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Upcoming Lectures

    • March 19, 2026
    • 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
    • Oakwood Village University Woods Arts & Education Center

    Birding – Transitioning from Winter to Spring! 

    Thursday, March 19 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.


    In-Person at Oakwood Village University Woods

    Arts & Education Center


    6205 Mineral Point Road


    Registration is Not Required

    FREE PARKING

    In 2015 Chuck Henrikson started leading Tuesday bird walks in the UW Arboretum year-round.  In March of 2020 the bird walks were halted because of Covid so he did the bird walks by himself each week and sent bird reports that included 10 - 12 bird photographs to 15 to 20 birders.  Those birders sent the reports to their friends and those friends emailed him and asked to be added to the bird report email list.  As Covid waned Chuck was able to start the bird walks again and thought he didn’t need to send out the bird reports anymore.  He was totally wrong!  Everyone wanted to get the bird reports!  They especially liked the bird photos.  As word of the bird reports got out, the number of recipients kept growing and today he sends reports to a little over 1000 people.

    In addition to his bird walks, Chuck teaches Birding 101 for the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. This year will be his 9th year of teaching the course!

    Chuck  was born and raised near Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. After graduating from high school, he went to St. Olaf College in Northfield and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. Following graduation, he was accepted at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine where he earned a master’s degree and PhD in anatomy. After completing a post-doc, he returned to Purdue to teach gross anatomy, histology and neuroanatomy in veterinary medicine. In 1988 he came to the University of Wisconsin- Madison to teach in the School of Veterinary Medicine. During his time at UW, Chuck visited the UW Arboretum often and trained to become a Volunteer Steward of the Arboretum.   As a steward he got to know all the plants, animals and birds of the Arboretum very well. After 21 years at UW-Madison, Chuck retired in 2009.  He says he was a casual birder before retirement but afterwards he really became serious about submitting all his sightings in checklists to Cornell Lab of Ornithology or eBird.  Now birding has become a passion and he goes birding every day! 

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      Transportation Options:


      Bicycle:  Bike racks are available


      Bus: The BRT Route A bus  runs every 15 minutes and stops in front of Oakwood at the Island/Mineral Point station.  


      Car: 

      • Use the Island Drive entrance at 6205 Mineral Point Road.
      •  Veer left and follow the drive to the 2nd driveway with sign “Heritage Oaks Parking Garage.”
      •  Turn right into driveway.
      •   Press the buzzer and the Oakwood desk attendant will buzz you in. There are 70 parking stalls. Park in any visitor or non-reserved stall. Take the elevator up one floor to the main entrance, turn right and walk through the mail box area into the lobby. Ask at the desk for directions to the Performing Arts Center.
      • When you exit the underground parking, the garage door opens automatically.
      • _________________________

      Questions?  Contact lecture organizer Barbara Drake at barbaradrake21@gmail.com

      • April 09, 2026
      • 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
      • Oakwood Village University Woods Arts & Education Center

      Thursday, April 9 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.


      In-Person at Oakwood Village University Woods

      Arts & Education Center


      6205 Mineral Point Road


      Registration is Not Required

      FREE PARKING

      Juliette Sterkens, AuD is a professional audiologist who has shared her knowledge of hearing loss with organizations across the upper Midwest.  In her lecture she will highlight the advances in hearing technology, hearing rehabilitation, and assistive listening. She will also share answers to commonly asked questions about hearing loss and rehabilitation, as well as answering questions directly from the audience.

      Dr. Sterkens has more than four decades of experience in audiology, hearing rehabilitation, and assistive listening. Since 2012, she’s been on an encore career as a consumer and assistive-listening consultant with the Hearing Loss Association of America, thanks to special grant funding.  She has received several awards for her work, including the American Academy of Audiology Presidential Award and the Wisconsin Audiologist of the Year Award. She lives in Oshkosh, WI and serves on the board of HEAR-in-the-Fox Cities, a nonprofit that helps pay for hearing aids for children in Northeast Wisconsin. Locally, she has worked with members of the Madison chapter of Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA).

        ________________________________________

        Transportation Options:


        Bicycle:  Bike racks are available


        Bus: The BRT Route A bus  runs every 15 minutes and stops in front of Oakwood at the Island/Mineral Point station.  


        Car: 

        • Use the Island Drive entrance at 6205 Mineral Point Road.
        •  Veer left and follow the drive to the 2nd driveway with sign “Heritage Oaks Parking Garage.”
        •  Turn right into driveway.
        •   Press the buzzer and the Oakwood desk attendant will buzz you in. There are 70 parking stalls. Park in any visitor or non-reserved stall. Take the elevator up one floor to the main entrance, turn right and walk through the mail box area into the lobby. Ask at the desk for directions to the Performing Arts Center.
        • When you exit the underground parking, the garage door opens automatically.
        • _________________________

        Questions?  Contact lecture organizer Barbara Drake at barbaradrake21@gmail.com

        • April 23, 2026
        • 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
        • Oakwood Village University Woods Arts & Education Center

        Thursday, April 23 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.


        In-Person at Oakwood Village University Woods

        Arts & Education Center


        6205 Mineral Point Road


        Registration is Not Required

        FREE PARKING

        Healthy Grown is a whole farm approach of growing potatoes and vegetables using the best environmental practices possible, from pesticide use to promotion of ecological standards on the farm.  Dr. Deana Knuteson will present the history and requirements of the Healthy Grown program, its acceptance by Wisconsin farmers, and how the purchase of Healthy Grown vegetables benefits the consumer (You!) who buys and consumes them!  These practices are keeping Wisconsin on the cutting edge of sustainability documentation.

        The program has been operating under the overall vision/mission of: “Healthy Grown is to maintain ecological, sustainable and environmentally sound potato and vegetable production systems while enhancing value for growers with the ‘Good for you, good for the environment’ message.”

        Deana Knuteson, Ph.D. is the educational program coordinator for the Wisconsin Healthy Grown® program and works extensively on large-scale sustainability initiatives. She is a member of the Department of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison. Deana received her Bachelor’s degree in Botany from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, and her Master’s degree and Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.


          ________________________________________

          Transportation Options:


          Bicycle:  Bike racks are available


          Bus: The BRT Route A bus  runs every 15 minutes and stops in front of Oakwood at the Island/Mineral Point station.  


          Car: 

          • Use the Island Drive entrance at 6205 Mineral Point Road.
          •  Veer left and follow the drive to the 2nd driveway with sign “Heritage Oaks Parking Garage.”
          •  Turn right into driveway.
          •   Press the buzzer and the Oakwood desk attendant will buzz you in. There are 70 parking stalls. Park in any visitor or non-reserved stall. Take the elevator up one floor to the main entrance, turn right and walk through the mail box area into the lobby. Ask at the desk for directions to the Performing Arts Center.
          • When you exit the underground parking, the garage door opens automatically.
          • _________________________

          Questions?  Contact lecture organizer Barbara Drake at barbaradrake21@gmail.com

        Past Lectures


        PLATO is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization supported in part by:



        info@platomadison.org

        Facebook: @platomadison

        608-572-6869

        6209 Mineral Point Road #203
        Madison, WI 53705








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