The Lake Superior Binational Forum recently donated three books for children and adults to the Cloquet Public Library as part of its annual Lake Superior Day celebration activities.
Lake Superior Day, held annually all around the lake on the third Sunday in July, is a day to acknowledge the importance of the world's largest freshwater lake to the region's economy, environment, and quality of life.
The Binational Forum, administered in the U.S. at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute on the Northland College campus in Ashland, Wis., chose books that addressed environmental issues affecting the lake, or that highlighted its scenic, historical, or cultural importance to the region. The children's books combine fantasy illustrations with facts and history about the lake.
In "The Day the Great Lakes Drained Away" by Charles Ferguson Barker (Mackinac Island Press, 2005), the author takes children on an incredible journey of the Great Lakes, revealing the secrets of the lakes' floors and surrounding environment if the unimaginable happened: the Great Lakes drained away.
In "Gitchi Gumee," nationally acclaimed author Anne Margaret Lewis partnered with award-winning artist Kathy Chaney Fritz to create a unique and elegant story and a 400-year-old legend about the world's largest lake. Each colorful illustration expresses the power of the lake in this poetic story about patience and respect.
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Adults and families will enjoy the photographs in "Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea" (Boston Mills Press, 1995) by Gary and Joannie McGuffin of the Algoma Highlands in Ontario. The book chronicles the McGuffins' incredible 80-day, 2,000-mile circumnavigation of Lake Superior by canoe. It describes spirited adventure, physical triumphs, breathtaking natural beauty, and environmental sensibility. The McGuffins are known worldwide for their expeditions as professional adventurers as well as for their high-profile conservation efforts.
Kevin Kangas, a U.S. Binational Forum member living in Cloquet, said educational and entertaining materials like these books help people appreciate the lake.
"The Binational Forum looks for ways to help people connect to the lake, which often leads to their taking good care of this important natural resource," Kangas said.
The Lake Superior Binational Forum is a citizen stakeholder group of U.S. and Canadian volunteers that work together to provide input to governments about lake issues and educate basin residents about ways to protect and restore the lake. Members come from Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario.
The Forum is located in the United States at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College in Ashland, Wis., and funded in the U.S. by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office. The Canadian Forum office is at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and funded by Environment Canada.
