Archives

• Get Involved in Citizen Science at Home April 15, 2020

  Spring’s renewal is all around us as longer days, warming temperatures, and the reappearance of many plants and animals help lift our collective spirits. The… Read more

• Volunteers Turn Dreams into Reality February 27, 2020

  Emily Dickinson wrote “To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, / One clover, and a bee. / And revery. / The… Read more

• AmeriCorps NCCC Volunteers Bring Dedication and Good Spirits to Madison July 1, 2019

  Just as the arrival of spring migratory birds enlivens the landscape, the arrival of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) infuses enthusiasm and energy… Read more

• Director’s Note, July 2019 July 1, 2019

  This month’s newsletter celebrates volunteers. I interact with volunteers every day that I’m at work and am constantly reminded that we could not do what… Read more

• Nature as Muse: Volunteers Dig into Poetry Writing Workshop July 1, 2019

  The Arboretum recently organized a series of writing workshops for Arboretum volunteers. The series, Mary Oliver and the Fine Art of Mindfulness in Nature, was… Read more

• Listening to Leopold March 1, 2019

  “It’s one of my favorite mornings each year. On the first Saturday in March, Kathy Miner organizes Madison Reads Leopold. All day,… Read more

• Volunteers Choose to Make a Difference February 28, 2019

  Mary Oliver wrote in her poem “The Summer Day” some of her most quoted lines: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do /… Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Collection Inventory, Fall Color and Hardy Larches, and Volunteers Power Through January 2, 2019

  Collection Inventory Field Check Over the course of the fall, garden staff conducted an inventory field check for the approximately 4,000 accessioned plants in… Read more

• On the Trails: Volunteers Blaze Through Trail Improvements October 31, 2018

  Water can cause major trail damage, and we had a lot of rain this summer, with more than 25 inches of total rainfall. Flooding inundated… Read more

• Volunteer Groups and Service Projects June 28, 2018

  With a 1,200-acre Madison property, 500 acres of outlying properties across the state, and a field and gardening staff of fewer than 10 people, volunteers… 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

• Arboretum Volunteers: Dedicated to Service February 28, 2018

  Arboretum gardens, restoration areas, education programs, and research endeavors are thriving, thanks to volunteers who have answered the call to serve. The 2017 volunteer corps… Read more

• The Bountiful Work of Volunteers October 31, 2017

  The growing season is at an end, leaves have fallen, and there is no denying that summer is over. The shorter days of November can… Read more

• Citizen scientists scour Madison area for invasive jumping worms September 15, 2017

  “From Fitchburg to Governor’s Island and Monona to Middleton, teams of volunteers dispersed across the Madison area Sept. 10 in search of small, pink, wriggling… Read more

• Restore the Land, Become a Leader August 25, 2017

  Restoration team leaders are an essential corps of land care volunteers. They teach and supervise other volunteers at weekly restoration work parties. Apply by March 16 – the Arboretum's extensive training program begins in late March. Read more

• UW Arboretum Workshop Tracks Endangered Bees with Photos July 21, 2017

  “With a trained eye and quick finger stabbing the air, University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum native plant gardener Susan Carpenter counts off the bumble bees… Read more

• Restoration Team Leaders: Core Members of the Community June 29, 2017

  Restoration team leaders are some of the unsung heroes of the Arboretum. For the last 25 years, year-round, in all kinds of weather conditions, at… Read more

• Volunteers Make the Arboretum Vibrant March 1, 2017

  Take a random sampling of Arboretum happenings: Expanding populations of the state endangered wildflower wild camassia (Camassia scilloides) at Wingra Oak Savanna. The rusty-patched bumblebee,… Read more