• Saturday, July 20

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Grady Tract

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Rd. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, July 21

    Curtis Prairie
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    Summer prairies change weekly, bringing new sights, sounds, and smells. Join us for sensory splendor. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, July 27

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Core Area and Curtis Prairie

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Visitor Center. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, July 28

    Greene Prairie and Grady Knolls
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

    In late July we may see Culver’s-root, mountain mint, rattlesnake master, blazing-stars, and swamp milkweed. Prairie dock, a Greene Prairie favorite, can be easy to spot, with its bright yellow flowers and broad rough leaves. Free, no registration required. No facilities, some sloping terrain. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Rd.

  • Sunday, July 28

    Citizen Science
    Family Nature Program

    1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

    Summer is an active season for citizen science. Bumblebees, butterflies, birds, and blooming buds are just a few of nature’s wonders you can observe and record. Come to learn, participate, and enjoy. Naturalist-led walk, 1:30–2:30 p.m., indoor activities, 2:30–3:30 p.m. Designed for families with children ages 3–11. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, August 3

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Wingra Oak Savanna

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at Arbor Dr. parking lot, off Monroe St. More information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, August 4

    Henry Greene’s Prairie
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

    The renowned botanist hand-planted more than 130 prairie species from 1942 through the early 1960s. Learn how Greene Prairie continues to thrive and change. Free, no registration required. No facilities, some sloping terrain. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Rd.

  • Sunday, August 4

    Garden Excursion
    Walk

    1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    Learn about Arboretum history, land, and science on a gently paced walk in the gardens. This monthly stroll offers a multigenerational learning experience on the first Sunday of each month, April–October. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Wednesday, August 7

    Native Grasses
    Native Plant Garden Tour

    7 p.m.

    Susan Carpenter, Arboretum native plant gardener, will focus on color, size, and features of native Wisconsin grasses, from tiny mustache grass to big bluestem. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, August 10

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Core Area and Curtis Prairie

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Visitor Center. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Saturday, August 10

    Citizen Science Open House
    Special Event

    12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

    Join us for an open house to celebrate citizen science! Try your hand at different projects and contribute to scientific discovery. Look for dragonflies and bumblebees, count monarch butterfly caterpillars, find birds and other wildlife, and explore many other hands-on activities. Indoor and outdoor activities, weather permitting. All ages welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult). Come prepared for weather and insects. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, August 10

    Meteors and the Moon
    Night Walk

    8:30 p.m. – 11 p.m.

    Jim Lattis, UW Space Place astronomer, will give an indoor presentation about the Perseid and other meteor showers, followed by a naturalist-led walk. Telescopes will be set up for sky gazing with local astronomers until 11 p.m., weather permitting. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, August 11

    Sample of 1834 Dane County
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    Restored prairie, savanna, and wetlands provide an example of what Dane County looked like in the 1830s. Ecological restoration was not well known when experiments started here in 1935. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, August 11

    Living in a Wetland
    Family Walk

    1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    Learn about pond critters, the fascinating lives of predators and prey, and the relationships between the animals that call wetlands home. Designed for families with children ages 3–11. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, August 18

    Wingra Oak Savanna Restoration and Monroe Street Environs
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    This oak savanna has been a cooperative restoration with the Arboretum, Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood, and volunteers since 1992. We will visit the restoration, the Wheeler Council Ring designed by Jens Jensen, and two bubbling springs Native Americans relied on for centuries. Free, no registration required. Meet at Arbor Dr. parking lot, off Monroe St.

  • Saturday, August 24

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Core Area and Curtis Prairie

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Visitor Center. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, August 25

    Grasslands on the Grady Tract
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

    This is a good time to see the contrast in plants and animals between the sandy dry West Knoll and the wetter Greene Prairie. Free, no registration required. No facilities, some sloping terrain. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Road.

  • Sunday, August 25

    Pollinator Party
    Family Nature Program

    1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

    Join us to observe and learn about the fascinating lives of the pollinators in the Arboretum's gardens and prairies. Naturalist-led walk, 1:30–2:30 p.m., indoor activities, 2:30–3:30 p.m. Designed for families with children ages 3–11. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, September 1

    Fall Flowers in Grady Oak Savanna and Greene Prairie
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

    Enjoy goldenrods, asters, sunflowers, gentians, and the many insects living among them. Learn about plant and insect relationships. Free, no registration required. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Rd. No facilities, some sloping terrain.

  • Sunday, September 1

    Garden Excursion
    Walk

    1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    Learn about Arboretum history, land, and science on a gently paced walk in the gardens. This monthly stroll offers a multigenerational learning experience on the first Sunday of each month, April–October. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, September 7

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Wingra Oak Savanna

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at Arbor Dr. parking lot, off Monroe St. More information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, September 8

    Curtis Prairie
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    The tallgrass prairie is at peak height and color in early September. Big bluestem can grow more than seven feet tall with stems and seedheads turned to reds and tans. We will look for animals on the prairie as they prepare for fall. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, September 8

    Fungus Among Us
    Family Walk

    1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    The season is right to observe mushrooms and other types of fungus. Learn about the important roles they play in nature on a naturalist-led walk designed for children ages 3–11. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, September 14

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Core Area and Curtis Prairie

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Visitor Center. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Saturday, September 14

    Fall in the Native Plant Garden
    Native Plant Garden Tour

    1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

    Color, fruits, seeds, late blooming plants, late-season insects—we will find these and more in the diverse native plant gardens around the Visitor Center. Susan Carpenter, Arboretum native plant gardener, will lead this tour. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, September 14

    Harvest Moon by Trails and Telescopes
    Night Walk

    7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.

    Celebrate the change of seasons on a naturalist-led walk lit by the moon (full September 13). Stay after the walk for sky gazing with UW Space Place astronomers and their telescopes (weather permitting). Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, September 15

    Native by Design: Gardening for a Sustainable Future
    Native Gardening Conference

    8:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

    The annual Native Gardening Conference teaches and promotes the use of native plants in home landscapes for biodiversity, habitat, beauty, and sustainability. Expert-led workshops inspire and inform gardeners and landowners to create and maintain native gardens or small-scale restorations. Keynote: “Native Plants to Love and Learn to Love,” Judy Nauseef, landscape designer and writer. Fee: $65. Register by September 6. Early-bird rates through June 30.

  • Sunday, September 15

    Grady Grasslands
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

    We will look for five species of gentian, as well as asters and goldenrods, that grow in the Grady Tract oak savanna and prairie. Free, no registration required. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Rd. No facilities, some sloping terrain.

  • Saturday, September 21

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Grady Tract

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at Grady Tract parking lot, southeast corner of Seminole Hwy. and W. Beltline Frontage Rd. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, September 22

    Autumn Woodlands
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    Join a naturalist to look for fallen and falling leaves, mushrooms, and other natural delights that are possible this time of year. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Sunday, September 22

    Leaping from Summer to Fall
    Family Nature Program

    1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

    Join us as we explore the ecosystems of the Arboretum, looking for changes in the plants and animal behavior as we transition from one season to the next. Naturalist-led walk, 1:30–2:30 p.m., indoor activities, 2:30–3:30 p.m. Designed for families with children ages 3–11. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.

  • Saturday, September 28

    Ecological Restoration Work Party
    Core Area and Curtis Prairie

    9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

    Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training provided. Groups welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Visitor Center. For more information: (608) 265-5214 or marian.farrior@wisc.edu.

  • Sunday, September 29

    The CCC and the Arboretum
    Walk

    1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

    In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) set up its only camp on a university campus. More than 200 men served at Camp Madison before it closed in 1941. Learn how they contributed to the restoration of native Wisconsin ecosystems and walk through the landscape they helped create. Free, no registration required. Meet at the Visitor Center.