|
|
 |
|
|
Come for a Brown Bag Seminar Tomorrow and Help with ALF's Interpretive Exhibits!
 |
May 14: A Descriptive Study of Visitation and Interpretation at the Leopold Center
Education Coordinator Jennifer Kobylecky will present the results of the first formal visitor study ever done at the Aldo Leopold Foundation on Thursday, May 14th at noon. Kobylecky has been pursuing a Master’s degree part time for the last two and a half years while continuing to direct on-site interpretation at the center. Her thesis project at UW- Stevens Point is an in-depth evaluation of visitation and interpretation programs at the Leopold Center. This study will directly inform the interpretive planning process for the entire site. Following the presentation, Jennifer will gather feedback on her site recommendations from seminar attendees to further inform the Master Interpretive Plan. After the presentation, we will also post the slides online in order to gather feedback from those of you that can’t be at the Leopold Center on the 14th to hear the results in person. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Bring a bag lunch to enjoy during the program. Light desserts and beverages provided. |
|
Leopold-Pine Island IBA Survey Completed
The Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program is an international effort to identify, protect, and manage sites that contain critical habitats for birds. The Leopold-Pine Island IBA is located along the Wisconsin River in south central Wisconsin, in a mosaic of marsh, grassland, barrens, floodplain and upland hardwood forest, and agricultural land in private, state, federal, and non-governmental organization ownership. The process of IBA nomination, data collection, and formal recognition served as the catalyst for a diverse
group of stakeholders to come together to discuss voluntary collaborations for managing the IBA as a landscape while respecting individual property goals. The bird survey results provided an excellent foundation for identifying potential stewardship activities, a foundation few other IBAs enjoy. This process can serve as a model for inventory, evaluation, and goal-setting on other IBAs and important resource management areas with single or multiple ownerships. Read more about the IBA project on our website or download the entire report (PDF, 5MB). |
|
Register Today for the Leopold Education Project Conference!
 Calling all educators! Join us in Wisconsin for a great summer learning opportunity! The Leopold Education Project (LEP) National Conference is coming to the Leopold Center! June 25-27, come meet other educators, learn about LEP’s curriculum resources, and attend valuable seminars that will give you the skills you need to develop and lead environmental education and conservation projects in your home communities. Sessions will focus on teaching skills, methods for incorporating Aldo Leopold’s thinking into educational programs and discussions, and inspiring success stories of projects that creatively link individuals and their natural communities to benefit both. Registration is now open! (Early-bird registration until May 15.)
Click here for our incredible lineup of presenters, including keynote speaker Gary Paul Nabhan (author of the Geography of Childhood and many other excellent books). Please pass the information on to other educators and conservation professionals who may be interested!
|
|
Learn From the Experts!
 This year, we have started a series of high-level guided tours for visitors who would like a more in-depth experience. Our first tour with Dr. Curt Meine earlier this month was a great success. You can watch a video clip of part of it on YouTube here. We have two more tours coming up in the next month, so sign up today!
May 29: Matt Millen, Jim Erickson, Trent Margrif, and Buddy Huffaker
Come learn from three experts in the field of historic renovation, restoration, and preservation in the context of a real maintenance project taking place at the Shack this spring: a complete re-roofing of the sleeping wing. Then join Aldo Leopold Foundation Executive Director Buddy Huffaker on an intimate behind-the-scenes tour of the Leopold Center’s green features. Read more about this tour here.
June 5: Dr. Stan Temple
Join Dr. Stan Temple, recently retired from the post once held by Aldo Leopold himself as the chair of the Wildlife Ecology department at UW-Madison, for a walk-and-talk at the Shack on Leopold’s influence on wildlife ecology and conservation. Leopold, more than any other person, understood nature's interrelations and how to use them to achieve conservation goals. We're still following his lead today. Read more about this tour here.
|
|
 No Longer the Greenest Building
Shortly after we opened the Leopold Center in 2007, it received the highest green building rating for a new construction ever given by the US Green Building Council. Scoring 61 out of 69 possible points on the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for its energy efficiency, reused and local materials, use of renewable energy, and much more, the Leopold Center was hailed by some as the "greenest building in the world." Not so anymore. Recently, the brand new Dockside Green, a green residential project in Victoria, British Columbia, garnered 63 points on the LEED system. Why are we bragging about this? Because, while it diminishes our own acclaim a little, we believe it signals a strong trend toward sustainability and green building in our collective future. It tells us that not only is the technology getting better and more common, but it is getting used more frequently, and more people are thinking about why one would want to build, or live in, a green building. Congratulations, Dockside Green!
|
|
Notes From the Field
 It's garlic mustard time! Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a non-native plant that is taking over the understories of woodlands across Wisconsin and much of the eastern United States. Every May, our land stewardship crew spends hundreds of hours controlling garlic mustard on our property. Using GPS units and mapping software, they have developed an integrative management strategy to find and treat garlic mustard populations on the Leopold Memorial Reserve. Treatment is through either herbicide spraying or hand-pulling and bagging, depending on the integrity of the surrounding flora, the size of the population, and whether the garlic mustard has begun flowering or not. Read our entire garlic mustard protocol and find more resources about invasive species management on our website. |
|
|
