Education & Outreach Programs

“We can be ethical only in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, love or otherwise have faith in.”

The Aldo Leopold Foundation offers educational and outreach programs to increase the ecological literacy of our citizens. Many of these opportunities are hosted at the new Leopold Center and at the original Leopold Shack, where forests, wetlands and prairies serve as an outdoor classroom for exploring ecological relationships.

In addition to these programs, the Foundation also does active outreach education through Leopold-based talks, conferences and events across the country and the world. Following is a summary of educational programs offered at the site in Baraboo. Click here for more information on outreach education.

On-site programs

Public and Group Tours

Visitors to the Baraboo area are welcome to come and visit us at our headquarters and take part in a guided or self-guided tour of both the Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm, and the Leopold Center green building. Tours are offered on a regular basis between Memorial Day and the end of October each year. Click here to learn more.

The Woodland School

Since 1998, the Woodland School has been assisting people responsible for managing both public and private land in creating and realizing their own conservation vision. Learn more about the Woodland School by clicking here.

Special Events

Leopold Education Project National Conference

Each June, we partner with Pheasants Forever's Leopold Education Project to host a national conference for formal and non-formal educators at the Leopold Center. The conference features speakers and activities to help educators think about how to incorporate Leopold's ideas and writings into their teaching. Read more.

Annual Volunteer Day

The foundation hosts an annual volunteer day on the third Saturday of September every year. Come help us give a spit shine to the Leopold Center in the morning, then enjoy a lunch and optional tours of the center and the Leopold Shack in the afternoon.

Art Discovery Day

Every November, the Aldo Leopold Foundation hosts Art Discovery Day at the Leopold Center. It is an art show and lecture series designed to showcase regional artists whose work reflects Aldo Leopold's idea of a land ethic.

Brown Bag Seminars
We’re keenly aware that nothing can replace the opportunity to hear writers, scholars and scientists in an intimate setting. While the Shack Seminar Series of past years no longer continues in the format long-time supporters may remember, we’re continuing to present cutting-edge ecological research and new interpretations of Aldo Leopold’s writing and philosophy through our Brown Bag Seminars. We’re lining up these weekday, lunch-time seminars as opportunities permit. Announcements are made on our calendar of events page, through emails to our Wisconsin members, and in the events calendar in our local newspapers. Sign up for our e-newsletter to be sure you don't miss an opportunity to hear a speaker!

Outreach Programs

Speaking Engagements

The Aldo Leopold Foundation staff, board, and volunteers offer lectures on a wide variety of topics related to Aldo Leopold and his ideas on our relationship with the natural world, including:

The life and legacy of Aldo Leopold
Leopold's Land Ethic
Land health
Private land conservation
Natural resource conservation
Phenology and climate change
Biodiversity
Conservation leadership
The design and construction of the Leopold Center
The work of the Aldo Leopold Foundation
Plus, talks custom tailored to your group’s interests

Keynote level speakers

Stan Professor Stanley Temple is recently retired from the academic position at the University of Wisconsin once held by Aldo Leopold. He is now a Professor Emeritus and a Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Professor Temple is a noted authority on conservation issues and Aldo Leopold’s contributions to the field. He is a popular public speaker, and while at the University of Wisconsin he won every teaching award for which he was eligible. He has done conservation work in 21 countries. He has received national and international recognition for his diverse contributions to the field of conservation. Among his accomplishments, he is a past President of the Society for Conservation Biology and past Chairman of the Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He has authored over 330 publications on conservation and ecology.

Your group can book a lecture to coincide with a visit to the Leopold Center, or Dr. Temple can arrange to come to your group’s meeting place. In addition to travel expenses, we charge a negotiable lecture fee. To make arrangements for a lecture, please contact Professor Temple directly at satemple@aldoleopold.org.

Buddy Buddy Huffaker has been the Executive Director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation since 1999 (he joined the Foundation as Ecologist in 1996). Engaged nationally in the conservation movement, Huffaker has participated in the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation and was elected to represent the Northeast Region at the US Forest Service’s Centennial Congress. In addition, he has contributed to two books; The Farm as a Natural Habitat (Island Press) and Aldo Leopold and the Ecological Conscience (Oxford University Press).

Building upon his academic background in landscape architecture, Huffaker was deeply involved in every aspect of the design and construction of the Leopold Center and now serves as a leading voice for the importance of merging the interests of the green building and conservation movements. Buddy holds a degree in Not-for-Profit Management in the Kellogg School of Management Executive Scholar Program at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) and has earned a Certificate in Fundraising Management from The Fundraising School at Indiana University (Indianapolis, IN).

Your group can book a lecture to coincide with a visit to the Leopold Center, or Buddy can arrange to come to your group’s meeting place. In addition to travel expenses, we charge a negotiable lecture fee. To make arrangements for a lecture, please contact Buddy directly at buddy@aldoleopold.org.

Steve Steve Swenson has served as the foundation's Ecologist since 1999, and has gathered more than a few good stories about what it means to own and care for land. Steve directs the science and stewardship work at the Leopold Family Shack and Farm, a National Historic Landmark. This work serves as the basis for partnership and communication with private landowners and resource professionals throughout the Midwest. Most recently, Steve authored a series of landowner handbooks covering Southwest Wisconsin, Southeast Minnesota, and Southern Arkansas reaching 30,000 landowners (owning 6 million acres). These photo-rich handbooks help further the reader’s journey in their relationship to land. Locally, Steve helps coordinate a partnership of neighbors called the Leopold-Pine Island Important Bird Area. This 15,000 acre partnership offers many great examples of how good science, communication, and relationships offer hope for real conservation success.

Over the years, Steve’s work has help evolve the foundation and its work. In 2005-2007, Steve coordinated the harvest of 100,000 board feet of lumber from the historic Leopold Family Farm in the building of the Leopold Legacy Center. This triumphant example of green building design humbly took what the land provided, as plans and design incorporated what came from the forest. Steve has years of experience in all manner of experiences to share, including information on prairie restoration, prescribed burning, timber management, invasive species control, data collection, and management planning. Steve received his Bachelor’s degree (1995) in environmental science and biology from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and a Master’s degree (1999) in plant ecology from The Ohio State University. Steve, wife Heidi and sons Aaron and Soren live in Baraboo, WI.

Your group can book a lecture to coincide with a visit to the Leopold Center, or Steve can arrange to come to your group’s meeting place. In addition to travel expenses, we charge a negotiable lecture fee. To make arrangements for a lecture, please contact Steve directly at steve@aldoleopold.org.