ELY- Kawishiwi District Ranger Aaron Kania had two objectives during his presentation to the Tuesday Group here last week– to promote the Aldo Leopold-themed conservation symposium coming to Ely Sept. 19-20 and convince those attending his talk to beta-test an app for audience interaction that could be used at the symposium.
The symposium, dubbed “A Celebration of Land Ethic and Conservation” is a collaborative endeavor of more than twelve organizations, hosted by the Superior National Forest and Aldo Leopold Foundation. The symposium kicks off Thursday with a day of talks from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Minnesota North College-Vermilion Campus. 
Kania said the talks would examine the Boundary Waters in the past, present, and future from the perspectives of both European settlers and the Indigenous peoples of the region.
On Friday, the symposium will be based at Ely’s Historic State Theater and focus on “Evolving land ethics: Advancing conservation through film, word, and community.”
“If Thursday is for the left, or science, side of your brain,” Kania said, “then Friday is for the right, or art, side of your brain.” Friday’s offerings will start at noon and run until 4 p.m. The program includes a showing of the film, “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic of our Time.” A discussion session on the film, as well as the life and conservation work of Aldo Leopold, will follow the showing.
Friday’s programming will also include the viewing of selected Ely Film Festival short films with some of the filmmakers in attendance. The day also incorporates a drum ceremony featuring artists from the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe.
The cost will be $10.

Guinea pigs
Kania brought live audience interaction software, developed by a firm called Slido, that the forest service is testing for possible use during the symposium. Kania projected a QR code link for smart devices to link to the app as well as a URL address that users could type directly into their browsers on phones, tablets, or laptops. 
Timberjay staff at Tueaday Group were not able to link with the QR code but did successfully bring the app up on a laptop. Other users at the meeting succeeded in linking through the QR code.
“I can just talk a little bit about why we’re doing this QR code,” Kania explained, noting that the attendance at Tuesday Group often generates more questions than speakers have the ability to field.
“Because there’s so many active, engaged people here, not everybody gets to ask their question. This is a way for almost everybody in the room to be able to contribute, to ask a question, and to provide feedback. So, anybody interested in being a guinea pig today, thumbs up!”
Kania then immediately asked those online through the app to answer a test question: “The first question is, what comes to mind when you think of Aldo Leopold? Those of you that have your devices, you can type it into the chat.”
Kania was then able to display a “word cloud” of the answers on the meeting room screen in real-time. More than thirty short answers appeared on the screen, including words like “conservationist,” “Sand County Almanac,” “teacher,” “conservation writer,” “Gila Wilderness,” “Wisconsin cabin” and “green fire.” 
One wit in the audience, however, wrote, “Aaron wants me to be a guinea pig.” Kania read the answer aloud to the room and then responded, “Yes, I do. Thanks for that one.”
Kania led the Tuesday Group audience through five more questions about what they would like to learn about the Boundary Waters’ history and about their concerns for the wilderness’s future.
Kania was pleased with the audience participation through the app. “Climate change, overuse, loving it to death,” he read off the answers on future concerns for the Boundary Waters. “This is great. You folks are really engaged. I am so jazzed,” Kania enthused. He promised that the app or some other software like it would be available at the symposium for attendees to use.