Farming Fun!

August at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center means weekends full of Farming Fun!

The center has a brand new food garden and plenty of fun activities to help you learn the relationships between farming, food, and our climate. Learn more about Farming Fun exhibit explorations here. Looking for more about gardens, food, and farming? Check out Troy Gardens Community GroundWorks as well. Visit their beautiful grounds and interpretive trails, enjoy their educational public programs, or sign up for your very own plot!

This month, I've been thinking about starting a food garden myself! I have been to the farmer's market many times over my college career and it has sparked my desire to rely less on the grid and more on the land.

Heirloom tomatoes

As a kid, I grew 6 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes on the porch! Before then, I hated tomatoes...but all I really had experienced were mealy, soggy tomato slices melting into burger buns. My parents noticed how much I liked gardening and set me to work on growing tomatoes. Studies have shown that kids are more likely to eat their veggies when they've had some part in growing or preparing them! I was the same way, and eating a tomato that I grew was a huge improvement from the nasty pink blobs that fast food joints had been passing off as "tomatoes!"

Getting your kids involved in a garden, whether your own or a community plot, can help cement the connection between the food they eat and where it comes from. There is often a huge disconnect between most Americans and their food. For the most part, we’ve stopped questioning where our food comes from, how it is raised, and if it is good for our health. Get started with great resources from Community GroundWorks and other organizations that garden with kids, from Sustain Dane to kidsgardening.org. You don't have to stop eating the foods you love in order to save the planet...you can grow them instead!

Happy Gardening!
Melanie, Nature Net Intern

Animal Instincts: Can animals really predict troublesome weather?

With all the thunderstorms happening lately, I've been on the lookout for ways to predict the weather before my daily bike ride to work (and the weatherman isn't always the most reliable source). I was told by a friend that "gnats start swarming the day before a storm." But is there any truth to this?

The scientific community is divided on this topic. There is evidence for some animal behavior, such as birds flying lower before a storm. The bird's complicated and fragile respiratory system is sensitive to air pressure changes that make the bird uncomfortable. They tend to stay close to trees before storms, to stay close to shelter and to avoid air pressure discomfort. Researchers in Florida have found that sharks seek deeper water before a hurricane!
In NATURE's Can Animals Predict Disaster? a geologist in California reports an increase in missing pets before an earthquake strikes.

However, the US Geological survey asserts that you cannot predict the weather by changes in animal behavior alone. So far, no one has really been able to reproduce results in a lab.

It's possible that your furry companions can sense infrasonic sounds that we can't hear. Dogs can get spooked from thunderstorms because they can hear much more of it than we can...and it sounds much louder! Storms and earthquake produce these sounds, too.

Bill Barklow, a researcher who appeared in the same issue of NATURE, also believes animals aren’t specially adapted to avoid disaster. “I think it’s really unlikely that hippos or any animal has evolved behavior to avoid tsunamis specifically,” he says. “When they hear these infrasonic sounds that are produced by earthquakes, which happen very infrequently, they probably are just terrified of that very deep, heavy sound coming from a wide angle distant area and they just want to get out of there. So there’s a secondary benefit here. They haven’t evolved an escape behavior for tsunamis, but they are responding to infrasound, which has evolved for communication purposes.”

What do YOU think? Do you or your pets have any ways of predicting bad weather?

New Intern Introduction!

Hello from the newest Nature Net intern!

I love to fish! 

My name is Melanie Shibley and I'm a senior at UW majoring in Zoology. I moved to Wisconsin for college, originally being from Minnesota, and took my love of nature with me!

My whole life I was set on becoming the next Steve Irwin, wrangling snakes, mice, toads and every bug imaginable in my back yard. All through my school career, it has stunned me how little my peers knew and cared about the natural world. Upon graduating high school, I decided I wanted to do something about it! And here I am now, helping spread knowledge and love for nature through blog posts, newsletters, Facebook posts, and more. I am excited to be a part of this team and I can't wait to get working. :)

A little about myself:

- I love reptiles! I own a Corn Snake, a Crested Gecko and once I move into my new apartment, a Boa Constrictor! If I had the space and money I'd buy a Burmese python....my family thinks I am crazy.

George the gecko. He's still a baby, and very jumpy!

Nilla the corn snake. She has no red or black pigment,
so she's bubblegum pink! 

- I write a comic for the Daily Cardinal paper, called Scribbles 'n' Bits (which sometimes features animals).

- I'm in the UW Marching band, as a trumpet player. I would say look for me on the field, but once we're in uniform we all look the same!

In the words of my band director, the legendary Mike Leckrone,
See you real soon, and On Wisconsin!

Summer Fun with Nature Passports!

With the school year winding down and summer unfolding ahead of us, are you looking for things to do outside with your family? Well, we have great news for you -- the 2013 Nature Net Passports are here!

This summer, romp with Ringo, the scavenging raccoon!

This summer, Nature Net would like to help you and your kids enjoy the sights and sounds of the season as you "Get Movin'" outside with Nature Passport! These free educational scavenger hunts are designed for parents and children to enjoy the wonderful resources that abound in Madison and surrounding areas -- the flexible format allows you to explore Nature Net's nature centers, parks, and museums on your own time all summer long. Complete fun activities, record your observations, and track your adventures by stamping your Nature Passport along the way.

Hike, sketch, climb, look for animal tracks, identify trees, and more! In addition to Fun Facts and Nature Records, each of the 17 Nature Net sites also include Movin' Missions - fun, healthy, physical activities to get you and your kids movin' together.

So how can you get your paws on a Nature Passport of your own? Visit any Nature Net Site and pick up a copy, request a few from us, or download and print your own, and you'll be romping with Ringo in no time!

Still have questions about Nature Net's Nature Passport? Read all the details on our website. Get movin' and have a great summer!

Why do birds sing in the early mornings?

Sunrise at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center

With the warmer weather we've been having, it's been necessary for me to sleep with the window open at night (and maybe even with the fan on, too). I am finding that this inevitably means that I will wake up to birds singing sometime between 3am and sunrise. Some even continue through the night! I'm usually immediately upset that these birds woke me up, but it did get me thinking; why do birds sing in the early mornings?

After some digging around, I can tell you that it is mostly the male birds who make up this morning ruckus. Research has pointed to two reasons why male birds sing in these dawn (and pre-dawn) hours: to warn other male birds of their territory and to let females know that they are around and are looking for a mate. It is also notable that male birds sing in the spring because it is breeding season, and they are trying to defend their breeding territory. For better or for worse (for our spring slumber), most birds have developed special adaptations that allow them to sing so loudly, steadily, and with beautiful musical variation. Learn more about bird musicians and their incredible vocal abilities.

Other research tries to understand why male birds find it necessary to sing so early. One theory is that dawn is the best time for song travel because there is less heat and wind to interfere with the acoustics. Another theory is that singing in the morning leads to a more consistent signal to other male birds, and the earlier the better. To my understanding, there is not one theory that has been proven over another, and it may be a combination of reasons. (The Cornell Department of Ornithology also has great resources and research on general bird information, bird songs, and why they sing in the mornings.) What is for certain is that I will wake up everyday to birds chirping. It could be worse, right?

Aldo Leopold's Shack in Baraboo, WI

Aldo Leopold, well known for phenology, conservation, and wildlife management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, actually wrote about these morning songs in his essay "Great Possessions." In addition to being a curious and meticulous naturalists, Aldo happened to be a very early riser! He was one of the first people to link individual bird species with their arrival to the dawn chorus and association with the amount of daylight. Because his notes were so thorough, Dr. Stanley A. Temple, a University of Wisconsin-Madison emeritus professor was able to use them much like a musical score to recreate a soundscape of what the Leopolds likely heard each morning at their shack in Sauk County. Listen to it here!


Are you interested in recording your own dawn chorus notes? Contribute your seasonal observations and learn more about nature journaling and phenology from this Nature Net blog post. If you're more of a techie, you can also use technology to record your nature observations. I also discovered that yesterday happened to be International Dawn Chorus Day! To further celebrate these early orchestras, visit their website and learn more about songbirds and their morning music across the globe.

Do you enjoy this dawn chorus? Does it wake you up or do you sleep through it? Leave your comments below!

Happy Spring,
Ellen
Nature Net Intern

Aldo Leopold, Pheonology, and Climate Change

Close-up of a bud cluster from a Silver Maple Tree

What is phenology, what does it have to do with Aldo Leopold or climate change, and how can you use phenology in your own life? Read on for an overview and learn more at a wonderful upcoming program - free to the public - about Aldo Leopold, Phenology, and Climate Change! 


With the chill in the air and the seemingly never-ending showers of rain, it’s hard to look outside and see the many signs of spring that are upon us -- nevertheless, they are there! Have you spotted a robin yet? Buzzing insects or squiggling earthworms? What about the tiny, beautiful clusters of buds bursting from maple branches (photo)? If you answered yes, be sure to enter your observations in Earth Alive, Nature Net's online database of phenological observations! Phenology is the study of nature's seasonal changes from year to year. If you answered no, start looking closely at the world around you, and check out what others have seen on Earth Alive for ideas of what to look for! Phenology sounds like a fancy academic field, but it's a really great way for citizens, families, and even kids to get involved in observing the simple science of the seasons. Anyone can do it, anywhere! To learn how you and your family can get started, check out this Nature Net Journaling and Phenology post.

This study of nature's response to seasonal and climate changes was very familiar to Aldo Leopold and his family. As you may know, Aldo Leopold was a premiere ecologist, now world-famous for his early practice of phenology. He also originated the idea of a Land Ethic and is considered by many people to be the father of conservation and wildlife management. In 1928, Leopold began teaching at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and introduced "Game Management" to his students--the first teaching of its kind. He continued studying the natural world and even initiated his own ecological restoration experiment with his family at their shack on the Wisconsin River. His nature recordings and essays written on the natural world were later published in "A Sand County Almanac" and other works.

In Wisconsin, our spring season is known for its ups and downs and general unpredictability. How our weather, and especially long-term climate patterns, impact the emergence, migration, and seasonal cycles of plants and animals is a growing and important conversation. There is a need to better understand our climate, how it's changing, and the effects on the ecological community--and how phenological observations can give us a bigger picture of what's going on. Click here or watch below to learn how Aldo Leopold's daughter Nina Leopold Bradley and her family have used Aldo's records to graphically demonstrate climate changes in our area--it's a unique and fascinating story!


Phenology | Climate Wisconsin from Wisconsin Media Lab on Vimeo.


This conversation comes full circle next week, when Dr. Stanley A. Temple, Beers-Bascom Professor Emeritus in Conservation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, will be giving a public lecture on "Aldo Leopold, Phenology, and Climate Change" at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona on April 24 at 6:00pm. The presentation, free to the public, will be followed by a guided tour of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's Climate Science Education Center, including the Nina Leopold Bradley Family Phenology Center. Don't miss this amazing opportunity to hear the latest Leopoldian views on nature, climate, ecology, and phenology. Visit the event listing for more information.

All About Polar Bears

You may have heard about the Henry Vilas Zoo’s “Paddle for the Polar Bears” event to raise money to support its Arctic Passage exhibit, home to the polar bears and seals. But have you ever wanted to learn more about protecting polar bears, their home, or even how to better help conserve them in the wild?

Good News! The Henry Vilas Zoo will be hosting Robert and Carolyn Buchanan, founders of the conservation organization Polar Bears International on April 23, 2013 at 1:30pm in the visitor center. Robert and Carolyn will talk about polar bear conservation and host a Q&A session after. Join members of Nature Net at this great event!

Learn more about Polar Bears...