Prairie Perspectives Retreat 2018
Fourth Annual Workshop and Retreat
August 23-27
Shalom Hill Farm, rural Windom, Minnesota
Co-sponsored by
Minnesota School of Botanical Art and Minnesota Native Plant Society
This retreat is full, but we are accepting names on the waiting list.
Only shared rooms will be available.
Join a mix of botanical artists and naturalists whose combined experience and knowledge contribute to a participant-driven weekend of workshops, field trips, and relaxation in the prairies of southwestern Minnesota. This year's program focuses on Composites--things made up of many parts or elements. Pending mini-workshops include basic drawing and watercolor and an introduction to plant structures of the sunflower family. Field trips include exploration of nearby prairies with veteran naturalists and professional ecologists. New this year is a full day trip on Sunday to explore prairies, springs, and forests in eastern Murray and Lyon Counties along Plum Creek and the upper Cottonwood River.
Evening programs include a photographic introduction to local members of the sunflower family and historical landscape ecology with 19th century descriptions of the area. Other evening programs and informal afternoon crafts or discussions draw on the expertise of participants. This is a resident retreat. Expect to share good fellowship, meal preparation or chores, workshops and/or field trips, evening programs, and a Saturday silent auction to fund retreat reservations from year to year.
Attenders should be affiliated either with the Minnesota School of Botanical Art, be members of the Great River Chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists or members of the Minnesota Native Plant Society. We seek a balance of naturalists and artists at all levels of experience.
All lodging and programs are based at Shalom Hill Farm in rural Cottonwood County. Cost depends on the number of attenders but should run around $60 per night. This includes shared meals, lodging, and programs. Part time participation for a minimum of three days and two nights including Saturday is possible, but priority will be given to full time attenders. Most accommodations are in shared rooms.
This retreat is full, but we are accepting names on the waiting list. Only shared rooms will be available.
Indicate your interest by sending an email with the subject line "Prairie Retreat" to prairieperspectives at pressenter.com. To avoid overbooking, all registrants should follow this procedure. We will pass on Plant Society registrations to the MNNPS trip coordinator. Please do not directly contact Shalom Hill Farm.T
Nancy Sather, Ecological resource person
Marilyn Garber, Director of Minnesota School of Botanical Art
Please note a detailed 2018 schedule will be published here soon!
Below are details from the 2017 Retreat to give
you examples of what has been done in the past.
A typical day includes concurrent morning and afternoon field trips and art classes. Native Plant Society sponsored Trips emphasize bedrock-influenced prairies, including the Historical Society’s Jeffers Petroglyphs, Rock Ridge Prairie SNA, TNC’s Red Rock Preserve, and rock communities in Brown County Park. Trip leaders include, Nancy Sather, Malcolm MacFarlane, and guest leader Rhett Johnson.
Concurrent sessions in watercolor painting and drawing are open to all. Novices will want to attend at least two sessions. Experienced artists may want to take advantage of the proximity to prairies within half a mile. The studio space will be available around the clock. Art instructors include Marilyn Garber and Linda Medved-Lufkin, both of the Minnesota School of Botanical Art.
Late afternoon informal craft sessions led by participants provide an opportunity to unwind. Evening lectures include a Friday keynote highlighting the implications of recent local archaeological discoveries by archaeologist Tom Sanders, former Jeffers Petroglyph manager. Other, programs include prairie wildflower by Shelley Olson, interpreter at Jeffers Petroglyph; rock specialists by Malcolm MacFarlane; botanical art by Marilyn Garber; and history of local prairie conservation by Nancy Sather. Back by popular demand, guest lecturer and trip leader Rhett Johnson joins us on Saturday morning for a session on grass morphology.
Lodging, meals, and carpools
Lodging is in the multipurpose Commons building at Shalom Hill Farm. SHF is a rural retreat center with an ethic of environmental sustainability embedded in a mix of agricultural land and prairie, approximately 3 ½ hours southwest of the Twin Cities. The building accommodates up to 30 people in single or shared rooms. Bathrooms and showers are shared between rooms, generally one for each two rooms. Additional information and driving
instructions are posted on the center’s web site (http://shalomhillfarm.org/ ).
Lodging, meals, and carpools
Lodging is in the multipurpose Commons building at Shalom Hill Farm. SHF is a rural retreat center with an ethic of environmental sustainability embedded in a mix of agricultural land and prairie, approximately 3 ½ hours southwest of the Twin Cities. The building accommodates up to 30 people in single or shared rooms. Bathrooms and showers are shared between rooms, generally one for each two rooms. Additional information and driving
instructions are posted on the center’s web site (http://shalomhillfarm.org/ ).