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.
-
During Earth Week, Coggin reflects on her favorite things: all creatures, plants, soil, water, young people, fish whiskers and the fine arts. -
Discover how egg-based tempera paint gave medieval masterpieces their lasting brilliance — and what that has to do with your grocery store eggs. -
Rainbow trout infuse Michigan streams and rivers with essential nutrients, just as public radio streams nourish and inspire their listeners. -
The hymn tune "Beach Spring" tells a story of misprint and geography — it reminds Coggin Heeringa of the natural springs around Lake Michigan's sand dunes. -
Igor Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring" captures the fury of seasonal change, but the real story of renewal lies in the quiet process of seed germination. -
John Coltrane’s “Equinox” reflects his belief in celestial rhythms and the equal balance of day and night. -
Our moon appears reddish-orange during a total lunar eclipse due to the way light interacts with its surface. -
Carnival, meaning "to remove meat," is a time for human indulgence before Lent and the season when animals scavenge carcasses for survival. -
Charles Burchfield’s "Oncoming Spring" captures the clash between winter’s lingering cold and the distant promise of spring. -
Some birds stay together for life, while others casually switch partners — do they experience love, or is it all about raising chicks?
