SPRUCE: Studying Climate Change 
in Northern Minnesota Peatlands
 Monday, August 8, 2022

Join Unlimited Learning on Monday, August 8, 2022, 1:30 p.m. to learn about exciting climate change research being conducted by USDA Forest Service in Grand Rapids. The program will be in the Forum Room at Crosby-Ironton High School. Randall Kolka, the presenter, is SPRUCE's lead scientist for the U.S. Forest Service. The fee is $5 for non-members, and it’s free for members.
 
Researchers at SPRUCE have been doing research on climate change and how it can affect a northern peatland area as well as surrounding eco-systems. Inside each 26 foot-high, open roof chamber, dozens of high-tech instruments are collecting information on the plants, soil, water and air within its 1,000 square-foot patch of damp bog. The goal of SPRUCE is to help us understand how climate change will affect Minnesota’s vast stretches of northern forest peatlands, expansive wetlands that are home to millions of spruce and tamarack trees, dense carpets of moss and a variety of birds and wildlife. 

 

On Monday, August 22, 9 a.m., Unlimited Learning will host a field trip to SPRUCE in Grand Rapids for anyone interested in seeing first-hand the research being done by SPRUCE. We will leave the Crosby-Ironton High School parking lot at 9 a.m., arriving at the station at 11 a.m. to meet Randall Kolka, who will guide the group through the facility. Pack a bag lunch. There will be a sign-up sheet at the August 8 presentation for those interested in car-pooling to the Grand Rapids area field station. Participants are limited to 15.