Special Events
Sunday Opening Plenary and Welcome Mixer
Sunday, August 3, 5 pm - 6:30 pm, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 104D
Keynote: Thomas E. Lovejoy, President, the Heinz Center—Ecological Literacy in a Phantasmagorical World
Following the Opening Plenary, please join us in the Lobby of the Ballrooms for an informal gathering. We will have cash bars set up for your convenience. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet old friends, make new friends, and head off to enjoy dinner with friends.
Undergraduate Student Orientation
Monday, August 4, 12 pm - 1 pm, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 101CD
If you are an undergraduate students (including one who has recently graduated), you are invited to attend this event. You will be welcomed by the ESA President, Norm Christensen, and the 2008 Program Chair, Lou Gross, and will be given information about the ESA, student events, and awards, as well as hints about how to best enjoy and use the meetings. This event also provides a great opportunity for you to meet some of your peers from across the country and make new friends who you may see at ESA meetings for years to come – all while enjoying light refreshments.
Grand Opening of the ESA Exhibits
Monday, August 4, 11:30 am, Midwest Airlines Center, Exhibit Halls CD
Join us for the ESA exhibits kick-off event. Visit booths and displays and see what is new and exciting in the world of ecology. Enjoy a complimentary lunch as you wander throughout the exhibit hall, but come early as refreshments will be offered only while supplies last.
Student Mixer
Monday, August 4, 6:30 pm - 8 pm, Marquette University, Student Union, Grand Ballroom, $17, TK-1
This mixer offers students an ideal opportunity to get to know their peers and form lasting friendships. The winners of the ESA Ecofilm Festival will attend the Mixer. Following the Mixer the winning films will be shown at the Midwest Airlines Convention Center in Room 202A. Come to the Mixer and enjoy good conversation and food, and have a good time.
Student EcoFilm Festival
Monday, August 4, 8 pm – 10 pm, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 202A
The Student EcoFilm Awards (SEAs) is the first-ever ESA contest designed to honor outstanding student contributions to ecological science through film. The contest will culminate in a two-hour film festival at the 2008 ESA annual meeting in Milwaukee, where we will present the best student ecology films.
Music and Ecology Session
Monday, August 4, 8 pm - 10 pm, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 102E
Be a part of ESA’s newest Annual Meeting tradition be participating in the “Music and Ecology” session, featuring performances by meeting attendees. If you are interested in sharing your talents at this year’s session, join us on Monday evening.
Grad Student and Post Doc Bagels with ESA Leadership
Tuesday, August 5, 7 am - 8 am, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 101CD, $6, TK-2
Graduate students and post-doctoral candidates are invited to join members of the ESA Leadership for informal conversation over a breakfast of bagels and coffee.
Sunrise 5K Fun Run/Walk in Milwaukee
Wednesday, August 6, 5:15 am, Midwest Airlines Center, meet in the West Wells Street Lobby, $15, TK-3
Rise and shine early to enjoy this always popular morning event. Check-in will begin at 5:15 am and a 10-minute walk from the Center to the Milwaukee lakefront will warm you up for an estimated 6 am run/walk start. The course will follow the Estabrook Trail, a lovely stretch along the bottom of the bluff separating Lake Michigan from downtown. Numerous prizes will be awarded and everyone who participates will receive an event souvenir. Participants must sign an Accident Waiver and Liability Release Form before the event.
Diversity Mixer
Wednesday, August 6, 6:30 pm - 8 pm, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 104C, $6, TK-4
Celebrate diversity with SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Development, and Sustainability) program participants at this popular mixer. This event offers an opportunity to learn more about the SEEDS program and its successes while enjoying good food before the Wednesday evening sessions.
ESA Diversity Luncheon: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade
Thursday, August 7, 11:30 am - 1:15 pm, Midwest Airlines Center, Room 104C, $25, TK-5
Join us for the 5th ESA Diversity Luncheon and be inspired by a diverse panel of science leaders. Panelists will share the setbacks in their careers and how they overcame those obstacles.
Rudolfo Dirzo, Instituto de Ecologia, Mexico and Stanford University, CA – Challenges between Borders
Soubadra Devy, Ashoka Trust for Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India – Life as a Woman Ecologist in the Tiger Reserves of India
DC Randle, St. Francis High School, MN – The Challenges of Finding a Professional Ecology Mentor (and How ESA Can Help)
Elzie McCord , New College of Florida – Holding on to Health and Career
Guadelupe Williams-Linera, Institute of Ecology in Xalapa, MX – Children? What Are Those?
Meg Lowman, New College of Florida, FL – Unwelcome in the Outback - Turning Setback into Comeback
ESA Ecology-Fest
Thursday, August 7, 7 pm - 9 pm, Milwaukee Public Museum, $35, TK-6
Spend a wonderful evening with us at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Visit the Puelicher Butterfly wing, the Streets of Old Milwaukee, and a European Village. Enjoy the strolling buffets and experience the unique atmosphere of Oktoberfest in August. You will feast on German potato salad, mini Wisconsin brats and sausage, Bavarian kraut, and potato pancakes served with applesauce, and sour cream…and of course beer!! A live band will also perform for your contra dancing enjoyment.
What is contra dancing? It is not the same as country line dancing. Contra dance groups receive absolutely no funding from Oliver North. In contra dancing, a caller -- usually working with a group of live musicians -- guides new and experienced dancers alike through a variety of steps. Each dancer and his or her partner perform a series of figures, or moves, with each other and with another couple for a short time. They then repeat the same figures with another couple, and so on. The figures are similar to those of old-time square dancing. The caller demonstrates each dance before it is actually done to the music. This gives everyone an idea of what to expect so the movements can be easily executed. The caller leads the dances while they are being done to music, so dancers are able to perform each movement to the music. Once the dancers appear to have mastered a particular dance, the caller may stop calling, leaving the dancers to enjoy the movement with music alone. Try it once and you’ll be hooked!
Closing Plenary Lunch: Summary of Meeting by Senior Ecologists
Friday, August 8, 11:30 am - 1 pm, Hilton Hotel, Wright A, $25, TK-7
The Closing Plenary Lunch will provide an informally structured opportunity for attendees to hear the perspectives of a panel of distinguished ecologists on the meeting just past, and their more general reflections on the history and future of the Society's meetings. The lunch menu will include tri-colored ravioli, tossed garden salad with red onion, cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, cabernet vinaigrette, assorted fresh beans, carrots, and red peppers, and rustic apple galette.