Coggin Heeringa
Outdoors with Coggin HeeringaCoggin Heeringa is the Program Director and Naturalist at Crossroads at Big Creek Learning Center/Nature Preserve in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where she served as Executive Director for twenty years.
Heeringa has ten years of classroom teaching experience and was an adjunct instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She also served as the naturalist at Newport State Park in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin.
She is a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media as well as a public speaker.
Heeringa has been the instructor of environmental studies at the Walter E. Hastings Nature Museum at Interlochen Arts Camp since 1971.
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After enduring multiple surgeries and a long recovery, Coggin Heeringa compares her personal miracle to the moment a mallard duck, once grounded, regains flight. Just like "Amahl and the Night Visitors," sometimes the greatest miracles are born from acts of kindness. -
There are surprising similarities between birds and Thanksgiving that highlight the importance of community and shared abundance. -
During autumn, some trees still cling to their leaves. This phenomenon is called "marcesence" and is vividly depicted in van Gogh's "Autumn Landscape with Four Trees." -
In "Into the Woods," Stephen Sondheim weaves together enchanting fairy tales, profound life lessons and songs about the importance of community. -
Just as an evergreen tree discards what no longer nurtures it, we too must recognize the value in letting go, while still honoring what has been lost. -
Camille Saint-Saëns "Danse macabre" includes frantic violin calls and bone-chilling percussion. The deadly dance reminds listeners that as day breaks, the living carry on, but the shadow of death looms ever closer. -
Environmentalists advocate for leaving fallen leaves undisturbed in gardens to protect native pollinators and their habitats, echoing Georgia O’Keeffe’s artistic fascination with the beauty of nature. -
In "Sunday in the Park with George," Stephen Sondheim beautifully parallels the art of Pointillism, illustrating how musical colors and texture emerge from countless tiny notes. -
Coggin Heeringa recalls a serendipitous moment at Interlochen's Kresge Auditorium when a sudden downpour mirrored the final movement titled "Cloudburst" in Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite." -
Explore the evolution of American apples from bitter cider varieties to flavorful fruits all while weaving in the myth (and music!) about Johnny Appleseed.
