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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
The earth has many various forces, such as gravity, wildfires, tornados, hurricanes, floods, lightning, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanos, and others, all of which are beneficial to life forms on earth. Our presenter, Carol Brodbeck, will begin the class by discussing these forces and their benefits. Temperature extremes are also a key force of nature. In the second part of the class, Carol will tell us about various survival techniques and methods used by plants and animals to survive and adjust to extreme heat and cold temperatures. Carol Brodbeck grew up on a farm and attended a one-room country school in Monroe County (MI). After earning a degree in Biological Sciences, she joined Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Company in Detroit, where she was part of the team that researched and developed the influenza vaccine. She then transferred to the company’s Ann Arbor labs to work on a team charged with introducing the use of computers into research and development. After early retirement, Carol earned her Advanced Master Gardener certification and served as Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc. State President (2017-19). For over a decade she was part-time faculty at Washtenaw Community College. Carol loves to learn and share with others.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Carol Brodbeck
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Dates: 9/10/2026 - 9/10/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Th
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
Join former Washtenaw Bird & Nature Alliance (WBNA) President, Ray Stocking, as he looks back on 20 years since the first post-delisting Peregrine Falcon sighting in Ann Arbor—one of Washtenaw County’s most uplifting wildlife comeback stories. Ray will take us through the Peregrine’s dramatic journey in Michigan, from near extinction in the mid‑1900s due to DDT, to its inspiring rebound after the pesticide ban in the 1970s. He will share memories from that exciting March 2006 sighting that had local birders buzzing (and maybe a little overexcitement from the University of Michigan!), plus stories about the early struggles of these falcons trying to nest atop the Burton Memorial Tower on U‑M’s campus. Thanks to the teamwork of WBNA, the Michigan DNR, the University of Michigan, and others, nest boxes placed across key campus buildings helped Peregrines reclaim the city skyline. Ray will share a true celebration of resilience, collaboration, and the enduring spirit of conservation. Ray Stocking lives in Ann Arbor, MI, and is the executive director for the Kirtland's Warbler Alliance. He also serves on the board of directors for Michigan Audubon. Ray is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University where he received his B.B.A and M.B.A. degrees in business management.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Ray Stocking
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Dates: 9/10/2026 - 9/10/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Th
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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- This class has reached the enrollment limit. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
OFFSITE TOUR: Tour site location TBA
This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise Learning office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
Connected to Washtenaw County’s Border-to-Border Trail, new trails through the natural areas of the Trinity Health property offer access to woods that have recently been cleared of invasive shrubs. These open woods are situated on a bluff above the Huron River, where we will find some fall-blooming wildflowers, including the tall yellow flowered wing-stem. The adjacent open areas promise a good complement of goldenrods, along with purple and white flowered asters. Beverly Walters has experience both as a field botanist and a Museum Collections Manager at the University of Michigan Herbarium. Now retired, she helps maintain and improve the Herbarium's Michigan Flora Online website (https://michiganflora.net), a popular resource for plant identification. Bev pursued her botanical studies at Michigan State University. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. IMPORTANT NOTE: The new trails, though broad and fairly level, are unpaved and uneven in places, and may be difficult for those with walking challenges. This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor: Beverly Walters
Capacity Remaining: -2
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Dates: 9/18/2026 - 9/18/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: F
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Building: Offsite
Room: Trinity Health Ann Arbor Campus Natural Areas
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OFFSITE: County Farm Park, Medford Parking Lot.
The Country Farm parking lot and pedestrian entrance on Medford Road is located near 2201 Medford Road, Ann Arbor.
This secondary entrance is situated just south of Manchester Road and provides direct, convenient access to the Medford Pavillion and Britton Woods
This tour is limited to 15 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The therapeutic benefits of immersing oneself in nature are too numerous to name, but relaxation, connection, and refueling are three of the most powerful. The art of Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, is the art of steeping yourself in the atmosphere of the forest, focusing on each of the five senses one at a time. Join naturalist Elle Bogle and mindfulness instructor Julie Woodward for a mindfulness hike through County Farm Park. This will be a slow, quiet walk focusing on communing with nature, and will include pauses for group reflection. Along the way, we will gather beautiful, found objects and experiences which we will then use to create a nature craft. This hike will last approximately 90 minutes, with 30 minutes at the end for creating our nature project. Elle Bogle is a passionate outdoor educator and adventurer who takes pride in connecting people with the beauty of nature. She worked as a naturalist with WCPARC for seven years, and is currently an environmental specialist with the Ann Arbor Public Schools where she has been teaching for nine years, an educator with the Ecology Center, and offers freelance naturalist services through her Wild Wander business. Her specialties include amphibians, reptiles, dragonflies, and mindfulness in nature. Julie Woodward, MA, MSW, RYT-200, is a wellness coach, yoga and meditation teacher, and facilitator of The Work That Reconnects. Through mindfulness hikes and resilience-based programs, she helps people cultivate well-being and deepen their connection with nature. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the hike. IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Elle Bogle
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Dates: 9/25/2026 - 9/25/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: F
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Building: Offsite
Room: Country Farm Park
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- This class has reached the enrollment limit. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
OFFSITE: Janice Anschuetz Highland Preserve, 325 Clark Road, Ypsilanti
This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The Janice Anschuetz Highland Preserve is “a birder’s paradise” (over 118 species seen) with a diverse dense canopy of mature trees. There is a boardwalk, over 200 feet long, that reaches an elevation of nearly ten feet above the ground at its highest point. The Preserve encompasses 75 acres. Tom Friedlander is a retired University of Michigan trained tree-and-shrub taxonomist who spent 38 years teaching and coaching at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor: Tom Friedlander
Capacity Remaining: 0
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Dates: 9/28/2026 - 9/28/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: M
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Building: Offsite
Room: Janice Anschuetz Highland Preserve, Ypsilanti
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OFFSITE: Tom A. Freeman Preserve, Ann Arbor (North Entrance on Ford Road)
This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class.
This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The Tom A. Freeman Preserve is mainly forested, with many beautiful mature trees, and has considerable topographic variation. There are wetlands and a creek (Kirk’s Brook), and the trails can be muddy, with a few creek crossings on muddy logs. The Preserve itself includes 71 acres, with much more land in the nearby Horner-McLaughlin Woods on the north, and in the Marshall Nature Area on the east. Tom Friedlander is a retired University of Michigan trained tree-and-shrub taxonomist who spent 38 years teaching and coaching at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour. IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is not recommended for people with canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and those who have mobility limitations.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Tom Friedlander
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Dates: 10/9/2026 - 10/9/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: F
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Building: Offsite
Room: Tom A. Freeman Preserve
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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
Join frequent Elderwise presenter Don Chalfant for a photographic presentation that explores the flora and fauna of Florida and Michigan. Although the times/locations are only three months and 1,100 miles apart, February in Florida and May in Michigan show striking differences shaped by both season and latitude. We will discover the plants and animals found in Florida but not Michigan, and those found in Michigan but not Florida. These interesting differences might explain why Don and his wife, Loree, choose to spend half the year in each state! Don Chalfant has been entertaining and enlightening the Elderwise community for many years with his profound knowledge and stunning photographs of North America’s natural world. Don received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. Since retiring from teaching in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Don is eager to share his passion for birds and other flora and fauna through his photos.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Don Chalfant
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Dates: 10/20/2026 - 10/20/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
A mountain-climbing expedition to travel to Antarctica was formed by a commercial venture with the goal of making the first recorded summits of two Antarctic peaks. The expedition consisted of two women and sixteen men, including our presenter, Bud Thomas. Join us for this presentation, which highlights the challenges associated with scouting out and climbing the snow-covered peaks, and showcases the beauty of Antarctica and the abundant wildlife near the climbing sites. Bud Thomas is a retired aerospace engineer with over 50 years of experience, including rocket engine design for the Saturn-V Apollo rocket, the Space Shuttle’s main engine, and jet engine design for commercial and military aircraft. Bud has experience in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Bud Thomas
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Dates: 11/5/2026 - 11/5/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Th
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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HYBRID: In the classroom and online. A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants one day before class.
Our inveterate wanderer, George Jabol, returns to Elderwise with more tales of his travels. In the fall of 2014, he took a three-week tour of several of America’s national parks and monuments. In this class George shares some of the majestic sights he discovered in our western backyard, and some of the world’s most beautiful natural scenery. This trip included six different western states, and visits to the Badlands, Chief Crazy Horse Monument, Mount Rushmore, and Devil’s Tower. We will also journey to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Salt Lake City, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Mesa Verde National Park (including the Anasazi cliff dwellings). George Jabol received his B.A. degree from Muskingum College in Ohio, and a Ph.D. in English language and literature from the University of Michigan. Fully retired now from a career with the federal government, George creates photographic slide shows as a way to remember his travels and share them with others.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): George Jabol
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Dates: 11/19/2026 - 11/19/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Th
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Building: Hybrid: In-Person and Online
Room: In the 2275 Platt Road Classroom and on Zoom
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