President-Elect Jason Miller ran the meeting in President Charlie Longbella’s absence.
Cindy Carlson reported that Remember Niger has been awarded a $10,000 matching grant opportunity from One Day's Wages to provide 34 scholarships for girls in middle school in Niger. To receive the matching grant they must raise $10,000 before receiving the matching grant funds. The scholarships will cover the cost of school tuition and fees, books, uniforms, meals, tutoring and mentoring for girls in middle school. The benefits of educating girls in Niger are immense. A study from the World Bank estimates that each year of middle school education provided to a girl yields a 25% increase in her future earnings and providing opportunities for girls to stay in school delays instances of early marriage. If you would like to help Remember Niger take advantage of this grant, contact Cindy or donate directly online at
https://onedayswages-rememberniger.funraise.org/.
Charter member George Winiecki has been named Mounds View Citizen of the Year. The honor will be awarded at the Mounds View Town Hall Meeting which starts at 5:30PM on Monday, September 20th. The meeting is at the Mounds View Community Center. Let’s all show up to honor George.
Our speaker today was Dr. Caitlin Potter, Education and Community Engagement Coordinator for the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (hereafter Cedar Creek). Cedar Creek is a large ecological research site in central Minnesota with natural habitats that represent the entire state. There is no place of comparable biological diversity so close to the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The nine square mile reserve lies at the intersection of three biomes; deciduous forest, prairie grassland and northern evergreen forest. This means that Cedar Creek has exceptional diversity of flora and fauna, making it the perfect location for scientific research. In fact, Cedar Creek has been at the forefront of ecological research since the 1940’s. Many research methodologies, including radio telemetry tracking, were developed at Cedar Creek. In addition to its short-term research projects, Cedar Creek is also home to many long-term projects, some of which won’t yield results for 200 years. Very sophisticated global climate change research is also being conducted. Cedar Creek’s “Eyes on the Wild” project employs trail cameras and some volunteer “watchers” to gather real-time visual data on animal behavior in the wild.
Due to the large number of research projects housed onsite, the only part of Cedar Creek’s property that is regularly open to the public is the Fish Lake Nature Trail. The nature trail is a wonderful place to walk, ski, bird watch and more. Click
here for more information about the trail. Access is limited to daylight hours and no dogs are allowed on the trail.
To learn more about Cedar Creek, click
here, or contact Caitlin directly at Caitlin@umn.edu
Cindy Carlson announced that Arden Hills Shoreview Rotary, in conjunction with Lakeshore Players Theatre, is presenting the Shoreview Live! Variety Show as a fundraiser for various club initiatives. Showtime is 7 PM on Thursday, September 23rd at the Shoreview Community Center. The evening will feature upbeat and jazzy music performed by local performers Kate Beahen, Falicia Cunningham, Bradley Beahen & Elena Glass, along with theatrical snippets and comedy interpreted by beloved Lakeshore Players Theatre performers, with a special performance from Children's Performing Arts students. Click
here to download more information.
Past-President Edeth James is leaving soon for Africa soon to attend the groundbreaking for the 4 Way Test sign honoring him at his alma mater. If you would like to contribute toward the sign, contact John Ordway.
Don’t forget the softball game between the SBM Fire Department and the Mounds View Police Department to honor the Heroes who responded after the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago. The game (dubbed “Guns and Hoses”) will be held at Mounds View City Hall Park at 11 AM on Saturday, September 11th. Volunteers would be appreciated at 10:30AM. Or club has agreed to help sponsor the event.
Next weeks’ meeting will feature the induction of Finara Fang as the newest member of our club. Let’s have a good showing of members to welcome her into the club.
