Special Events at the Leopold Center

Leopold Center Family Day

Saturday, May 19, 2012

This is a free, family-friendly event held annually at the Leopold Center. The event features hands-on activities for kids and families, including games, writing activities, nature crafts, exhibits and displays on ways to live lightly on the land, Shack tours just for kids, and more! Bring the whole family for a great day of fun.

Land Ethic Leaders Training

Thu-Fri, December 1-2, 2011: Baraboo, WI
Thu-Fri, June 14-15, 2012: Baraboo, WI
Thu-Fri, August 9-10, 2012: Baraboo, WI
Fri-Sat, September 21-22, 2012: Baraboo, WI

The Land Ethic Leaders program trains community and environmental leaders to facilitate reflective discussions based on pieces of literature, art or film to get people talking about their relationships to land. It empowers them to engage people in their own towns and workplaces in discussions about environmental issues such as global climate change, air and water pollution, loss of biological diversity and a rising human population in deeper, more meaningful ways.
Visit our Land Ethic Leaders program page to learn more and register.

Good Neighbor Day

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Free admission for our public guided Shack tour on Saturday to residents of Sauk County, Wisconsin Dells and Portage townships. You may also receive free admission to the tour by bringing in a donation for the local food pantry. Good neighbor day is run in conjunction with the International Crane Foundation which will have a similar free admission program running the same weekend.

Leopold Center Art Discovery Day

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Help us wrap up our visitation season by joining us for our fourth annual Art Day! Each year we invite a crop of new local and regional artists to participate in the annual art day event. Come to the Leopold Center for a free day featuring presentations, demonstrations, and time for individual interaction with each artist. We hope their work will inspire people to think more critically about their connection to the natural world. Free and open to the public.

Brown Bag Seminars

Thoughout the year, ALF will offer periodic brownbag seminars from 12-1:30pm on weekdays. Brown Bags will cover a variety of conservation-related topics, taking advantage of scholars who are in the area or timely events. Brown Bag seminars will be advertised in our local area, and will also be posted here as they are scheduled. Bring a lunch and join us for a lively discussion!

Dec. 7, 12:00-1:00pm
Cows In the Prairie, Prairies in the Fields – Agroecological Research Takes A Fresh Look at Tallgrass Prairies and Cattle Grazing in Wisconsin

Join Craig Maier from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and learn how we may be entering a period of unprecedented opportunity for reconstructing diverse native grasslands on privately-owned working lands. Wisconsin’s prairies were nearly wiped out by plowing and grazing between 1850 and 1950, but farmers have developed new and better ideas and tools to manage grasslands for land health and production; at the same time, non-farmers have shown increasing interest in access to healthy, local foods and the ability of natural and agricultural lands to provide ecosystem services we all depend upon. In 2009, the Jackson Grassland Ecology Lab and collaborators began investigating how rotational grazing with domestic cattle affects plant community dynamics in reconstructed mesic prairies. Forage quality, productivity, and the success of native legume interseeding were also measured to evaluate the potential for restored prairies to provide summer pasture for Wisconsin’s grass-based farmers. Diverse prairies produced less forage than switchgrass monocultures, but these grasslands planted with one species of warm-season grass were less resistant to changes in community composition over time. Many questions and challenges remain, yet this research suggests that farmers and conservationists can collaborate with consumers and policy makers to integrate prairie restoration and farming in ways that supports vibrant rural communities and land health for rural and urban residents alike.