Nature Passport. Nature Scavenger Hunt! The Environmental Learning Network. #NatureHappens... All Year Long!

Transcription

1 Nature Passport Take a Romp with Ringo on a... Nature Scavenger Hunt! #NatureHappens... All Year Long! The Environmental Learning Network

2 What is nature net? Have you ever been part of a team? You all work together, right? Well, that s how Nature Net works. We are your favorite nature centers, parks, and museums teamed up to share the wonders of the world around us. When Nature Net sites work together, we can provide ideas and tips on the best nature experiences for your family or classroom. By working together, Nature Net makes learning about the environment fun, easy, and exciting. Find out more at naturenet.org Nature Net Sites 1. Aldo Leopold Foundation 2. Aldo Leopold Nature Center 3. Bethel Horizons 4. Cherokee Marsh 5. Henry Vilas Zoo 6. International Crane Foundation 7. Jackson School Forest 8. Lussier Family Heritage Center 9. MacKenzie Center 10. Madison Children s Museum 11. Owen Conservation Park 12. Olbrich Botanical Gardens 13. Sandburg Woods Conservation Park 14. Community GroundWorks 15. Turville Point Conservation Park 16. UW Arboretum 17. UW Geology Museum 18. Upham Woods

3 my Nature passport Fill in your information to make this Nature Passport your very own, then visit Nature Net sites to explore Ringo Racoon s favorite local spots and learn fun nature facts! Find the Nature Passport box at each site to stamp your passport! Draw your passport picture! Your Name: Your Birthday: Your Favorite Animal: Your State: Date of Issue: Signature:

4 Aldo Leopold Foundation E13701 Levee Rd, Baraboo aldoleopold.org April-October: Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm; Sat, 10am-4pm November-March: Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Your nature Mission: Throughout his life, Aldo Leopold kept a journal to record his outdoor observations. Walk the trails at the Leopold Center. Write or draw all the things you see and hear. Imagine walking the same trails six months from now. How would your observations change? What would stay the same? Keep a journal like Aldo Leopold would! DID YOU KNOW? Phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal events. Each year, Leopold recorded hundreds of phenological observations, including the first Pasque Flower of spring and the last Sandhill Crane of fall. Shifts in these events over time can reveal how plants and animals adapt to changes in climate.

5 Aldo Leopold Nature Center 330 Femrite Dr, Monona aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org Nature Center: Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm; Sat & Sun, 10am-2pm Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: When you arrive at the Center, stop inside to check out a Family Trailside Backpack or trail guides to help you identify species along the way! Identify as many plants and animals as you can, and draw pictures or keep a list! DID YOU KNOW? If your adult has a phone or tablet with a QR code reader, you can scan Digital Docent codes along the trails and learn about phenology, local species, habitats, and climate change impacts happening right in Wisconsin. A paper version is available inside if you don t have a QR reader.

6 BETHEl Horizons 4651 Hwy ZZ, Dodgeville bethelhorizons.org Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Bethel Horizons spans over 548 acres, which allows room for many different ecosystems! Explore prairies, cliffs, forests, and wetland habitats and learn about how the land has been shaped by time. Record how many different types of ecosystems you can find! DID YOU KNOW? T are 11 cliffs at Bethel Horizons. Fossils in these cliffs show that Wisconsin was covered by a shallow ocean hundreds of millions of years ago - that s before the dinosaurs!

7 CHEROKEE MARSH - North conservation Park 6098 N. Sherman Ave, Madison cityofmadison.com/parks/cherokeenorth Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Explore the Cherokee Marsh by walking the trails or paddling through the waterways. Look for geese, Sandhill Cranes, ducks, Red-winged Blackbirds, frogs, and insects. Do all of these animals live year round? Draw a picture of one animal you see that migrates south during the winter. DID YOU KNOW? Cherokee Marsh is the largest wetland in Dane County. Wetlands are important because they filter sediments and pollutants from water. They also store flood waters and release them slowly, helping to prevent flooding.

8 HENRY VILAS ZOO 702 S. Randall St, Madison vilaszoo.org Building: 10am-4pm; Grounds: 9:30am-5pm Your nature Mission: What are the animals doing? Each time you visit the Zoo throughout the year, watch how the animals act and what plants are blooming in different seasons. T is a rhythm to life at the Zoo, and everything is constantly changing! Draw a picture of your favorite animal! DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that the Zoo is committed to sustainability and conservation? Our Arctic Passage exhibit saves 6.7 million gallons of water annually, and we are increasing our use of solar panels throughout the Zoo. What can you do to live more sustainably?

9 INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION E11376 Shady Lane Rd, Baraboo savingcranes.org Free admission with your Nature Passport! April 15-October 31: 9am-5pm Your nature Mission: Did you know that cranes dance year round? Cranes are known for their unique dances, which they use for courtship, social skills, exercise, and just plain fun. Their dances include jumps, leaps, spins, wing flaps, and twirls. Keep watch for crane dancing behavior and write down action words or sketch a crane behavior you observe. DID YOU KNOW? Many cultures throughout the world have incorporated the graceful movements of cranes into their traditional ceremonies and dances. Crane dances are performed by cultures in North America, the Mediterranean, China, Siberia, Japan, and Australia.

10 JACKSON SCHOOL FOREST 1660 Fritz Rd, Verona environment.madison.k12.wi.us/school_forest/ Park in Madison School Forest Lot/Olson Oak Woods State Natural Area Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Walk down the Prairie Relic Trail to the right of the large parking lot sign to find the Grandfather Oak (look to the left). This tree is very large and very old! How do you think this tree looks during other seasons and what food might it provide for animals throughout the year? Draw how this tree might look during the summer and the winter! DID YOU KNOW? When Grandfather Oak was young, it stood by itself in a prairie. Think about how many changes this tree has seen - it was already old when the European settlers came!

11 LUSSIER FAMILY HERITAGE CENTER 3101 Lake Farm Rd, Madison countyofdane.com/lwrd/parks/heritage/ Building: 8am-4:30pm; Grounds: Dawn-10pm Your nature Mission: Take a stroll on one of the trails and jot down any animals you see. If you don t see any, can you find any clues that they have been? Look for prints, tracks, or trails. Are these animals year-round or seasonal visitors? DID YOU KNOW? Most of the animals in our park live year-round but Sandhill Cranes migrate in the fall and return in the spring. You ll have to look closely to spot one - they sometimes paint their feathers with mud.

12 MACKENZIE Environmental education CENTER W7303 Cty Hwy CS, Poynette dnr.wi.gov/education/mackenzie/ Building: 10am-4pm Daily (May-Oct); 10am-4pm Mon-Fri (Nov-Apr) Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Explore MacKenzie Center nature trails that wind through forest, prairie, and pond ecosystems. Sketch or write about one plant, animal or insect that you see along the way. DID YOU KNOW? Look for a Giant Water Bug in the pond. Did you know that Giant Water Bugs catch their prey with their clawed front feet? They will catch prey as big as a frog, small fish or a salamander!

13 MADISON CHILDREN S MUSEUM 100 N. Hamilton St, Madison madisonchildrensmuseum.org 9:30am-5pm (closed Mondays during the school year) Your nature Mission: Visit the Rooftop Ramble and take a sensory journey. What does the weather feel like? Smell a plant or seed head. Look for birds and insects. What can you discover through the seasons? Write your observations! DID YOU KNOW? Green rooftops contribute to biodiversity by creating natural habitats in urban environments for birds, insects, plants, and animals.

14 owen CONSERVATION PARK 6021 Old Sauk Rd, Madison cityofmadison.com/parks/owen Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Much of this park is covered with oak trees - an important habitat for many species of birds. Carefully observe their behavior, looking to see if you can determine what kind of food they are seeking out, or how they are using their ecosystem. Keep count of how many species you see. If you can get close enough, draw a picture of one! DID YOU KNOW? Most of Dane County was covered with native prairie grasslands and oak savannas when the European settlers arrived in the 1830s. Settlers grew farmland crops on the rich soil created by the prairies. How has the landscape changed since then?

15 OLBRICH BOTANICAL GARDENS 3330 Atwood Ave, Madison olbrich.org Conservatory: 10am-4pm, Daily Outdoor Gardens: 9am-8pm April-Aug; 9am-6pm Sep-Oct; 9am-4pm Nov-Mar Your nature Mission: Take a walk through the Starkweather Creek Shade Garden. Plants in this garden like shade more than sun. Look up, down, and around and draw a picture of something that makes shade or shadows in this garden. Think about what this garden looks like during other seasons. Tell a story about what happens when the leaves fall off the trees! DID YOU KNOW? For a long time, people have created shadow puppets to tell stories using light and shadows. Keep this activity in mind as you play outside and find natural items to help tell your own stories. Because the sun shines all year long, you can create shadow puppets all year long too!

16 Sandburg woods 2902 Independence Lane, Madison cityofmadison.com/parks/sandburg Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Sandburg Woods has many different trees that produce food for animals at different times of the year. How do animals survive when the trees aren t producing food? List three adaptations animals might have! DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that squirrels often bury their nuts and go back for them during the winter when t is less food available? Sometimes, they forget w they are, resulting in a new tree being planted! They can also find food buried beneath a foot of snow and are very intelligent!

17 Community groundworks: troy gardens 500 Block Troy Dr, Madison communitygroundworks.org Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: Troy Gardens grows many different types of fresh fruits and vegetables. As you walk around, identify as many as you can! You can buy a lot of the produce grown year round at the supermarket - w do you think it comes from when it s winter in Wisconsin? Map out w you think your food comes from! DID YOU KNOW? Local actions have global impacts when we work together. Did you know that purchasing locallyproduced food can reduce pollution? If food isn t shipped from far away, we can save on transportation costs and emissions. This helps local people as well as wildlife and ecosystems across the earth!

18 TURVILLE POINT CONSERVATION PARK 1155 Olin-Turville Ct, Madison cityofmadison.com/parks/turvillepoint Grounds: Daily, dawn until dusk Your nature Mission: As you walk, pause to look and listen each time you notice a change in your surroundings. How do the smaller plants and amount of sunlight change w t are lots of trees, or w t are none? How far can you see? Draw a picture of your favorite spot. DID YOU KNOW? You probably knew that many birds head south during the wintertime, but how about dragonflies? The Common Green Darner, a regular summer resident, migrates too. They can be found as far south as Mexico - that s a far flight for a small insect!

19 UW ARBORETUM 1207 Seminole Hwy, Madison arboretum.wisc.edu Visitor Center: Mon-Fri, 9:30am-4pm; Sat & Sun, 12:30-4pm Grounds: 7am-10pm Your nature Mission: Prairie, savanna, woodland, and wetland plants and animals have unique ways (adaptations) of surviving extreme cold, heat, flooding, drought, and other challenges. As you hike the Arboretum trails, draw or write about one plant and one animal adaptation for this time of the year! DID YOU KNOW? The Arboretum has over 20 miles of trails you can hike through wetland, prairie, forest, and savanna ecosystems. Most of the habitat was restored from cultivated fields and pastures that were no longer being used - the land has made quick a comeback!

20 UW GEOLOGY MUSEUM 1215 W. Dayton St, Madison geologymuseum.org Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4:30pm; Sat, 9am-1pm Your nature Mission: Explore the museum and draw a picture of your favorite Wisconsin fossil. Draw or describe how the landscape looked back when the fossilized creature was alive. Wisconsin has changed a lot over time - be creative! DID YOU KNOW? Some of the most common fossils found in Wisconsin are from corals, brachiopods, cephalopods, snails and trilobites. These fossils came from a time when Wisconsin was covered by a warm sea. Do you think changes in the seasons were more or less extreme back then?

21 UPHAM WOODS N194 Cty Rd N, Wis Dells fyi.uwex.edu/uphamwoods/ Open by reservation; Visit website for more info Your nature Mission: Upham Woods offers adventures all year long! Imagine you are spending a night t during the summer and the winter. List the different clothes and supplies you would need for each. DID YOU KNOW? Upham Woods composts about 10 pounds of food waste each day. What food waste from your home can you compost instead of throwing it in the garbage? You can use this compost to start a backyard garden if you have the space!

22 Calendar OF EVENTS Check out some of our favorite events happening all year long! Aldo Leopold Foundation: Spring Open House Saturday, May 19th, 12-4 pm UW Arboretum: Family Nature Programs June 24th, July 22nd, August 26th, 1:30-3:30 pm Cherokee Marsh: Let s Look for Frogs! Sunday, July 1st, 1:30-3 pm International Crane Foundation: Cranes of the World Festival Saturday, August 4th, 9 am - 5 pm Community Groundworks: Family Field Trips Kids Garden: June 22nd, July 6th and 20th, August 12th 12:30-2 pm Youth Farm: June 26th, July 10th and 24th, August 7th 12:30-2 pm MacKenzie Center: Fall Festival Saturday, October 13th, 10 am - 3 pm Aldo Leopold Nature Center: Fall Fest Friday, October 26th, 5:30-7:30 pm Henry Vilas Zoo: Zoo Lights November 23rd - December 31st Olbrich Botanical Gardens: Children of the Rainforest Saturday, January 19th and February 16th with performances at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm Stay up to date with these events and many more at naturenet.org/events/ The Environmental Learning Network

23 Meet Our New Members! We are so excited to announce that we are adding three new sites to Nature Net! Be sure to visit them this year and look out for them in next year s Nature Passport! Cave of the Mounds: Cave of the Mounds National Natural Landmark is the premier cave in the upper Midwest and the jewel box of America s major show caves! Guided tours depart daily all year long - be sure to check the website for specifics, as the hours change in different seasons. caveofthemounds.com MMSD Planetarium: The Madison Metropolitan School District Planetarium (MMSD Planetarium) provides immersive experiences for groups and public audiences, bringing out-of-this-world concepts down to Earth. A field trip destination for explorers of all ages, group programs are offered during the school day, but a limited number of after school and evening programs can be scheduled as well. planetarium.madison.k12.wi.us Welty Environmental Center: The Welty Environmental Center offers yearround programs for all ages. The center is a place w both children and adults can gain hands-on encounters with biological, physical, and chemical elements of nature! weltycenter.org

24 This Nature Passport Ringo the Raccoon has always been a scavenger, hunting for nature s treasures. This year, his missions for you are inspired by the fact that #NatureHappens...all year long! with a focus on adaptations and changes that happen throughout the seasons. Take your time completing this passport. A lot changes at our sites throughout the year - have fun learning about them! Outdoor tips from Ringo: Dress for the weather. In the summer, wear a hat, long sleeves, sturdy shoes and pants to protect yourself from sun and insects. In the winter, wear a hat, gloves, and a warm coat! Respect our wild areas please don t pick, leave litter behind, or stray from the trails. And most importantly... Enjoy! Nature Passport is made possible by: Nature Net: The Environmental Learning Network A project of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center 330 Femrite Drive Monona, WI naturenet.org (608) info@naturenet.org Nature happens everyw! Whether you live in an urban or rural area or somew in between, nature is all around us. We simply have to stop to look, listen, and observe. Observing and appreciating nature is easy with your Nature Passport which gives you fun and engaging ideas on what to look for and do when you re outside. We hope you ll enjoy your Passport adventure while soaking in your surroundings and finding the many ways that #NatureHappens. - Renee Anderson, Fund for Children Board Chair Support for Passport printing provided by With generous support from: Disclaimer for MMSD backpack mail: This is not a school sponsored activity and the Madison Metropolitan School District does not approve, support, supervise, or endorse this program/activity. 2018