Kriss Marion is the featured speaker for the Dec. 5 presentation of the Thursdays at the U series at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Barron County.
An urban journalist turned small-scale farmer, she will present “Wisconsin Women in Conservation” from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Blue Hills Lecture Hall in Ritzinger Hall. The presentation also will be livestreamed at ricelaketv.com.
Marion is a communications specialist with the Wisconsin Farmers Union and a member of the Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WIWIC) team. In 2023, WIWIC published “Portraits of Love on the Land,” stories of women in this state and their efforts to maintain pristine lands and waters. During her Dec. 5 talk, Marion will share details about these women and their loving-the-land journeys.
“Conservation is contagious. It’s addictive,” Marion says. “You can’t walk on a prairie in summer and not want to have one. I’m persuaded that if we can create more content and experiences that put women in touch with other women who are practicing good stewardship, we can transform the landscape and heal our overburdened waters.”
Marion practices managed grazing with sheep, cattle and goats on a small, degraded wetland that’s returning to sedge meadow through conservation practices. She runs Circle M Market Farm BnB with her husband.
The Thursdays at the U weekly series is free and open to the public thanks to support from the UW-Eau Claire – Barron County Foundation. Neither seating reservations nor parking permits are needed for in-person attendees.
Although in-person attendance is encouraged, most talks in the series are livestreamed. They also are archived and can be watched later on the Thursdays at the U webpage.
The final lecture of the fall series will be Dec. 12 with Paul Billmeyer presenting “Seven Principles that Fuel Success.”
For more information, contact Laura Holden at 715-788-6207 or holdenlk@uwec.edu.
