Events & Classes
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WALK (VISITOR CENTER)
Curtis Prairie
Sunday, July 5 • 8:30 am – 10 am
With as many as 14 new species coming into bloom each week, this walk could reveal 28 new species blooming from just two weeks ago.
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SPECIAL EVENT
Madison Butterfly Count
Sunday, July 5 • 9 am – 12 pm
If you can identify butterflies, help spot them, or just want to see and learn about butterflies, join us on this count/field-trip. Bring binoculars, the closer they focus the better, or just get close! The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) requires a $3 fee per participant collected on site. Meet at the Grady Tract parking lot at the corner of Seminole Hwy and the Beltline frontage road.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (CORE AREA)
Core Area and Curtis Prairie
Saturday, July 11 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the front steps of the Visitor Center. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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SPECIAL EVENT
Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region
Saturday, July 11 • 1 pm – 3 pm
Meet co-author Merel Black who will be at the Arboretum bookstore to talk about our wildflower heritage and sign copies of the book she wrote with Emmet Judziewicz.
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WALK (NIGHT)
Midsummer Delights
Saturday, July 11 • 8 pm – 9:30 pm
Enjoy an evening walk featuring midsummer flowers and night music from prairie insects.
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WALK (GRADY TRACT)
Grady Tract
Sunday, July 12 • 8:30 am – 10:30 am
If it is a warm, sunny day, you may see many species of butterflies throughout the prairie and savannas. Meet at the Grady Tract parking lot, located at the southeast corner of the Beltline and Seminole Highway intersection.
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WALK (FAMILY)
Butterflies
Sunday, July 12 • 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Warm, sunny days in July are the best times for seeing lots of butterflies and other fascinating insects that visit flowers on the prairie.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (GRADY TRACT)
Grady Tract
Saturday, July 18 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Grady Tract parking lot. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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WALK (VISITOR CENTER)
Curtis Prairie
Sunday, July 19 • 8:30 am – 10 am
Celebrate a “Prairie Birthday” while examining and enjoying compass plant, prairie dock and other species that Aldo Leopold featured in his essay of the same name.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (CORE AREA)
Core Area and Curtis Prairie
Saturday, July 25 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the front steps of the Visitor Center. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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WALK (GRADY TRACT)
Grady Tract
Sunday, July 26 • 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Prairie dock is prolific on Greene Prairie. With its bright-yellow blooms and broad, roughened leaves, it dominates the vista. Looking closer brings dozens of other species into view. Meet at the Grady Tract parking lot located at the southeast corner of the Beltline and Seminole Highway intersection.
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EARTH PARTNERSHIP FOR FAMILIES
Nocturnal Animals
Sunday, July 26 • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Hike with our naturalists and learn about our nocturnal animals. Activities using our senses will demonstrate some of the amazing things these animals can do. Dress for the weather; outdoor and indoor activities are planned.
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TOUR (NATIVE PLANT GARDEN)
Sun and Shade
Wednesday, July 29 • 7 pm – 8:30 pm
If you are wondering which native plants will thrive in full sun or which can grow in shade, find inspiration in our native prairie and forest gardens. We will feature many summer-blooming species on this tour.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (WINGRA SAVANNA)
Wingra Oak Savanna
Saturday, August 1 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the gravel parking lot along Arbor Drive just off Monroe Street. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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WALK (VISITOR CENTER)
Curtis Prairie
Sunday, August 2 • 8:30 am – 10 am
Yellow is the dominant color of prairie abundance this time of year—from sunflowers to goldfinches to swallowtail butterflies.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (CORE AREA)
Core Area and Curtis Prairie
Saturday, August 8 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the front steps of the Visitor Center. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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WALK (NIGHT)
Insect Serenade
Saturday, August 8 • 8 pm – 9:30 pm
The fields echo with the sounds of insects, including the snowy tree cricket. Learn how to tell the temperature from the timing of their calls.
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WALK (GRADY TRACT)
Grady Tract
Sunday, August 9 • 8:30 am – 10:30 am
With lavender liatris and yellow coneflowers, the prairies are alive with color that attracts viceroy, monarch and other butterflies. Meet at the Grady Tract parking lot located at the southeast corner of the Beltline and Seminole Highway intersection.
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WALK (FAMILY)
Pond Stuff
Sunday, August 9 • 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
This walk introduces children to the fascinating world of pond life.
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TOUR (NATIVE PLANT GARDEN)
Native Grasses
Wednesday, August 12 • 7 pm – 8:15 pm
As summer ends and fall approaches, we will take a closer look at our native grasses, from tiny mustache grass to big bluestem. Find out how to identify these attractive plants and grow them in your native garden.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (GRADY TRACT)
Grady Tract
Saturday, August 15 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the Grady Tract parking lot. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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WALK (VISITOR CENTER)
Curtis Prairie
Sunday, August 16 • 8:30 am – 10 am
At this time of year, you can walk the prairie and imagine what it was like for settlers to see prairies for the first time—with grasses and flowers towering overhead—unlike anything in Europe.
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VOLUNTEER WORKDAY (CORE AREA)
Core Area and Curtis Prairie
Saturday, August 22 • 9 am – 12 pm
Volunteer for restoration activities and learn about prairies and savannas. Tools and training are provided, and groups are welcome with advance notice. Meet at the front steps of the Visitor Center. For more information: 265-5214 or mlfarrior@wisc.edu
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CLASS
The Amazing World of Insects
Saturday, August 22 • 1 pm – 3 pm
Explore the fascinating world of insects and arachnids, including lifecycles, while discovering the important and powerful role they play in our ecosystem. Registration required.
Register for this class ($13.5)
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WALK (GRADY TRACT)
Prairies and Savannas on the Grady Tract
Sunday, August 23 • 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Now is a good time to see the contrast between the sandy, dry West Knoll and wet-mesic Greene Prairie. Meet in the Grady Tract parking lot located at the southeast corner of the Beltline and Seminole Highway intersection.
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EARTH PARTNERSHIP FOR FAMILIES
Remembering Laura Ingalls Wilder—Prairie Fire
Sunday, August 23 • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Awesome prairie fires surprised Laura’s family when the prairie was a boundless expanse. Experience these momentous events through Laura’s eyes and learn why fires are necessary and beneficial for the prairie. Take home a “flaming” windsock to remember this fun evening. Dress for the weather; indoor and outdoor activities planned.
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WALK (VISITOR CENTER)
Sample of Dane County in 1830
Sunday, August 30 • 8:30 am – 10 am
Restored prairie, savanna and wetlands near the Visitor Center provide an example of what Dane County looked like in the 1830s. Restoration was an unknown adventure when started here in 1934. Many different trials have resulted in what is here today.
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CLASS
Native by Design: A ‘How-To’ Conference for Gardeners
Sunday, September 13 • 9 am – 4:30 pm
Using the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum’s 4-acre Wisconsin Native Plant Garden as an outdoor classroom, we’ll combine workshops, take-home tips and living examples to help you become an inspired and successful native gardener.
Register for this class ($50)