A Sand County Blog

Explore the latest in conservation thinking and practical land stewardship with special insights, stories, and reflections.

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12 Months Walking

Through short walks in the woods over the course of a year, staff writer Maia Buschman kindles a fierce love for this corner of the sand counties, unearthing the land's magic via observation—and a pen.

Virginia Metcalf’s Great Heart is Good Oak

Virginia "Ginny" Metcalf's extraordinary military career helping wounded soldiers with physical therapy leads to her "second calling" working her land ethic to heal and protect wounded land.

To Live Forever by Not Living at All

Meditations on "mind uploading," and how it severs us from the land and true human experience.

Learning in Partnership with the Land

Reflections on the life and work of Dick Cates: farmer, conservationist, former Leopold Fellow, and recent guest on Land Ethic Live!

'The Land Ethic for AI'

In 1938, Leopold wrote that “Our tools are better than we are, and grow better faster than we do.” Now, in 2025, artificial intelligence is expanding rapidly into every corner of modern life. Is there a way that a land ethic can guide our relationship to AI?

24 Hours to Geek Out: BioBlitz Comes to Leopold Country

Milwaukee Public Museum chose the Leopold-Pines Conservation Area for their 10th annual BioBlitz. Staff reporter Maia Buschman followed the surveyors into the field to see what it was all about.

Want to Help a Kid in Your Life Connect with Nature? Start Here

How do we help the next generation get interested in the environment? Learn more about our new e-book, with hands-on activities to engage kids - and adults - with the land around them.

It Takes a Thinking Community

Stewarding Mi Casita, Aldo and Estella's first home in Tres Piedras, New Mexico, has brought together all kinds and inspired preservation and connection to a historic legacy.

Conservation History Ignored to Weaken the Endangered Species Act – by Dr. Stanley Temple

Senior Fellow Dr. Temple outlines the history of endangered species protections through the decades―and why the current proposals to undo the meaning of "harm" will have devastating consequences.

Honoring Estella

Invest in the Estella B. Leopold Presidential Endowment and ensure the land ethic thrives for generations to come.

2026 Phenology Calendar Celebrates Family Legacy

An annual tradition returns earlier than ever! Learn about the 2026 Phenology Calendar, which celebrates the legacy of Aldo's daughter, Nina Leopold Bradley, and the impact of her phenological observations.

Planting History in the Sand Counties

The Shack is no stranger to a few (thousand) trees being planted. But these apple saplings are part of Sauk County's storied history, and the plantings are part of a large-scale effort to restore and honor lost human-land connections.

Birding Your Way to Biotic Communion

Education Fellow Ariana Zimney explores how the teeny tiny birds of "65290" fame can inspire a larger, more interconnected worldview.

Camp Long Run: Aldo Leopold and the Yale Forest School Camp of 1907

Originally published in Forest History Today, this article by Julie Dunlap explores an underappreciated period in the formation of Leopold's conservation awareness: a fieldwork summer camp during his studies at the Yale Forest School.

Learning an Earth-Grown Language

A lyrical exploration of land and relationship by Fellow Cadence Eischens, inspired by her Leopold Week interview with poet Camille Dungy

The Incredible, Edible Land Ethic

How food nourishes generosity, community, and love for the land.

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