ALNC UPDATES

Our facility will be closed today, Saturday, March 25th, due to the winter storm.

As always, you’re invited to hike our trails, which are open daily from dawn until dusk.
Please do exercise caution in these snowy conditions as we can’t guarantee the state of our parking lots and hiking trails.

Welcome! Our facility is open on weekdays from 9am to 4pm and on weekends from 10am to 2pm.

Wearing a face mask indoors is optional. Because we are a childcare facility and follow public health protocols, we have limited access to some public offerings and areas of our facility. We appreciate your patience as we work to find a healthy balance of access and safety for our community.

As always, our grounds and trails featuring self-guided tours are free and open daily from dawn until dusk.

NOW HIRING:
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NATURE ACTIVITIES…
For Anywhere

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Welcome to the Aldo Leopold Nature Center

ALNC COMMUNITY ETHICS
Caring for ALL People and Their Relationship to Nature

We acknowledge the First Nations that came before us, specifically the Ho-Chunk Nation, on whose ancestral land the Aldo Leopold Nature Center sits.

We believe that diverse communities are healthier — in nature and in society. We also know that we operate within societal systems that are too often unjust and flawed, and we all have work to do towards celebrating diversity and making our community equitable for everyone. We acknowledge this painful reality and share our support for people of color and others who do not feel safe, especially those who continue to struggle against racism and inequality. We see you. We see our community hurting from these injustices.

We are used to turning to nature for solace and comfort. But we also recognize that nature and other public spaces may not feel safe and healthy for all members of our community. We are committed to supporting EVERY person’s right to connect with the natural world and to reap the benefits of spending time outdoors without fear.

We believe that when we are inclusive in how we engage and educate, we can help students know that NATURE IS FOR EVERYONE and should be a safe place to learn and explore. In recent years, we have been putting great efforts towards inclusion, diversity, equity, and access; we also acknowledge that we have a long way to go, in our organization, in our field, and in our society. We are grateful for individuals, families and partners who have been working with us to move in the right direction, and we pledge to continue to prioritize this important work.

To learn more about how we are caring for ALL people and their connection to the land, please visit our Community Ethics & Nature page.

As always, please contact us to let us know how we’re doing and to share ways we can better serve you, our community.

In solidarity,

The Aldo Leopold Nature Center Staff and Board

Change is in the air!

 
At the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, we know that truly living our mission and reaching as many children, families, educators, conservationists and community members as possible means expanding access now.

In order to better serve our community, we have redesigned our space to increase our impact, improve our programs and better accommodate diverse populations – the first steps of an ongoing process to expand access. Visit Us for more information on access and to see these exciting changes.

Walk-in visitors, along with program participants and students, continue to have access to our outdoor interpretive trails, and, we are continuing to improve drop-in and self-guided offerings for our visitors, including re-vamped Family Trailside Backpacks, identification guides, trail maps and educational merchandise geared towards connecting and engaging visitors and families with our local habitats, flora and fauna. Access to our lobby, indoor Nature Nooks and interactive Immersion Theater and Science on a Sphere is always free, but may be limited at times, please feel free to call ahead with any questions or concerns.

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Empowering the next generation of conservationists

About Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Established in 1994, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center (ALNC) is an independent, non-profit organization. Through outdoor, hands-on, interactive programs, ALNC is leading the way to engage, educate, and empower the next generation of stewards of the land for a healthy, happy, and sustainable future.

ALNC offers many opportunities for you and your family to connect with nature. In addition to our special events and environmental education programs, step outside and explore our wetland, woodland, and prairie trails, which are FREE and open daily from dawn until dusk! Stop by the front desk to check out a trailside backpack, or scan the QR codes for a self-guided tour to learn how climate change affects native Wisconsin species.

We hope to see you on the trails!
 
Hours, weather cancellation policies, accessibility and additional visitor information

Commit to Nature!

Membership nurtures:

  • your commitment to nature.
  • your commitment to learning.
  • your commitment to family.
  • your commitment to community.
  • a commitment of membership.

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Aldo Leopold Nature Center