Calendar |
June 9:
Leopold Center Gardening Day |
June 17-19:
Leopold Education Project Conference |
June 24:
Fiddlin' Foresters Concert |
July 8:
Brown Bag: John Muir |
July 24:
Canoe the Wisconsin River |
The Woodland School |
In the coming year, we are offering an array of Woodland School classes to advance your land stewardship practice, from the classics—chainsaw safety, prescribed fire—to new opportunities like birding the Leopold Memorial Reserve with experts. We hope you'll let one pique your curiosity and join us in the field! |
Support the Work of the Foundation |
Become a key partner in helping us spread the land ethic, advance the science of land health, preserve the Leopold shack and farm, and train new leaders for the future of conservation. Join today! |
Visiting the Leopold Center |
The Leopold Center is closed for the season. Visits from Nov.-Apr. are by appointment only. Beginning in May, the Leopold Center will be open Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm. |
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Join Us for the Leopold Education Project - Scholarships Available!
 It's not too late to register to join us for a one-of-a-kind conference experience next week. The Leopold Education Project seeks new ways to connect kids and adults alike to the natural world. Hear from educators from across the country who are doing just that in their home communities. Listen to their stories, participate in hands-on activities, walk in the woods, meet nationally-recognized writers Scott Russell Sanders and Marybeth Lorbiecki, and take a boat cruise in the scenic Wisconsin Dells. It's all happening next week at the Leopold Center! If you need financial assistance to be able to attend, we have a number of sponsorships offered by chapters of Pheasants Forever, so please contact us about receiving one. The conference will run June 18-19, with pre-conference workshops scheduled for June 17. See the full agenda and register today!
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Family Day Enjoyed by All
 Nearly 200 people ventured out to the Leopold Center on Saturday, May 22 for the Aldo Leopold Foundation's first annual Family Day celebration. Kids of all ages participated in activity stations ranging from papermaking to fire-building. Families visited up close with a live vulture, worked together to calculate the carbon footprint of their food, crafted their own nature poems, and learned about urban chickens. Students from the River Crossing Charter School in Portage gave guided tours of the Leopold Shack, recently designated a National Historic Landmark. Family Day was sponsored in part by generous support from Don Larson Automotive, Don Rick Insurance, and Foresite Software. Check out photos of the day.
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Leopold-Pine Island IBA Great for Birding!
 The Leopold-Pine Island Important Bird Area (IBA) was recently featured in an article that appeared in Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. The project extends over some 15,000 acres of publicly and privately owned land along the Wisconsin River. The partnerships that have formed in creating the protected area are the key to its success. "Communication with the partners helped me see ways to be more active in my approach to management," says Phill Pines, a private landowner who is part of the IBA. "I removed the scattered trees in my grasslands, providing an immediate and significant benefit to our priority grassland birds."
You can enjoy the IBA, too! Although much of the land that makes up the IBA is closed to the public, the rustic road that bisects the area is a great place for easy birding. Check out our map of stops online and stop by the Leopold Center during our open hours for a checklist of birds.
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Come Paddle With Us!
 On July 24th, the Aldo Leopold Foundation will host a special canoe trip, from a few miles below the Dells Dam to the Pine Island Wildlife Area, with a tour and lunch stop at the historic Leopold Shack and Farm. We’ll start by paddling alongside the striking sandstone formations that made the Dells famous. As we float along, we’ll transition into a very different river landscape as we enter Aldo Leopold’s “sand counties.” We’ll stop for lunch at the Leopold Shack, then paddle a bit further to our take-out point at Pine Island, for a total of about 12 river miles. This entire stretch of river is known for abundant wildlife. We may have a chance to see cranes, eagles, turtles, great blue herons, and more. Join us for a lovely fall day of canoeing the Wisconsin River! This trip is appropriate for all ages and experience levels. Advance registration is required. Children under age 18 must be accompanied by adult. More information and registration on our website or contact Aldo Leopold Foundation Education Coordinator Jennifer Kobylecky at jennifer@aldoleopold.org or 608.355.0279 extension 27.
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 Notes from the Field
The stewardship team continues to work on garlic mustard control this month. Now that the plants have set seed, eradication efforts are based on pulling plants and removing them from the woods in trash bags so that the seed will not develop and spread. Toward the end of the month, attention will shift to controlling a newer invasive plant threatening Wisconsin's woodlands: Japanese hedge-parsley. You can read about our methods of control for garlic mustard and hedge-parsley to help you control these species on your land as well.
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Woodland School Registration Now Open
 Registration for Woodland School classes in Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 is now open. In addition to our ever-popular chainsaw safety and prescribed fire classes, we are pleased to offer some new course to help landowners broaden their knowledge and skill set in caring for their land. This coming year we will offer for the first time classes on understanding conservation easements and cost-share programs to help you find financial support for your conservation goals. We are also excited to present a new class in Forest Soils and Geology and one in Agro-Forestry, both offered next spring. We hope you'll join us for one or more of our many classes! Read more about our course offerings or register online. |
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