Wonderfull Earth

What's New As summer has begun, so has my new job as the summer Nature Net intern! My name is Stephanie and I will be blogging, updating, and bringing you all the latest news Nature Net has to offer in the next coming months. About Me Occupation : Junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Major : International Studies, Environmental Studies, and East Asian Studies Hometown : Riverside, IL - A suburb of Chicago, right next to the Brookfield Zoo ! Favorite Animal: Panda Favorite Color : Teal Favorite Season : Fall Favorite Sports Teams : Chicago Bears, White Sox, and (of course) the Wisconsin Badgers Interesting Facts During the school year I am involved on campus through my participation in the Greek community and the Ultimate Frisbee and Club Water Polo teams. I also hope to become more involved with some of the environmental-oriented clubs and groups in the near future. I came across the Aldo Leopold Nature Center and Nature Net  because of the  Community an...

"When out fossil hunting, it is very easy to forget that rather than telling you how the creatures lived, the remains you find indicate only where they became fossilized." Richard E. Leakey Dear Reader, I was raised by a duo consisting of a rockhound and a naturalist. My parents went rock collecting for their honeymoon, and the old museum case in the living room is full of many of their souvenirs. I remember countless hours examining minerals and fossils with my father, enthralled as he would highlight the delicate bones of a skeletal fish, trace the veins of a fossilized fern, or rub our fingers over the bumpy shell of trilobite. It was a highlight of my childhood.  Fossils help us learn about conditions of the past and the path that ancestral creatures took to evolve to the animals we know and love today. For example, fossil records helped scientists determine that the Tyrannosaurus Rex is likely related to today's living chickens. So we're eating the descendants of...

"Our generation has inherited an incredibly beautiful world from our parents, and they from their parents. It is in our hands whether our children and their children inherit the same world." Richard Branson Dear Reader, The seasons just aren't what they used to be! Summer days are hotter and winters more extreme. Droughts stretch across the country, followed by intense rain. Our climate is changing and it affects us every single day. Climate change is hot topic nowadays, be you politician, environmentalist, or everyday person. This is because we all live in this world, and impacts of climate change are all around us. A matter of a few degrees in the average temperature can mean the difference between local crops thriving or drying out, or animals being able to adapt or not.  Records show that Wisconsin's average temperature has slowly increased the past fifty years by more than one degree. Now, this might not seem like much, but consider this: since 1960, signs of s...

EXCLUSIVE EDUCATOR SNEAK PEEK! Calling all K-12 teachers: be among the first to see the exciting new offerings at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center ! WHEN : Thursday, October 27, 2011 - come anytime from 4-6pm! WHERE: Aldo Leopold Nature Center , Monona, WI WHAT: Preview brand new hands-on, interactive educational exhibits designed to teach your students about climate science, renewable energy and sustainability! Bring the family and explore the exhibits together - view our planet as the astronauts see it with Science on a Sphere , see how global temperatures shape Earth's past, present and future with Global Warming Facts & Our Future , and discover the latest green innovations with the Madison Gas & Electric Renewable Energy Center . Find out about new programming in the works and opportunities for fieldtrips, professional development and more. Enjoy teacher resources, free classroom materials, raffle prizes, coffee and cookies and more! Register to win one of ...

Hey all! Hi! Nice to meet you! This summer I had a blast! I was working with the fabulous Brenna to create and supply materials to parents and teachers to help kids get outside. It's one thing to write about kids getting active, and yet another to see it in action. Working above the summer camps at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, everyday my inspiration was renewed afresh. There's just something about a shrieking, giggling, wild gaggle of 4-6-year-olds racing through the prairie or investigating at the pond that inspires a happy feeling, as if you were infused with helium. My favorite part was during the PBS Kids Go Open House. Perhaps you saw me, I was the girl going around with a raccoon puppet on my art and speaking odes, in a squeaky voice, about garbage cans (and if anyone has pictures of this event, I would be ever so grateful for a copy, for I have none!). This summer has been such a marvelous adventure! In addition to the open house, I was the one who sent out yo...

Nature Net News Your source for tips & tricks for exploring nature with your kids Dear Reader, "I wish I were a muskrat, eye deep in the marsh." Aldo Leopold The croaking of the peepers is one of the first signs that summer is on its way and new life is teeming in a wetland nearby. From skating water bugs to baby bullheads waving tentacles in a friendly hello, the pond is one of the epicenters of life during early summer.  Did you ever go to your local pond to dip a fishing net (or a parent's really expensive butterfly net) into the waters, and pull out a netful of life? Did you ever catch and raise tadpoles, watching in amazement as limbs sprouted, and letting the little frogs hop off your hand deep into the pond from whence they came? Did you ever slip off your shoes and dig your toes into the marshy ooze? 'Tis the season for pond dipping, and that's just what this episode of Nature Net News is all about. Read how to collect and identify what you find, get ...

Nature Net members are hosting several events this week in celebration of Wisconsin's premier conservationist, Aldo Leopold.  Green Fire Those of you anxiously awaiting the release of the Aldo Leopold Foundation 's Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time will be excited to learn about screenings at two Madison locations this week. The film, which has been premiering around the country and the world for the past month, is making its way to the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on Friday, March 4 and the Barrymore Theater on Sunday, March 6! First Madison Show DATE: Friday, March 4, 2011 TIME: 7pm, with a reception following the film LOCATION: Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Town Center ADDRESS: 1300 University Ave., Madison, Wisconsin TICKETS: Available through Brown Paper Tickets , $8 advance/$10 at the door MORE INFORMATION: http://www.greenfiremovie.com/ Second Madison Show DATE: Sunday, March 6, 2011 TIME: 7pm, with a reception f...

Just a reminder : if you are looking for a fun and educational activity this weekend, join families and others at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's Black Earth Campus  this Sunday afternoon for Owl You Need Is Love !

   Join families and winter romantics next weekend at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center 's Black Earth Campus to celebrate this month's program, Owl You Need Is Love ! The event, from 1pm-3pm next Sunday, February 13, will celebrate the winter courtship of Wisconsin's owls, who spend the cold dark nights of winter concentrating on romance, and are some of the few animals to be sitting on a nest of eggs by Valentine's Day! At ALNC's Black Earth Campus (about 20 minutes west of Madison), your family will participate in an owl watching hike, learn about different owl calls, meet a live owl and participate in owl craft activities. Learn more about the event on ALNC's Nature Notes blog. See you there!

Nature Net member the Aldo Leopold Nature Center  was featured this morning on the U.S. Department of Energy's " Energy Blog "! The post , How a  Wisconsin Nature Center Is Leading By Example , highlights the LEED-certified, energy self-sufficient educational facility currently under construction, and lauds ALNC's goal of helping Wisconsin children and families understand both the challenges of climate change and the growing opportunities to promote economic growth and cut carbon pollution. Read the post on the U.S. DOE's " Energy Blog " and visit www.naturenet.com/alnc to read more about the expansion project and innovative plans for combining exciting, real-life experiences in nature with sophisticated touch-screen and interactive media.