Tom Hanson, owner of the Duluth Grill, and his urban farm manager Francois Medion will present the keynote address on Friday, April 17. Chef Lenny Russo, owner of Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, will be speaking on Saturday evening, April 18.

Sandstone, MN -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/05/2014 -- This spring, the Audubon Center of the North Woods (ACNW) near Sandstone, MN, will once again be holding their unique all-inclusive 'Food & Farms Weekend' and have recently confirmed the renowned keynote speakers for both Friday and Saturday nights of that event.

Held April 17-19, 2015, this one-of-a-kind experience brings together people committed to farm-to-table sustainable food practices. Over the weekend, participants choose from a variety of expert-led on-site workshops on gardening, cooking and food preservation, attend off-site field trips to local farmers and producers, and enjoy engaging evening presenters.

'Grow it, Raise it, Preserve it, Prepare it' is the tagline of this special event at ACNW. The weekend is focused on teaching participants to get back to the basics and learn new skills on the most elemental of our needs and pleasures: Food.

On the evening of April 17, 2015, Tom Hanson, owner of the Duluth Grill, and his urban farm manager Francois Medion will talk about building sustainable food systems in an urban environment. Tom, with his wife Jaima, took over the Duluth Grill (Duluth, MN) in 2001 and have turned it into Duluth's number one restaurant with a menu that's almost 100% scratch-made. The Duluth Grill believes in sourcing locally and producing some of its own food as a way of building sustainable food systems right in our own backyard. To help supply the restaurant with produce, they have developed an urban farm with the help of Francois Medion. In addition to being the farm manager of the Duluth Grill, Francois is an expert on local plants, sustainable practices, and foraging for edible plants.

Chef Lenny Russo, owner of Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, will be speaking on Saturday evening, April 18. Lenny, with his wife Mega Hoehn, opened 50-seat Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul in 2002, which today includes a market, two private dining rooms, three chef's tables, a 60-seat lounge and an 80-seat dining room. Before Heartland, Lenny was Executive Chef of W.A. Frost in St. Paul and has extensive experience at some of the best restaurants in Minneapolis. In March 2007, he was named 'Restaurateur of the Year' by Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and every year since 2010 he has been nominated as Best Chef: Midwest Category by the James Beard Foundation. Lenny also sits on the Organic Advisory Task Force to the MN Depart. of Agriculture.

A few benefits of local, sustainable food sources and practices are personal satisfaction, superior taste and freshness, better nutritional value, reduction in grocery expenses and lessening your environmental footprint. It is an instructional and enlightening weekend filled with expert led workshops to include gardening, baking, food preserving, off site field trips plus much more and the opportunity to get back to the basics and learn new or refresh old skills.

"We are excited to offer an entire weekend of knowledge dedicated to giving people the resources to be more self sufficient with sustainable food choices,"said Bryan Wood, Executive Director at ACNW. "In addition to having these wonderful keynote speakers lined up, we are also thrilled to have European-trained Chef Monique Hooker return as an instructor."

With an array of class choices instructed by experts to include cooking, canning, growing, composting, beekeeping, dehydrating plus many more, there are many choices for participants to choose from. In addition to the food-focused classes, workshops and field trips, Advanced Naturalists from the Center will lead guided nature hikes and a sustainable energy tour.

On-site accommodations include comfortable lodging, delicious scratch-made meals and access to the Audubon Center's 535 acres and 7+ miles of trails. Lodging, meals, and all programming are included in the all-inclusive weekend fee.

For more information, pricing, early registration discounts and online registration, visit Food & Farms Weekend 2015.

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The Will Steger Foundation is once again hosting its annual Summer Institute for Energy Education at the Audubon Center of the North Woods near Sandstone, MN.

Sandstone, MN -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/10/2014 -- This summer, the Will Steger Foundation is once again hosting its annual Summer Institute for Energy Education at the Audubon Center of the North Woods near Sandstone, MN.

Held August 4-6, 2014, this is the Midwest's climate change education event of the year for formal and non-formal educators of K12 students in grades 3-12 to connect with educators who care about quality teaching and who want to bring climate change and energy concepts to their educational setting.

With the help of expert guest scientists and educators, hands-on engaging activities and a beautiful setting at the Audubon Center of the North Woods, a model renewable energy demonstration site, the 2014 Summer Institute for Climate and Energy Education will provide educators with

- Important climate change and energy concepts

- Confidence to share these concepts

- Awareness of the standards (including Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core) that support climate change and energy concepts

- Skills to make learning experiential and to take students outside

- A framework for effective place based climate change and energy education

Designed to be affordable to teachers, the all-inclusive cost for the entire event is just $130. Included in the cost of the event are 2 nights lodging, all meals, training, materials and much more. 20 CEUs will be awarded and 2 Graduate Credits are also available through Hamline University at additional cost and with a brief reflection paper.

The Institute opens on Monday evening with a wonderful 'Dinner at the Lake' featuring music by cellist Daniel Crawford, a composer, educator and student at the University of Minnesota who will be performing his renowned piece "Song for a Warming Planet". Monday's dinner will be followed by keynote speaker Dr. Dr. John Abraham, Professor of Thermal Sciences at the University of St. Thomas where he researches in climate monitoring and renewable energy generation for the developing world. His energy development work has extended to Africa, South America, and Asia. (The Dinner at the Lake on Monday, August 4th is also open to public attendance – reservations required; 888-404-7743).

This year's Institute will also feature the following special guest speakers and facilitators

- Mary Spivey, U of MN Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
- Larry Weber, Local Author and Naturalist
- Paul Thompson, CoFounder, Cool Planet
- Asia Ward, Director of Training and Outreach, KidWind
- Bryan Wood, Executive Director, Audubon Center of the North Woods
- Lester Shen, Phd., Director of Innovative Technologies, Center for Energy & Environment

Participants will leave this summer's Institute revitalized, inspired, and with new resources including a copy of the Minnesota's Changing Climate or Experience Energy curriculum and accompanying resources. Here's a sampling of what last year's Institute participants had to say

"Thanks for a wonderful training…I was opened to new info. I was surrounded by people passionate about science. I am leaving motivated to do more about science and outdoor learning. The food was amazing." – An Institute participant in 2013

"A HUGE thank you for this experience. It was amazing and inspiring, and I can't believe it was so affordable." – An Institute participant in 2013

For more information, agenda, keynote and guest bios, or to register online, visit http://www.willstegerfoundation.org/summer-institute.

About the Audubon Center of the North Woods
The Audubon Center of the North Woods (ACNW) is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 residential environmental learning center and conference & retreat center on the shores of Grindstone Lake in east-central Minnesota. A proud leader in environmental education and renewable energy, ACNW is committed to providing lifelong learning experiences to people of all ages and has been providing environmental and outdoor education programs since 1971. We 'walk the walk' in demonstrating environmental stewardship and have implemented a wide variety of renewable energy sources and energy conservation measures. Our focus is on developing an understanding, ethics and responsibility regarding the environment and the role of humans through formal and informal experiences that link nature and humans.

Our mission To instill a connection and commitment to the environment in people of all communities through experiential learning.

For more information about the Audubon Center of the North Woods, visit http://www.audubon-center.org.

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