Archives
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Everyone Learns with Capstone Classes at the Arboretum February 4, 2025
UW–Madison students can experience the Arboretum as visitors, volunteers, employees, researchers, and learners. Some students visit the Arboretum once or twice during their… Read more
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Gardening with Native Plants: Winter Reading December 2, 2024
December is the first month of meteorological winter and brings the shortest days of the year, often with cold and snow. Gardens are quiet this… Read more
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Land Care Report: The Stages of Restoring Valuable Oak Savannas November 4, 2024
When people think of Arboretum restorations, they likely envision prairies, especially Curtis and Greene Prairies. That makes sense, given the historical importance of Curtis and… Read more
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Arboretum Launches Longenecker Horticultural Gardens Online Collections July 31, 2024
We frequently hear some variation of this question from visitors: “How do I find [describes a tree or bench] in the gardens?” Sometimes people are… Read more
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Summer Volunteer Groups: Myriad Motivations, Many Rewards July 30, 2024
Summer is a busy time for volunteer groups at the Arboretum, with at least one service project each week from June through August. Corporate groups,… Read more
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Land Care Report: Severe Weather and Storm Damage July 1, 2024
On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 19, I was stuck in the Arboretum maintenance building after the crew left for the day, waiting for what… Read more
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Arboretum Restoration Team Leader Program Serves as a Model for Participatory Leadership May 1, 2024
For more than three decades, the Arboretum’s drop-in restoration work parties have engaged hundreds of community volunteers each year in restoring and caring for Arboretum… Read more
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Appreciating the 2023 Volunteers April 1, 2024
The Arboretum is a gift from past generations to the present, and in the present we pass on this gift by stewarding the land for… Read more
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Spring Is Prescribed Fire Season March 12, 2024
Prescribed fire season is underway at the Arboretum. Wisconsin’s prairies, oak savannas, oak woodlands, and even some wetlands evolved to rely on fire for regeneration. Read more
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Land Care Report: Growing Native Plants for Restoration February 29, 2024
An old greenhouse, which has not been used to grow plants in several years, occupies the south-facing section of the Arboretum’s lab building, east of… Read more
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Land Care Report: Summer Students October 30, 2023
Each summer, the Arboretum natural areas and Longenecker Horticultural Gardens benefit from college students who work alongside the land care staff. In 2023, two students… Read more
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Land Care Report: Skunk Cabbage Wetlands and Winter Restoration Progress May 16, 2023
Winter and early spring of 2023 were an exciting time for the land care crew and their oak savanna and wetland brush clearing projects. In… Read more
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Land Care Report: A Record Year in Seed Collection and Donations December 30, 2022
When the snow begins to fall, it brings a change in work for the Arboretum land care crew. Chainsaws and forestry mowers rumble to life… Read more
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Jumping Worm Research Enhanced by Student Researchers September 29, 2022
Non-native invasive species can negatively affect the conservation of native species, restoration goals for natural areas, and general ecosystem health. At the Arboretum, we manage… Read more
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Operation Fresh Start Conservation Academy Crew Assists Restoration Efforts August 30, 2022
Over eight days in August, the Arboretum land care operation received a people-powered restoration boost from an Operation Fresh Start (OFS) Conservation Academy crew. Read more
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Sustainable Lawn Care July 18, 2022
The Arboretum’s mission and land care work focuses on conserving and restoring natural areas. We also manage dozens of acres of lawn, mostly in our… Read more
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Land Care Report: Continued Improvements at Faville Prairie May 2, 2022
In September 2018 I wrote about the Arboretum’s historical connection to the preservation of Faville Prairie near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. I also… Read more
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Celebrating Persistence and Re-emergence: Appreciating the 2021 Volunteers March 31, 2022
Spring, April: a time of rebirth and renewal in the north, a time to appreciate having endured another cold dark winter and embracing the return… Read more
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Land Care Report: Seed Collection Bolsters Restorations January 6, 2022
Invasive species management, tree and brush removal, and prescribed fire are three major components of our restoration work at the Arboretum, and so I’ve written… Read more
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On the Trails: Gardner Marsh Boardwalk Improvements December 1, 2021
The Gardner Marsh boardwalk, near the Mills Street entrance, has been deteriorating over the past few years. In 2018 and 2019 the boardwalk was closed… Read more