Great Lakes Speaker

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I've had a busy year traveling and speaking about my adventures exploring our magnificent Great Lakes. Last week was my busiest with 6 events in 5 days.

I love sharing my journeys with audiences, and these events were packed.

The venues ranged from Senior Centers, to a community college, to an expo center, and a library. 

My newest talk:  Isle Royale, Wilderness Island
was delivered at two of these packed venues.

Georgetown Connections Senior Center in Jenison, MI 

The big screen at the Wyoming Senior Center

Nice crowd for my Lake Michigan talk

The room fills for my Isle Royale talk in Northville, MI

120 people attended my talk on the islands of our Great Lakes at Schoolcraft College

The room was packed at Schoolcraft College!

My final event was at the Buy Michigan Now festival in Jackson, MI. Hundreds of people came out to support Michigan products and Michigan authors.

I am currently booking engagements for 2020.

See my list of events past and future HERE.

And to inquire about my availability to speak at your event, go HERE.

Great Lakes Speaker

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I've had a busy year of speaking engagements so far. And I'm looking forward to the events and travels into the fall.

Cool sculpture at the library

Thanks to the Morton Township Library for engaging me to present my Isle Royale presentation earlier this month.

And thanks to the full house of people who came to learn more about this fascinating wilderness island.

I have many more engagements coming up including giving a talk at the Tedx Kalamazoo event. 

See more events HERE.

2017 is Record Year for Great Lakes Piping Plovers

I once spent a week with piping plovers.

Great Lakes Piping Plover with colorful leg bands

This small shorebird is endangered, so the population is monitored during nesting season. 

I volunteered to help monitor the population nesting on North Manitou Island as part of my 

1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure.

Piping Plover on the edge of Lake Michigan

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At the lowest point in the 1980s, the population of this diminutive bird had dwindled to just 13 nesting pairs.

Scoping to identify individual plovers

Keeping track of the birds was a meticulous and difficult task. Each bird has a unique set of colorful bands on its legs and that code had to be deciphered in order to know the identity of each individual bird.  

Piping Plover nest 

Putting a protective cage around nests is the best way to keep predators from stealing the eggs.

Protective netting around a nest

2017 was a milestone year for these little birds as a record 76 breeding pairs were recorded this summer.

And, it was the first year that this bird nested on all five Great Lakes since 1955. The Fish and Wildlife Service called this "a remarkable development for the recovery program."

Nesting areas are restricted and protected

These little birds still choose Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (including the Manitou Islands) as their primary nesting site. This year a record 41 pairs nested there.

Tiny plover tracks

Learn more about this record year HERE.

Great Lakes Speaker

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I had a busy week crisscrossing the state of Michigan, giving presentations about my 

Great Lakes Adventures.

The week began in St. Helen, Michigan, where I gave the presentation about my first 1,000-mile hike around Lake Michigan.  

Driving to St. Helen, MI

Richfield Township Library in St. Helen, MI

Then, I headed downstate to Birmingham to the lovely All Seasons community where I gave my

Islands of the Great Lakes presentation. 

All Seasons of Birmingham

All Seasons entry

 On Friday, I had two events. First, I spoke to seniors in Beverly, MI, giving my 

Our Majestic Great Lakes talk.

Then, as I was on my way to the final event of the week (in Marshall, MI), I realized that I would be giving my fourth presentation on 

Isle Royale, Wilderness Island.

Garden and statue outside the Marshall Public Library

That's when I realized that in one week, I was going to deliver all four of my presentations!

Audience at Marshall Public Library

Learn more about my presentations and how to engage me as a speaker HERE.

I am currently booking events for the fall/winter of this year and have started to book events for 2018.

Hiawatha Club

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Last month I had the pleasure of speaking at the Hiawatha Sportsman's Club

in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The club has existed for 90 years and encompasses over 36,000 acres 

including 6 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.

Manitou Lodge Museum

I spoke in the Manitou Lodge Museum which is perched on a hill overlooking Lake Michigan.

The museum chronicles the foundation of the club by Dr. William McNamara and the natural history of this land.

The land was stripped of trees in the early 1900s

A wonderful audience awaits my presentation on the islands of our Great Lakes

Holland's Century Club

 I travel all over the Midwest (and beyond) giving talks about my Great Lakes Adventures.

This spring I was invited to give a talk to the Century Club of Holland.

This social club has been meeting to share the visual, literary, and performing arts for 120 years! 

They met at the Macatawa Yacht Club, a gorgeous facility on Lake Macatawa. 

Macatawa Yacht Club

Lake Macatawa

A painting of "Big Red," Holland's lighthouse

In the 1800s, the meetings were hosted in member's homes and the host would stage a play they had written, or share a concert with the club. Today, the club often brings in an author to talk to the group. Since they live so near Lake Michigan, they chose me for their spring meeting.

The president of the club

Night falls outside as I get ready to speak

If you are part of a group searching for a dynamic and engaging speaker, feel free to contact me at

LakeTrek@gmail.com

and learn more about me at

LakeTrek.com

Life should be an adventure,
-Loreen Niewenhuis 

Author, Adventurer & Speaker

"Loreen translates her passion for our Great Lakes into advocacy, education, science, humor, and beauty by taking her audience with her on these GREAT adventures. Her five-city speaking blitz awed and inspired Indiana conservationists. Her adventures are truly amazing!"

-Martha Bolyard, former Associate Director of Philanthropy

The Nature Conservancy of Indiana

"Loreen is a great speaker: funny, informative, approachable, and so interesting...she even makes geology fascinating! She's been featured in the Detroit Free Press, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Country Woman Magazine. I highly recommend her."

-Colleen Leddy, Head Librarian

Stair Public Library

14th Annual Kerrytown Bookfest

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Next Sunday (September 11), the 14th annual Kerrytown BookFest will take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This year's schedule is full of author presentations and discussions and many exhibitors will be there, too.

This festival's goal is: 

"The Kerrytown Bookfest is an annual free event celebrating those who create books and those who read them. The primary goal is to highlight our area’s rich heritage in the book and printing arts while showcasing our local and regional individuals, businesses, and organizations."

I will co-present with author Maureen Dunphy at the festival:

When:  Sunday, September 11, 2016

(*our presentation will be at 2:45 at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. 4th Ave.)

Where:  Kerrytown in Ann Arbor, MI

Who:  Great Lakes Authors, Maureen Dunphy & Loreen Niewenhuis

Find the full festival schedule HERE.

The NINTH State on My Book Tour!

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

On a trip to visit family in Atlanta, I had an invitation to speak to the retirement community where my mom lives.

I had a great time with family. 

Centennial Park!

We took in some of the high points of the city.

My sons each have a brick with their names in Centennial Park

The World of Coke!

And I had a wonderful time speaking to the retirement community at Clairmont Crest.

Speaking to the group at Clairmont Crest

Georgia is the ninth state that my book tour has taken me to. 

I'm always delighted to share my Great Lakes adventures!

Tales from the Book Tour

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I was delighted to return to the senior center in Georgetown, Michigan (near Grand Rapids). 
They had me speak to their group in the spring about my Great Lakes Walk and they booked me again to give my Great Lakes Islands presentation.

The room fills up!

The group is engrossed with a video taken on Manitoulin Island

Many venues that have booked me in the past are booking me for return engagements.

I now have three presentations 

correlating with my books:

The first is about my hike all the way around 

Lake Michigan.

The second is about my hike touching 

all five Great Lakes.

And the third is about my adventure exploring

the islands of the Great Lakes.

I am now booking events for 2016.

Contact me at:  LakeTrek@gmail.com