Media contact: Hana Brinkley, 352-754-6722 or Hana.Brinkley@MyFWC.com All Articles Tags:

Wildlife Conservation WMA

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is hosting award-winning author and historian Leslie Kemp Poole in its popular series of Florida nature author lectures on Friday, March 31, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Chinsegut Conservation Center, 23212 Lake Lindsey Road in Brooksville. Attendees must preregister online for this no-cost event.

Poole, a fourth-generation Floridian, will speak about the vital role women have played in Florida’s environmental movement and how they were active in saving the state’s natural resources even before they were legally permitted to vote. The educational presentation is designed to both inform and inspire.

Poole’s presentation references her book, “Saving Florida: Women’s Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century,” sharing stories of some of the challenges faced by women in conservation. Following the presentation, a Q&A session and discussion will be held.

For more information, visit the Chinsegut Facebook Page or contact the Chinsegut Conservation Center at 352-754-6722 or Chinsegut@MyFWC.com.

About the Chinsegut Conservation Center:

The Chinsegut Conservation Center is an environmental education facility managed by the FWC that offers outdoor skills and conservation education programs to the public. Fun educational programs connect visitors with biologists and wildlife experts to explore and become familiar with Florida’s unique and sensitive natural areas. Outdoor skills programs such as archery, wildlife viewing and compass navigation are offered seasonally as weather permits.

The Center is on the Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area, which is home to many species that can be observed throughout the year. Numerous trails surrounding the Center are open to the public. For more information on Center programs, facilities, or Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area trails, contact: Chinsegut@MyFWC.com or 352-754-6722.

About the Author Leslie Kemp Poole:

Leslie Kemp Poole is an award-winning writer and historian. Her bibliography includes the following works:

Poole is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Rollins College in Winter Park. She received her PhD in History from the University of Florida in 2012. Her articles have been published in numerous academic journals and she regularly presents papers about her research at history conferences.

In 2008, she appeared in the PBS documentary ”In Marjorie's Wake” that retraced a 1933 trip on the St. Johns River taken by noted author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. In January 2019, she appeared in the PBS Documentary “The Swamp,” part of the American Experience series, talking about the history of Florida's Everglades.

Poole also has worked as a freelance author for a number of magazines and publications.

Prior to working in academia, Poole was a reporter for several newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel, where she helped pen a series of articles about Florida's lack of growth management that won a national award. She resides in Winter Park, Florida.

Additional information is available on Poole’s website: lesliekemppoole.com/books.

For the third straight season, the Lakers took home first-place hardware at the UCA National Cheer Championships Feb. 10-12 in Orlando, Florida. Prior Lake won the Division I medium varsity non-tumbling division.

The team was also second in the Division I medium varsity non-tumbling game day division.

“Myself and the rest of the coaching staff could not be more proud of the accomplishments these athletes have made this season,” Lakers head coach Maddie Bills said. “This was the first time in program history that both teams walked away with state titles. Two weeks later, we came back to Minnesota with two runner-up titles and one national championship.”

Back on Jan. 28, Prior Lake’s varsity and junior varsity cheer teams took home three first-place finishes in the Minnesota Cheerleading Coaches Association Championships at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

The varsity won both the Class AA non-tumbling title and the game day non-tumbling division. The team won state titles the previous two seasons, but this year marks the first time the squad won in both divisions in the same year.

Meanwhile, the junior varsity team also won their division at state for the third year in a row. The team also took second out of 34 teams in small junior varsity division at nationals in Orlando.

“Each athlete in this program pushed themselves to be better every day,” Bills said. “They believed in themselves through every up and down, representing themselves, the program and their school with humility, integrity, gratitude and class. It was an honor for us coaches to be part of their journey.”

In 2021, Prior Lake’s varsity earned the program’s first-ever national title, winning both non-tumbling game day division and the medium varsity non-tumbling traditional comp division.

Last season, the Laker won the medium varsity non-tumbling game day division and was runner-up in both the small varsity non-tumbling division and in the small junior varsity division.

In 2020, Prior Lake’s traditional squad finished third in the medium varsity, non-tumbling division at nationals, while the game day team was fifth. It was the first time the program made it to the finals.

That season, Prior Lake’s junior varsity squad also competed at nationals in traditional and game day and were semifinalists (top 12) in both.

The varsity captains for this year’s Lakers team were Kaylin Buckingham and Stella Dileva.

Other members of the team included Lindsey Clark, Lily Courteau, Ella Thorson, Lauren Domer, Piper Morris, Kyla Nauertz, Carly Copeland, Kendall Mattson, Summer Scholl, Reese Guggemos, Payton Soukup, Mackenzie Henning, Kylee Gehrke, Katelyn Cloudt, Ella Arbach, Madi Pickenpack, Lindsay Higgins, Sadie Kettlecamp, Stella Goodman and Azara Olson.

The junior varsity captains were Shelby Goddard and Morgan Nemecek.

Other members included Haddie MacGillivray, Kate Kucera, Lily Mathis, Sadie Kronmiller, Jazlyn Benitez, Ava Bildeaux, Willow Blotske, Avery Brett, Payton Johnson, Dayton Nelson, Carys Taylor, Charlotte Anderson, Lilah Kraemer and Piper Smith.

Brittany Rehbein and Megan Musil were also varsity coaches for Prior Lake, while junior varsity coaches were Natalie Moran, Danny Strohman and Kathleen Stein.

UMD Bulldogs "ALLETE" Moments: Classroom Throughout this year, UMD Athletics is partnering with Minnesota Power, ALLETE to highlight the Bulldogs accomplishments in the 3 C's: Classroom, Competition, Community.

Brooke Olson of the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team was named the CSC's DII Academic All-America Member of the Year on Wednesday, per a release. It's a next step after the graduate forward was named to the Academic All-District Team earlier in the season.

Olson becomes the second UMD women's basketball player to take home the accolade, joining Lindsey Dietz, who won it two years in a row between 2004 and 2006. A graduate senior, Olson's pursuing a bachelor's degree in biology. Even in the midst of all of her success on the court, the Rice Lake, Wis. native's still finding plenty of time to hit the books- she holds a 3.65 GPA.

All-told, the five members of the DII Academic All-America First Team hold am average GPA of 3.92. Factoring in the entire DII All-America field across all three of its teams, the average is 3.87.

You can find the full DII Academic All-America team list below:

CSC Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Brooke Olson, University of Minnesota Duluth

FIRST TEAM Madison Frederick, Nova Southeastern University (Gr. 4.00 Leadership) Jalei Oglesby, Arkansas Tech University Sr. (4.00 Rehabilitation Science) Brooke Olson, University of Minnesota Duluth Sr. (3.65 Biology) Samantha Pirosko, Gannon University Sr. (3.96 Physician Assistant) Jami Tham, Tusculum University Gr. (3.91/4.00 Exercise Science (UG) / Sports Admin (G))

SECOND TEAM Hannah Belanger, Truman State University, Sr. (3.67 Business Administration) Kaylee DaMitz-Holt, Drury University, Gr. (4.00 Master in Integrative Leadership) Sage Hawley, Harding University, Jr. (3.76 Information Systems) Jaclyn Jarnot, University of West Florida, Sr. (3.76 Communications) Annie Roshak, Ashland University, Sr. (3.83 Accounting) Braelyn Wykle, Carson-Newman University, Sr. (3.59 Nursing)

THIRD TEAM Paige Emborsky, Daemen University, Gr. (4.00 Leadership & Innovation) Chloe Idoni, Ferris State University, Sr. (3.99 Elementary Education)

Audrey Ramsey, University of Tampa, Sr. (4.00 Cybersecurity & Information Technology Mgmt.) Kaitlyn Zarycki, Saginaw Valley State University, Sr. (3.55 Education)

This award is another in what was been a sea of recognition for Olson throughout nothing short of a star-studded season. It goes well beyond the fact that she's averaging a team-high 23 points per game over the course of the season, the third-highest mark in the nation. Or even the 32 points per game figure across three NCAA Tournament games, the best average across the entire tournament field. The graduate forward's now a four-time NSIC North Player of the Year, the first NSIC athlete to ever accomplish that feat. She's also a three-time NSIC Tournament MVP, the first women's athlete in the conference's history to earn that accolade.

How much time do you have? Let's keep going. All-time leading scorer in NSIC history in terms of points scored in regular season contests (1615). Second in among all active DII players (and in UMD history) in points scored with 2455. The D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year. A figurehead on a UMD squad that three-peated as both NSIC regular season and NSIC Tournament Champions.

The thing is… there's plenty of time to add more to this list. And Olson will start her journey towards doing just that when the Bulldogs head to St. Joseph, Missouri to start their first ever Elite Eight bid. No. 2 UMD will take on No. 7 Assumption in the St. Joseph Civic Arena on Monday, March 20 at 2:30 p.m.

About Minnesota Power, ALLETE: Our bold vision centers on our commitment to climate, customers and communities. We're a clean-energy leader under our EnergyForward strategy, already delivering 50% renewable energy ahead of all other Minnesota utilities. Now we're doubling down on that with a vision to deliver 100% carbon-free energy to customers reliably and affordably by 2050. Learn more at: https://www.mnpower.com/CarbonFreeEnergyVision

WALTHAM, Mass. – For the first time in the program's 55-year history and close to 1900 games, someone other than Bob DeFelice will be at the helm when the 2023 Bentley University baseball season gets underway this weekend.

Mike Hill, a former Bentley All-America and longtime assistant coach, will make his head coaching debut when the Falcons face Assumption University in a four-game non-conference series in Florida. Friday's 2 pm game will be at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport and the rest of the series (Saturday doubleheader, Sunday single game) will be played at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs.

Seven of the eight Falcons who started at least 25 games are back this season, including team captains Eddy Beauregard (Paxton/Wachusett Reg. HS), Kyle Halloran (Hopkinton/Hopkinton HS), Liam Sears (Springfield/Pope Francis HS) and Tim Zupkus (Middlebury, Conn./Holy Cross HS).

All four hit at least .287 last season and were the team's top run scorers. Sears, a grad student who'll likely transition from the outfield to DH this season, led the Falcons with a .313 average and had 31 RBI. A senior right fielder, Zupkus had a .293 average, 30 runs and 36 RBI. Beauregard, a senior who had a team-best 39 RBI last spring, will play first when he's not pitching. Halloran, who like Zupkus was errorless in the outfield in 2022, has career totals that include 106 hits, 96 runs and 37 stolen bases.

Other returning everyday players for the Falcons include junior second baseman Jackson Walonis (Walpole/Walpole HS), senior third baseman Cory Bright (Melrose/Bishop Fenwick HS), senior shortstop Steve Rizzuto (Belmont/Belmont HS), senior catcher Brian Lindsay (New Durham, N.H./Kingswood Reg. HS) and junior infielder Tyler Gonzalez (Windham, N.H./Lawrence Academy).

Rizzuto was a third-team All-Conference honoree in 2021, Bright and Walonis both batted at least .290 last year, Lindsey had a .333 average in 66 at bats last spring and Gonzalez made 21 starts last year in his first Bentley season.

Potential starting pitchers for Bentley include a quartet of right-handers: Beauregard and grad students David Hunter III (Middleton/Masconomet Reg. HS), Sean Mahan (Woburn/Matignon HS) and Brandon Ostiguy (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia HS). Beauregard was 4-0 for Stonehill in 2021, Hunter III had two wins in relief for Saint Anselm last year, Mahan was 3-2 for Bentley and Ostiguy earned All-Northeast-10 honors as a relief pitcher for Bentley in 2021.

Newcomers who'll be in the mix for playing time include Bryant transfer Stan DeMartinis III (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage HS), a middle infielder/outfielder whose father played for Bentley from 1994-96, and freshman catcher Tommy Goonan (Boston, Mass./Catholic Memorial HS).

Bentley is scheduled to make its northern debut a week from Saturday, March 4, against St. Michael's College.

In his 1956 science fiction short story “The Last Question,” Isaac Asimov invites readers to consider the end through the beginning, or the beginning through the end — order and chaos. The plot, set in 2061 and beyond, revolves around a question repeatedly asked by man that stumps even the galaxy’s most sophisticated sentient computers: How might we rebuild our universe despite its inevitable end? How can we reverse entropy?

But while the supercomputer Multivac and human hivemind Zee Prime were concerned with thwarting entropy to preserve life at the end of time, Shannon Rae Lindsey, current artist-in-residence at Casselberry’s Sculpture House, is dedicated to embracing entropy in all its beauty and curiosity. She'll be discussing her work, embracing entropy, and favoring process over product at an artist talk this Friday evening at the Sculpture House.

In August 2004, during a previous career as a pharmacy technician, Lindsey traveled to Arcadia, Florida, to serve the small DeSoto community while residents dealt with the damage following Hurricane Charley. In the midst of her work, Lindsey observed and was intrigued by the unfamiliarity of the familiar. Metal roofing wrapped around telephone poles led her to deeper questions of our understanding of objects, materials and definitions. This was a pivotal moment in Lindsey’s career as an artist, and in her work she began to explore how context changes our perception of an object.

“I hope to re-create that moment of wonder and engagement with the viewer that there’s this little flicker of familiarity and then you’re enticed to get closer and [ask] ‘How do I know what this is?’” Lindsey says.

Lindsey’s current solo exhibition at the Sculpture House showcases new works and new processes from the artist, including screenprinted paper collages and webs of mixed media. But the centerpiece is the sweeping site-specific installations comprised of construction implements — including a lustrous vortex of metal roofing material arranged delicately in large ribbon-like folds — and an entire room of cascading and frayed orange silt fencing.

“The installations are really exciting because they’re really defined by the space,” Lindsey says. “They’re site-specific, they respond to the amount of space that I’m able to use, the architecture, and they are also defined by how much time I have to install them.”

Her residency at this Casselberry gallery space — a former residential home acquired and repurposed by the city of Casselberry as an extension to their city arts program — gave her the opportunity to exhibit her three-dimensional works.

“I’m dependent on this public-facing venue to be able to install installations,” says Lindsey. “Whereas, the two-dimensional stuff obviously looks the same as it does in my studio, the installations are really dependent on having that space, and I like to show them with the two-dimensional work because it really is a two-dimensional and three-dimensional approach to the work itself.”

Lindsey’s practice is rooted in Process art, a movement that flourished in the 1960s utilizing nontraditional manufactured materials, with a brief that the act of creating the work was as important, if not more than, the finished work itself.

“I really lean into that because the materials that I use are mostly manufactured construction materials and I discovered them and have spent many years exploring them in my practice because … I have an interest in perception and specifically, how we perceive something as being ordered or disordered, and also, hand-in-hand, being useful or being non-useful,” Lindsey says.

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Much of her work revolves around the difficulty in definition, and the fact that how we define things is based on our points of comparison and perspective. In her process-based approach, Lindsey is less concerned with manipulating objects to fit a preconceived notion, and more with exploring an object’s intrinsic possibilities. “I don’t really care about these things doing what I want them to do. I want to embrace what it will naturally do,” says Lindsey. “What are the characteristics of these materials and how can I interact with it in different processes to reveal different aspects of them?”

As well as Sculpture House artist-in-residence, Lindsey wears many other hats — mixed media artist, gallery director at UCF Arts, and lecturer at UCF — each of these roles intersecting with and informing the others. She started working in gallery spaces after completing her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of South Florida, and joined Tampa’s Tempus Projects where she helped build walls, hang art, sweep floors and run lights.

Lindsey understands galleries and museums as integral to an artist’s career, where they can showcase their research and receive feedback from viewers. Her varied roles culminate in the gallery. “This is where students can see their future in terms of a professional venue in which they will show their work, contemporary artists sharing their practice, and the community surrounding all coming together in this one place,” she says.

After this solo exhibition, Lindsey will showcase work at the Snap! Orlando gallery’s “Florida Showcase” group exhibition, followed by a solo show at the Francis Marion University Place Gallery in South Carolina.

“I try to always be productive enough, flexible enough, adaptable enough, to take every opportunity that I can and I don’t want to say no, because this is such a learning experience for me as an artist and so much of my work evolves from these experiences,” Lindsey says.

Shannon Rae Lindsey’s work will be on display at the Casselberry Sculpture House through Aug. 19.