October Birds Around the World Some people just have a knack for storytelling. George Archibald is one of them. When I heard him speak last fall at the Midwest Environmental Education Conference about his love affair with cranes and his lifelong passion for crane conservation, he wove a tale filled with hilarious encounters with a Whooping crane who was pair-bonded with him; his amazing travel exploits to the demilitarized zone in Korea to work on saving precious crane habitat; and his never-ending message ...Continue Reading →

September Nature Journaling I've always enjoyed the image Aldo Leopold depicts of himself in "Great Possessions," the July chapter in A Sand County Almanac. He writes, "at 3:30 a.m., with such dignity as I can muster of a July morning, I step from my cabin door, bearing in either hand my emblems of sovereignty, a coffee pot and notebook. I seat myself on a bench, facing the white wake of the morning star. I set the pot beside me. I extract a cup ...Continue Reading →

August Bees & Wasps As a young summer-camp counselor, I was in charge of a reptile-searching crew of twelve lively second graders. Rolling over logs on a hot summer day could have meant discovering a drowsing garter snake, but in our case it meant unearthing an angry nest of "bees." One poor lad had an infuriated insect fly up his shirt to jab him with multiple stings. Chaos certainly ensued but no one was allergic (more on that later) and everyone enjoyed ...Continue Reading →

July Zoo Animal Enrichment Gone are the Victorian animal menageries, and in their place are thoughtful zoos and aquaria that work to conserve animal species and educate the public about animals around the world. Following the passage of the Endangered Species Act (1973) - which encourages captive breeding efforts as part of species recovery plans - and the Animal Welfare Act (1966) - which regulates the treatment of research and zoo animals - zoos are now working to save species from extinction and ensure ...Continue Reading →

June Nesting Birds While the excitement of spring transformations may have waned, and migratory birds may have passed through our midst to nest in further-north climes, it's heartening to know that many bird species do spend summer months breeding and nesting in Wisconsin. There's few greater childhood thrills than finding a bird's nest filled with eggs - and many scientists share this enthusiasm. Bird nests and their contents can tell us a lot about the health of the bird species, as well as the ...Continue Reading →

May Spring Wildflowers Here in Wisconsin, witnessing the wane of winter is a delight to all who crave warmer days and longer daylight. No sign of spring goes unnoticed nor uncelebrated. And even if Garrison Keillor contends, "Winter is God's compliment to us. It says: I know you can handle this," we sure are glad when it's over. One of many celebrated signs of spring are the ephemeral wildflowers that color the floors of Wisconsin woodlands. With a perfect balance of ...Continue Reading →

April Every Day is Earth Day Not every cause gets its own day. Okay, well maybe they do -- after all there is International Bacon Day (celebrated the Saturday prior to Labor Day), National Cheese Fondue Day (this month!) and National Pickle Day (November 14), just to name a few. But none carry the same political and historical heft of Earth Day. In 1970 the first Earth Day was observed by twenty million people (10% of the US population) with marches, rallies, concerts, and teach-ins designed to speak ...Continue Reading →

March Gearing up for Garden Season Are these longer days making your green thumb twitch? Are you ready to get out into the soil to sow and witness the amazing emergence of roots and shoots? We know our friends at Community GroundWorks are enjoying this early spring preparation time and if you simply can't wait to get gardening, we are pleased to feature their sage advise on indoor gardening ideas. Read on for a guest blog entry from the Wisconsin School Garden Initiative Brief: Why Garden ...Continue Reading →

February Backyard Bird Count Just last week while walking the wee ones to school, I heard the happy song of chickadees calling "seeee-breeze" from the mid level branches just over our heads. It's a sound that lightens one's mid-winter heart as this mating song signifies that spring is indeed on its way. It's also a reminder that the annual Great Backyard Bird Count is about to begin - and it's time to dust off the binoculars and dedicate a bit of time to outdoor observation and citizen science. The ...Continue Reading →

January Wisconsin Conservation History Cruising the streets of Madison, Wisconsin (and surely other Wisconsin communities) it's easy to find elementary schools donning famous names like Lapham, Thoreau, Van Hise, Muir, Leopold - all founding fathers of nature conservation as we know it today. Their work in the 1800s and early 1900s set the stage for preserving wildlife and wild places in Wisconsin and fairly earned them the right to have schoolchildren sing their names at every school assembly. As Wisconsin became a territory (in ...Continue Reading →