'Toxic tour,' trip to dunes part of nature lecture series

A "toxic tour" of Northwest Indiana plus field trips to explore Garfield Park Conservatory and the Indiana Dunes and to view nests of black-crowned night herons along Lake Calumet will complement a series of nature-oriented lectures sponsored by the University's Environmental Center.

All lectures will be held in the lecture hall at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, 1155 E. 60th St. All field trips will meet at the Environmental Center, located in the basement of Reynolds Club; those wishing to attend are required to register by the Thursday before the trip. For more information, or to register for a field trip, call the Environmental Center at 702-0405.

The schedule is as follows:

_ Lecture: "Chicago Parks Making History: The Past, Present and Future of Garfield and Jackson Parks," presented by Stephanie Demas of Friends of the Parks, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4.

_ Field trip: Garfield Park Conservatory, 12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 9.

_ Lecture: "Northwest Indiana Ecosystem: Past and Present," presented by Dorreen Carey, executive director of the Grand Calumet Task Force, an urban community environmental organization initiated by Northwest Indiana steelworkers, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18.

_ Field trip: "Toxic tour" of Northwest Indiana -- Gary, East Chicago and Hammond -- 1 p.m. Sunday, April 23.

_ Lecture: Slide show on wetlands animals and plants, presented by Loyola University professor and wetlands ecologist Bobbi Campbell, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25.

_ Field trip: Nests of black-crowned night herons at Lake Calumet, led by Walter Marcisz, co-sponsored by Calumet Ecological Park Association, 7:30 a.m. Sunday, April 30.

_ Lecture: "Pollution Prevention: The Greening of Dry Cleaning and Other Industries in Illinois," presented by Jo Patton, coordinator of the sustainable manufacturing and recycling program at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 9.

Field trip: Prairie ecology, 1 p.m. Sunday, May 14.

_ Lecture: "Joliet Arsenal Prairie Park," presented by Carl Glassford, Open Lands Project, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 16.

_ Field trip: Indiana Dunes Richardson Sanctuary, led by Eileen Fielding, Richardson Sanctuary program director, noon Sunday, May 21.