What is your full name?
Paul Dean Wiemerslage Junior
What is your job title with Au Sable?
Environmental Education Coordinator
How did you get involved with Au Sable?
While studying at Bethel University (MN) I attended the Pacific Rim and Great Lakes Campuses. After graduating I participated in the Environmental Education Internship and was hired as the Institute’s Program Assistant. After several years I left for graduate school. In 2011, I returned to work for Au Sable in my current role.
What excites you most about Au Sable?
I am most excited about the role Au Sable plays fueling passions for caring for creation. Not simply in just learning about the environment but providing experiences for people to encounter creation in new ways that spark delight and awe in the beauty and complexity of God’s world. It’s these experiences that often result in life-long habits and interests that provide refuge and inspiration and promote healthy lifestyles and spirituality throughout our lives.
What is something you have recently learned about serving, protecting, or restoring God's Earth?
I am very concerned (mildly put) with the rate at which we are losing biodiversity on this planet. Green lawns, ever encroaching development, and expanding cities and populations all point towards less quality habitat and less habitat in general. God’s intent is for us to care for the earth and for all things to flourish. We need reminding of our responsibility to uphold our end of the bargain.
What is one practice that helps you to take care of the earth?
The more I am outside biking, hiking, or fishing, the more recharged I am and the more mindful I can be when engaging people and students in restoration work. This time gets the wiggles out and allows me a different space to think, pray, and process.
What do you do for fun/in your free time?
I love to bike, fish and garden. I also love watching a good movie with my wife and kids.
Have you read any good books lately?
Anymore I listen to a lot of books on tape, recently I listened to Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpot which I enjoyed, I’d also recommend Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah. But my favorite books of all time are Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard and the Brothers K by David James Duncan.
What is your favorite natural space?
As a child I would disappear into the wilds of Baraga County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for two weeks every summer with my family. Fishing for smallmouth bass in the cold tannic lakes, spooking moose, beaver, and loons. Watching the milky way merge with the horizon overnight. I have no doubt I chose to pursue my career because of the memories created on those trips. My dog, who frequently joins me at work is named, “Baraga”, after this place in the U.P.