Help Us with Rhythm & Booms!

We need your help! Celebrate Independence Day and help the Aldo Leopold Nature Center by volunteering for this year's Rhythm & Booms! Please share this information with your friends too! 

Here are the details:

♦ RHYTHM & BOOMS
Thursday, June 28
Saturday, June 30 &
Sunday, July 1
Warner Park, Madison

Volunteers Needed at Rhythm & Booms!!!!

Looking for a way to make a difference in your life – and the community? Consider helping ALNC by volunteering at Rhythm & Booms, Madison’s spectacular Independence Day celebration. The more volunteers we send to set up and work at Rhythm & Booms, the larger our share of the proceeds from food, drink and souvenir sales!!

In addition to raising funds for ALNC, you will receive upfront seating for this world class fireworks display at Warner Park.

Volunteers are needed for:

EVENT SET UP
Thursday, June 28

At Warner Park
5-9 PM

Jobs:
(please bring work gloves if you have them)
Setting up stakes/fencing for:

• Fireworks Safety Perimeter
• Beer Garden
• Sponsor/VIP Seating area
• Food Tent lanes
• Setting up tables/chairs in Bingo tent
• Assisting with stage set-up

DAY OF EVENT
Saturday, June 30

At the Main Food and Beer Tent or Charlie DJ Stage Beer Tent
4:30 - 9:30 PM OR
10:15 - 10:30 PM

Jobs:

• Beer Ticket Cashiers
• Beer Tent servers
• Licensed Bartenders
• Food Tent Cashiers
• Food Tent servers / wrappers / helpers
• Pepsi Tent servers
• Volunteer Check-in
• Lost & Found

At the Warner Park Parking Lot
8:00 AM – Noon OR
Noon – 4:00 PM

Jobs:

• Parking Monitors 

At MATC
4:00 – 8:00 PM

Jobs:

• Collecting parking fees at MATC (11:30-4, 4-8)

CLEAN UP
Sunday, July 1

At Warner Park
8 AM – complete (usually noonish)

Jobs: 

• Picking up and bagging trash
• Tearing down fencing and pulling stakes
• Lagoon cleanup (kayaks and canoes needed - 1 hour, early morning)

# Volunteers needed: 30+

To sign up to volunteer, or to find out more information, contact Alanna Medearis at devcomm@naturenet.com or 608-216-9374.

 

Thanks!

Muckin' For Fun!

We still have room in next week's Muckin' in the Marsh camp for ages 7-10!

In the camp, we'll put on our muckin’ shoes and journey through the marsh in search of cattails and heron wails. ALNC's marsh is filled with great blue herons, muskrats, frogs, toads, ducks, geese and even fox—we’ll discover them all!What could be more fun?

Click here or call 608-221-0404 x1 to find out more or to register! But don't delay, there are only a few spots left!

15 Hours of Fun in the Sun

Happy Solstice!

With our summer camps now in their second week, we have been in summer mode at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center for a while, but today is actually the first true day of summer and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the Summer Solstice!

In a Nutshell
Summer Solstice is a major celestial event when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, resulting in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. This morning, the sun in Wisconsin rose at 5:15 and will set tonight at 8:40, giving us 15 hours and 22 minutes of sun to enjoy!

Summer solstice comes when the earth is tilted toward the sun (June for the northern hemisphere, January for the south). The tilt of the earth affects how much sun is hitting the surface of the planet. In summer, the sun is highest in the sky, so the sun's rays are at their most concentrated.

Find out more about the science behind the solstice with this great blogpost from Nature Net.
So, with 15+ hours of sunlight, there are plenty of fun ways to enjoy nature and celebrate the summer solstice with your family today!

Here are Some Ideas to Celebrate
Celebrate the sun’s energy by cooking in a solar oven. Get creative and try one of these recipes like mini pizzas, cheese quesadillas, turkey & cheese melts, solar nachos or smores! If you don’t have a solar oven, here are some easy directions to make your own out of a pizza box!
 
Share your celebration with your backyard friends! Decorate a tree in your yard with bird-feeders.  Here are easy directions to make a birdfeeder out of a pine cone.

Make a crown out of long grasses and decorate with wild flowers and leaves with these instructions found here.

Use the sun’s light to tell time! Click here for directions to make a sundial.
 
Share the beauty of the first summer sunset with your kids! Play sun-themed games like shadow tag, pin the sunglasses on the sun, sun relay or sun hunt outside as a family until the sun sets!

Make a sun print picture using natural materials on light-sensitive paper (you can buy this at a hobby, craft, photography or toy store).

Enjoy and happy summer!

Fledging Red-tailed Hawks & House Wrens

Here's what to look for outside this week:

• The invasive purple loosestrife is blooming.
  
  
• A house wren can feed her young up to 500 spiders in an afternoon.
  
  
• The constellation Cancer makes its appearance in the sky.
  
  
• The wood ticks are still actively trying to find hosts.
  
  
• Young red-tailed hawks are about ready to test out their flying wings.

Reminder--the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's first family camps, Evening Family Campfires, are this Wednesday and Thursday from 6:30-8:30 pm! Click here to find out more and we hope to see you there!

Apostle Islands Sea Kayaking Trip

New to paddling? Get into the sport with the Aldo Leopold Nature Center on a kayaking adventure that you are sure to never forget! Explore a national lakeshore coined the "Jewels of Lake Superior" on the Wisconsin side of the Great Lake.

The Apostle Islands occupy 12 miles of mainland and are consisted of an enchanting chain of 21 islands dotted with breathtaking landscapes, sea caves, and sculpted cliffs.

Join our naturalist guides on an exploration as we enjoy the islands’ scenic sea caves, sandy beaches, majestic forests, and colorful shorelines by kayak. Participants will learn how to create a trip itinerary, participate in a kayak safety course and then head out for three days of sea kayaking in the beautiful Apostle Islands. We will return with pictures to share and memories to last a lifetime! Individuals, small groups and families welcome.

(Bring a sleeping bag and personal items, ALNC provides the rest of the gear)

The trip starts at our Monona Campus at 330 Femrite Drive and lasts for a week (5 days, 4 nights).

Click here or call 608-221-0404 x1 to register or find out more!

 

FOR A LIMITED TIME, SAVE 15% OFF REGISTRATION!

Click here to get the discount online! To receive the exclusive discount,
give the secret code “15 OFF” when registering by phone.

Plus, ALNC members always save an additional 10% off summer camps, so
as a member with the special 15% discount, you can save 25% off of one camp!Click here to learn about the other benefits of ALNC Membership and join today!

 

Pricing begins at $780 for non-members ($663 with the special discount above). Members get the special reduced rate of $702 ($585 with special discount above).

For more information, or to register for this camp, please visit www.naturenet.com/alnc, call 216-9371, or email alncreg@naturenet.com

Father's Day Weekend at ALNC

Celebrate Father's Day Weekend with the Aldo Leopold Nature Center at a special Wonder Weekend all about fish! In addition to exploration of new interactive exhibits, this weekend will include:

Saturday, June 16
Fly-Fishing: How Climate Change Is Affecting Trout Fishing in WI
11 am - 4 pm
This captivating video will use breathtaking footage to show out how climate change will affect Wisconsin's 10,266 miles of trout streams, tourism, and fly fishing in the Driftless Area and throughout the state.

Flow: Science On a Sphere Presentation
11 am - 4 pm
Travel on a virtual trip exploring oceanic thermohaline circulation - the system of global ocean currents that cycle warm and cold water across the planet with this special presentation on the Science On a Sphere.

Lake-Atmosphere Interactions in the Great Lakes Basin
2:00-2:45 pm
Katie Holman, PhD student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, will discuss lake-atmosphere interactions in the Great Lakes Basin. Learn about climate in the region, how the lakes and atmosphere interact, water budget of the lakes, and more!

Sunday, June 17
Family Fishing Fun
9:30-11:30 am
Fishing was one of the activities most enjoyed by Aldo Leopold as a youngster; join us to learn why in this introduction to angling! You'll see examples of different types of rods and reels, play the Backyard Bass fishing game to practice casting, learn how to tie basic fishing knots, and catch worms to use as bait as you fish in our pond! Can you reel in the biggest bullhead, bluegill or minnow?

Additional fee for this program: ALNC members: $6/person or $20/family; Non-members: $7/person or $25/family

Fly-Fishing: How Climate Change Is Affecting Trout Fishing in WI
Noon - 4 pm
This captivating video will use breathtaking footage to show out how climate change will affect Wisconsin's 10,266 miles of trout streams, tourism, and fly fishing in the Driftless Area and throughout the state.

Flow: Science On a Sphere Presentation
Noon - 4 pm
Travel on a virtual trip exploring oceanic thermohaline circulation - the system of global ocean currents that cycle warm and cold water across the planet with this special presentation on the Science On a Sphere.

Do Fishes Care About Climate Change?
12:30-1:15pm
John J. Magnuson, Emeritus Professor of Zoology and Limnology at the University of Wisconsin, will discuss how Wisconsin's lakes and fishes are affected by climate change.

A full schedule is available online at http://www.naturenet.com/alnc/wonderweekends.html.

Location: Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 330 Femrite Drive, Monona, WI 53716
Date/Time: Saturday, June 16, 11 am – 4 pm and Sunday, June 17, Noon-4 pm
Fee: $5.50/person; ALNC members receive free admission for three people.
Information/Register: www.naturenet.com/alnc or 608-216-9371

Hope to see you there!

Wild about Phenology

Ahhh – summer is on the wing!  As I write this, families of water fowl are flocking to the pond, a bounty of wildflowers are blooming in the prairie and the Oak Savanna is filled with warm sunshine!  Summer is returning; bringing cheerful weather and endless possibilities to enjoy nature...but it's not quite here yet. 

Until then, here are some "early summer" phenology sightings to look for this week:

• Wild Iris is first blooming
• Canada geese are molting their flight feathers, leaving them grounded.
• Three-month old baby foxes are playing with great enthusiasm.
• Red-tailed Hawks are eagerly hunting for prey to feed to their young.
• The pesky deerflies are replacing blackflies. Careful- they bite! 

 Share the fun of the season with this phenology song for kids (and adults) of all ages!

Phenology Song – Summer version
(Tune of Do Your Ears Hang Low?)

Chorus:
I want to shout, I want to sing
Summertime is here in Wisconsin.
I want to shout, I want to sing
Summertime is here in Wisconsin.

Oh, the bees feed on nectar and the birds eat the seeds
The muskrats and the tadpoles use the pond to meet their needs.
The squirrels chase each other through branches big and small
We listen for the cranes ‘cause we hear them call.

[CHORUS]

Seeing butterflies and flowers are a beautiful treat
But mammals need strategies to beat the summer heat.
When you make your own heat you sweat and then you smell
But the turtle loves the sun ‘cause it warms her shell.

[CHORUS]
Leopold was a man who very long ago
Kept biology records so that everyone would know.
And if you write down when you see what you see
The study of the happenings is phenology.               

[CHORUS]

I hope you can join us soon for an upcoming program, like ALNC's Father's Day Wonder Weekend, or one of our summer camps for ages 2-16! Click here for a special coupon to save up to 25% off camps for ages 11-16, family camps and the upcoming Apostle Island Sea Kayaking Trip!