Join us for this extra special Wisconsin Science Festival program! How does a "picked last in gym" nerd become a sought-after exercise physiologist? What do endangered lizards from the Solomon Islands have to do with dairy goats on a farm in the Midwest? And why would a born-and-raised Chicago girl, with no farming experience whatsoever, pack up, leave her home and family, and move to rural Wisconsin at the age of 49? Everything's connected. Being a better steward to the land and respecting the natural environment leads to healthier livestock, greater yields in the garden, and better health outcomes for the humans who tend that land. Come and hear how Ellen Petrick is learning to do just that!
Presented by: Ellen Petrick, member of Soil Sisters and Stewardship Ambassador for WFAN (Women, Food, and Agriculture Network)
After jobs with the Illinois DNR, the Field Museum, and teaching high school biology, chemistry, and physics, Ellen went back to school for her Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology and specializes in working with clients with chronic disease and joint injuries. She has been working in health and fitness for twenty six years. But it wasn't enough...
So after fifteen years of planning and searching for land, Ellen and her husband finally moved to their seven acre homestead in the Spring of 2023. Here they are attempting to grow more of their own food, including meat and milk, a garden, and several small orchards. In addition, they are learning how to be good stewards of their woods and pastures, removing invasive plants, using animals to help restore native prairie, and using holistic approaches to predators, pests, and production.