Archives

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Creating the Children’s Activity Area January 6, 2022

  Shortly after coming to the Arboretum in 2015, I recognized the potential in a roughly one-acre area bordering the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens that had long… Read more

• Outdoor Events Resume with New Nature Spaces for Learning and Exploration May 10, 2021

  In-person educational events resume outdoors beginning in June, with some precautions in place. In addition, we are excited to announce two new educational spaces for… Read more

• New Zine Reveals the Wonderful World of Microbes February 11, 2021

  The Arboretum is excited to release The Wonderful World of Microbes – a fascinating and beautifully illustrated zine about the widespread influence of tiny organisms… Read more

• Education Transformation: Taking Cues from a Butterfly July 30, 2020

  This spring and summer, the Arboretum education unit has been all about adaptation and transformation.  As I eagerly search for monarch eggs or caterpillars in… Read more

• Environmental Researchers, Educators "Speed Date" to Build Partnerships November 26, 2019

  At the emcee’s signal, participants flock to different tables. They quickly get down to discussing their common interests, intent on discovering whether to meet up… Read more

• Grassland Restoration Practitioners Gather at Arboretum for Annual Workshop September 30, 2019

  On August 20 and 21, the Arboretum hosted the Grassland Restoration Network (GRN) annual workshop. Begun in 2003 by The Nature Conservancy and other partners,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Collecting Seed and Managing Thistles August 29, 2019

  September brings shorter and cooler days, fruit and seed set, senescing leaves, warmer colors in the grasses, migration or early overwintering for some species …… Read more

• Arboretum Hosts Native Gardening Conference September 15 August 5, 2019

  Learn Sustainable Gardening Practices and How to Use Native Plants in Home Landscapes The UW–Madison Arboretum will host its 2019 Native Gardening Conference, “Native… Read more

• Workshops Engage Educators in Monarch Conservation August 2, 2019

  The Arboretum hosted two teacher workshops in July focused on monarch conservation and schoolyard ecology. From July 10 to 12, fifty-six K–12, early childhood, and… Read more

• Land Care Report: UW Prescribed Fire Class April 29, 2019

  This spring, the Arboretum has been a partner in an exciting new initiative offering UW–Madison students wildland fire training. The training was incorporated into the… Read more

• Summer Camp: Enriching Nature Experiences August 30, 2018

  The Arboretum was abuzz with more than bees this summer. Thousands of visitors walked the trails, admired blooming plants, watched insects flit among the flowers,… Read more

• UW–Madison Arboretum Hosts Native Gardening Conference August 8, 2018

  Promoting Sustainable Gardening Practices and the Use of Native Plants in Home Landscapes The Arboretum will host its 2018 Native Gardening Conference, “Native by Design:… Read more

• Being Outside—Happiness, Health, and Hazards August 2, 2018

  Director’s Note I’m happiest when I’m outside. I love hiking and biking in natural areas, learning new plant and animal species, recognizing those I already… Read more

• Research Update: Bluebird Restoration May 31, 2018

  In the early 1900s, Eastern bluebird populations in North America were dwindling. Several factors contributed to their decline: ice storms in their wintering grounds, a… Read more

• UW Arboretum Celebrates 50 Years of Winter Lectures, Fellowship February 23, 2018

  Warmed by a wood stove in an old Civilian Conservation Corps barracks, a group of Madison-area naturalists gathered in the winter of 1968 on the… Read more

• Land Care Report: UW Students Work the Land in Summer August 30, 2017

  In summer, the Arboretum hires UW–Madison students to assist the land care crew with the outdoor work that needs to be done during the busy… Read more

• Earth Focus Day Camp: Nurturing a Love of Nature July 28, 2017

  Almost anyone who spent countless hours of summertime outdoors as a child has fond memories of exploration, investigation, discovery, and exhilaration. These are experiences the… Read more

• New Staff: Gail Epping Overholt July 28, 2017

  The Arboretum’s new outreach and education coordinator, Gail Epping Overholt, began working at the Arboretum January 11—Aldo Leopold’s birthday—and has already brought enthusiasm and fresh… Read more