Nature Net

Looking for more great resources to connect with nature?

Check out Nature Net: the environmental learning network for families and teachers. Spearheaded and facilitated by the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Nature Net is a not-for-profit initiative that provides “one-stop shopping” for environmental education resources for teachers and families of South-Central Wisconsin and beyond!

Click here to visit the Nature Net website for free resources and more!

Aldo Leopold Nature Center

2 hours ago

Why do beavers chew on wood?Is it to gather building material? File down their teeth? To eat? Actually, it’s all of the above. Chewing on trees has many benefits to a beaver. Bark is one of the beavers primary food sources, they enjoy eating the soft inner bark of trees. Aspen is their favorite followed by birch, cottonwood, willow, oak, and maple. Beavers will also eat herbaceous plants, grasses, and some aquatic plants.Eating bark doesn’t only benefit their stomachs. A beaver also needs to chew on bark to keep its teeth sharp and trimmed. The average lifespan for a beaver in the wild is 10 to 12 years and, in that time, their front teeth grow over six feet! If a beaver didn’t work to keep their teeth short, they would grow too long and make life impossible. It would become too hard for the beaver to eat, causing it to starve or it could cause injury, potentially piercing its skull resulting in death. Beavers are known for creating dams. They use their teeth to gather materials like logs and branches from trees, and they also use materials like mud and rocks. Highly efficient, a beaver can build a water-tight dam in just 24 hours. The main reason a beaver builds a dam is to surround its lodge with water to protect it from predators like coyotes and bears. Their dams aren’t just useful to the beavers though, they are an important part of an ecosystem. Beaver dams help remove toxins from waterways, resist wildfires, help mitigate the effects of climate change, and provide water sources to wildlife during droughts. The area flooded by beavers expands the surface of the area's drinking water and creates homes for fish, birds, and other small animals, benefitting the apex predators in the food chain.Who knew that beaver teeth were SO important? What signs of wildlife do you see? Visit us for a hike or take a walk around your neighborhood looking for cyclical events influenced by seasonal changes.Photo: Elli60, Pixabay#PhenologyFriday #Beavers #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside ...

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Welcome

Our facility is open Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm, and from 10am to 2pm on weekends.

Our facility will be closed on Tuesday, Jan 21st due to the extreme cold.

Nature Net

Nature Net

Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Welcome

Our facility is open Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm, and from 10am to 2pm on weekends.

Our facility will be closed on Tuesday, Jan 21st due to the extreme cold.

Nature Net

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Aldo Leopold Nature Center