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TF South alum keynotes Calumet Heritage Conference

Ted Cable returns to Lansing, Illinois, for October 28 Hegewisch conference

by Melanie Jongsma

HEGEWISCH, CHICAGO, Ill. (October 14, 2017) – “The Calumet Region is where I was introduced to the outdoors and learned to love nature,” says Ted Cable. “My experiences there shaped my career.”

Cable grew up in Lansing, Illinois, on the banks of the Little Calumet River. He recalls fishing with his grandfather at Wolf Lake, Rainbow Beach breakwater, Wampum Forest Preserve, and Powderhorn Lake. A 1971 graduate of TF South High School, he became passionate about birding and attended the University of Illinois-Chicago to earn a degree in Biology. He went on to earn a job as a naturalist for the Cook County Forest Preserves at Sand Ridge Nature Center. After getting a teaching certification from Purdue-Calumet, Cable taught high school in Lake Station.

In 1978, he moved out of the Calumet Region to attend Purdue University and ultimately earn M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Even while attending Purdue, Cable returned almost weekly to bird the Lake Michigan shoreline and Indiana Dunes and to visit his family in Lansing.

Cable’s keynote presentation at the Calumet Heritage Conference will follow the conference theme, “Nature Reworked: Honoring the Past, Interpreting for the Future.” Information from the Calumet Heritage Partnership explains:

“This year’s conference celebrates the work of generations of people to protect and preserve the environment, including those from 20 years ago who aspired to establish a Calumet National Ecological Park. Their effort led to the creation of the Calumet Heritage Partnership and a growing region-wide movement to designate a Calumet National Heritage Area. …The “Nature Reworked” theme highlights the region’s rich natural endowment, changed by human hand, but then protected and restored by people who fought for it at neighborhood, regional, and national levels.”

The conference includes morning presentations, panel discussions, and networking, as well as lunch and an afternoon tour of some of the region’s most iconic heritage gems.

The conference is Saturday, October 28, 8:30am–4:30pm at:
Lebanon Lutheran Church
13100 S. Manistee Ave.
Hegewisch, Chicago, IL 60633

For more information or to register, click the link below:

Today Cable is Professor of Park Management and Conservation at Kansas State University. He has authored 14 books, several book chapters, four scenic byway video scripts, and more than 200 articles, reports, and presentations dealing with nature, travel, and heritage interpretation. He has received teaching awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Kansas Wildlife Federation.

Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma grew up in Lansing, Illinois, and believes The Lansing Journal has an important role to play in building community through trustworthy information.

1 COMMENT

  1. How awesome!!!! i wish i could attend!! Bev hadn’t told me about her ‘super son!!!’ I hope he comes back soon with another presentation!!!
    -Barb McKinney

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