Construction Update and ALNC Honored!

An Artist Rendering of the Expansion

As most of you know, construction is well underway for our big expansion project here at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. The new addition will double ALNC's environmental teaching capacity to 60,000 students per year and increase usable space by 11,161 square feet!

Our goal is to create an environmental education facility and programming that will combine the best of 'high touch' nature education with 'high-tech' and represent a new approach for guiding students to understand the complex interactions behind climate change and our life on earth.

Last week our expansion project was featured on the U.S. Department of Energy's "Energy Blog"! Click here to read the blog post and here for a few photos of the construction currently underway! 

Make a Living Locket with Us at Celebrating Youth!

"There can be no doubt that a society rooted in the soil is more stable than one rooted in pavements."- Aldo Leopold

Visit us this Sunday at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's activity area at the Celebrating Youth Expo to make your very own Living Locket! 

 

From 11 am - 5 pm at the Monona Terrace, we will have an activity area set up at the Expo with all sorts of activities to keep your youngster entertained including a skins & skulls game, a Where's Aldo coloring poster and a Living Locket craft!

 

After learning how seeds sprout, your young naturalist will make their very own memorable necklace that will use their body’s heat to grow into a real live sprout!   

For those parents who don't yet know about the Celebrating Youth Expo, this is certainly something to mark on your calendar! Each year Wisconsin Youth Company produces the event as an annual showcase of youth arts and performance that celebrates the youth in our region and the diversity of their cultures, talents, and interests.  Families can enjoy multiple stages of youth performances, a visual art exhibit, hands-on activities, and exhibit booths with resources on programs and services for youth and families.  It's a day filled with fun for all ages! Plus, did we mention it's FREE?

Hope to see you there!

Click With Nature Net's Photo Contest!

Here's one of our favorite photos at ALNC! Submit yours!

Any nature photographers out there?? Enter Nature Net's Photo Contest!

Check it out below!

Nature Net: Nature Net Photo Contest: "Calling all photogs and shutter bugs! Send us pictures of your family or students enjoying nature, and you may win a Nature Net prize!

Upcoming Wonder Bugs Preschool Programs!

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” – Rachel Carson

Did you know that ALNC has preschool programs? Join us to introduce your toddler or pre-school aged child to a safe and wonderful natural world. This program is specifically designed for children ages 2-5 (before entering kindergarten). Each week, we’ll explore a different seasonal topic through hikes, outdoor exploration, music, puppetry, songs, stories and more. Each session will include a snack. Programs will be held rain or shine, so please dress appropriately for the weather. In the case of severe weather, outdoor activities will move indoors. An adult must accompany all children to the program.

Programs are offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the school year to provide flexible options for busy schedules.

Each session is taught from 9:30-10:45am on both Tuesday and Wednesdays. 

Single sessions:  ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option:  Any 4 sessions: $22/members; $26/non-members

Upcoming Sessions:

Off the Beaten Track
9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 OR Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, January 21, 2011

Learn about animal tracks while playing games and singing songs. Discover ways to beat the winter blues and make your own tracks!

Love Birds
9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 OR Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 4, 2011

Open your hearts and minds to some fowl facts and fun! Learn about gizzards and bird calls and discover your new feathery heartthrob of Wisconsin.

Whoo? Whoo? It's You!

9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 OR Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, February 18, 2011

Whoo is this lesson all about? Owls! Whoo is coming? You! Discover owl habits, pellets and lore. Join us for a hootin' good time filled with songs and games and whoo knows what else.

Click here or call 608-221-0404 x1 to learn more or to register. 

Click here to read one of our naturalist's blogposts about the program! 

Tiki Torch Toboggan & Campfire Cookout A Success!

This was certainly an exciting weekend at ALNC!  

On Saturday, we held out 2nd Annual Tiki Torch Toboggan & Campfire Cookout at our Black Earth Campus.  We crossed our fingers and luckily got just the right amount of snow for sledding!  Mother Nature continued to smile on us, with a beautiful winter evening to enjoy snowshoeing, hiking, roasting marshmallows over the campfire, sledding and all the other festivities of the night!

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped make the night a smashing success!

Here are photos from the event. Also, be sure to watch this video coverage from NBC News Channel 15 from the event!

Thanks for the Votes -- Keep it Up!

Remember - YOU can help ALNC win $10k to support our expansion project!!! 

As you may know, we are competing against 11 other nonprofits to win Heartland Credit Union's "Go Local" contest to support our expansion project and double our environmental teaching capacity to 60,000 students per year.

Our success depends on the number of votes our project receives and you can vote once a day. What's stopping you? From now until April 3, 2011, visit https://www.heartlandcu.org/Go-Local/Finalists/Aldo-Leopold.aspx Anyone can vote, once a day, so vote often to help ALNC win the prize! Click here to read more about the contest on our blog.

Every vote matters!! Our success depends on the number of votes our project receives, so please help us spread the word and vote! If you would like a daily reminder to vote, click here to "like" us on Facebook.  

 

So far our video on youtube (also in the post below!) has the most views -- thanks everyone.  Let's keep it up! Thanks! 

ALNC Chosen as a Semi-Finalist for Heartland Credit Union's Go Local Competition!

ALNC is in the running to receive a $10,000 grant from Heartland Credit Union to support our expansion project that will double our environmental teaching capacity to 60,000 students per year and we need your votes to win!!

From now until April 3, 2011, visit https://www.heartlandcu.org/Go-Local/Finalists/Aldo-Leopold.aspx everyday to vote for our project. Anyone can vote, once a day, so vote often to help ALNC win the prize! Our success depends on the number of votes our project receives, so please help us spread the word and vote!

Here is a video about our project and what we will use the funds for:

To learn more about our exciting expansion project click here.

Thanks for voting!!!