it, dreamed of it, and shaped it over the millennia. The Time Traveler Discovery Series will explore the fascinating history of this land and the people who lived or worked near the confluence of Turtle Creek and the Rock River over the centuries. Learn more here
Register Now to Secure Your Spot!
