PINE RIVER — Returning to a traditional, in-person format after disruption from COVID-19, Back to Basics opened with a deep dive into Minnesota lakes — specifically, how they were formed.
The keynote speaker opening the event Saturday, Feb. 11, at Pine River-Backus School was Research and Policy Director Carrie Jennings, who has a Ph.D. and is with the Freshwater Society of Minnesota.
She talked about the millions of years and complicated processes that shaped Minnesota and its over 10,000 lakes.
Jennings described the ways glaciers moved across what is now land in Minnesota during one stage of the ice age, and how they scraped, pushed and deposited soils to shape the landscape seen today.
Not limited to simple audible storytelling, she came equipped with maps of parts or the whole state, viewed with such detail that massive imprints, impacts and many mile long drag marks can be seen stretching, in some cases, county to county.
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The patterns and paths would not be visible up close, but seen from very far away, become suddenly clear.
She took special note of how the land looks almost swept flat west of Spider Lake west of Backus. To the east of Spider Lake, in the Foot Hills State Forest, the landscape is rows of small hills formed almost like a rug that has been bunched up on a floor.
Jennings' presentation showed how glaciers dragged rocks from the west, north and east into the state, providing clues and observable evidence of the long gone process and where the glaciers came from.
For example, gray shales come from the glacial lake Agassiz in North Dakota and basalt comes from the great lakes to the northeast.
Jennings explained the various ways that this glacial movement led to the shape of area lakes, including Mille Lacs, which was formed when glaciers deposited rocks and sediments into natural dam-like structures surrounding a low spot that was filled with water.
Jennings described how layers of mud at the bottom of a lake hold clues to the history of the state's vegetation. Pollen in the mud, which is apparently hardy enough to last many, many years, can be found in separate layers showing what kinds and how much foliage covered the state at various times in history.
Jennings was just one of many knowledgeable professionals speaking at the event. There were nearly 50 workshops with topics ranging from mental health and suicide to blacksmithing to soil health to wild mushrooms.
Outside of the workshops, and open to the public, vendors filled the Pine River-Backus Performance Gym with hand-made and sustainable products and offered their expertise on countless subjects, including the National Loon Center, holistic approaches to better health, wood turning and soil health.
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This marked the 17th annual Back to Basics, which brings a large variety of skills and products to Pine River-Backus School.
Sponsored by Happy Dancing Turtle and Pine River-Backus Community Education, the sustainable living event was digital or spread out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Travis Grimler is a staff writer for the Pineandlakes Echo Journal weekly newspaper in Pequot Lakes/Pine River. He may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com.
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