Dear River

Meets: Friday Sept. 4, 2026 - Monday Sept. 7, 2026 at Itasca Biological Station & Laboratories 
Application Closes May 15, 2026

During the Dear River NEXUS experience, we will travel from our campus that bridges the Mississippi north to Lake Itasca, one of the headwaters of this extraordinary river, where we will spend four days learning about the watershed that feeds the river running through us. During a four day stay at Itasca Biological Station we will hike to the headwaters of the Mississippi, listen for loons, learn more about the extraordinary work of beavers, contemplate what water teaches us about our place in the world, appreciate the role of wild rice in the histories and ecosystems of this place, and embrace a spirit of wonder at the many creatures who will cross our path along the way. Each day will include a guided hike or field research experience, time to write and share creatively, and an assigned reading designed to deepen our understandings of the place.  Our experience will culminate with the creation of Dear River, a collection of love letters, odes, praise songs, and other creative expressions to and about the river. 

We will depart from the U on Friday Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. and spend four days (Friday Sept. 4 - Monday Sept. 7) at the Itasca Biological Station, a facility owned and operated by UMN College of Biological Sciences. 

Prior to leaving for the NEXUS experience, students will be given excerpts from Leanna Betasamsoke Simpson’s Theory of Water and Robert MacFarlane’s Is a River Alive? to orient them. We will meet on the evening of Thursday Sept. 3 12-3 p.m. at Weisman Art Museum’s Riverview Gallery to get to know each other and the river in the form it takes on campus. We’ll visit some of the museum’s pieces that celebrate and study the river before walking along the river itself. This meeting will also be a chance to talk through any questions participants might have about preparing to spend the weekend at the station.  

 

Transportation, lodging, and food will be provided on this trip. Students are housed in shared cabins and we will work together to make meals on-site. 

EXPERIENCE GOALS: 

  • Gain a general understanding of the ecology around Lake Itasca and how it shapes the rest of the Mississippi watershed from an interdisciplinary perspectives
  • Experience the ways scientific understandings can inspire and be inspired by creative writing and other creative practices. 
  • Creative a creative writing project that celebrates the river in collaboration with other participants 


LOGISTICS:

UHP will provide:

  • Transportation
  • Food + Dietary Needs 
  • Lodging


What you will need to bring: Bedding (pillows, sheets, blankets), notebook and writing utensils, clothes appropriate for the weather in northern Minnesota for 4 days and 3 nights, toiletries

Schedule:

  • Thursday afternoon: Get to know each other and the river on campus 
  • Friday 10 -5: Travel time and station orientation 
  • Friday evening: Dinner and evening walk around the station. Walk to the headwaters and find a sit spot for journaling and observations. 
  • Saturday morning: Breakfast, sit spot journaling and observations, visit park museum and Preacher’s Grove
  • Saturday afternoon: Lunch, sit spot journaling and observations, walking or biking the bike path trail for a discussion of fire ecology in this region 
  • Saturday evening: Dinner, drive to the fire station or walk to Bear Paw Point
  • Sunday morning: Breakfast, sit spot journaling and observations, water sampling from the docks
  • Sunday afternoon: Lunch, sit spot journaling and observations, kayaking or walking to the headwaters for a discussion of water lilies, dragonflies, and other liminal creatures.
  • Sunday evening: Dinner, Campfire and sharing draft contributions to the Dear River project.
  • Monday: Breakfast, packing up and cleaning cabins. Final visits to sit spots for journaling and observations. Assembling finalized contributions to the Dear River project. 
  • Monday noon: Picnic lunch. Departing at noon. Estimated return time between 5-7 p.m. Drop offs at the Student Union or Fleet Services Building.

 

Application