Accessibility

The Aldo Leopold Nature Center (ALNC) is dedicated to remaining accessible to the community and general public, while making every effort to provide safe and enjoyable experiences for our students, visitors, and staff. For more information on how we are expanding access, please see our Community Ethics & Nature page.
 

Organized Hikes

If you are interested in hosting an organized hike at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, we’d love to have you! While planning your hike, please contact our Director of Community Engagement, Sarah Voss, at sarah@aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org so we can help schedule and accommodate your hike. There is a lot of educational programming happening here, so coordinating with us will help you have the best outing possible and help you know what to expect during your visit. Access to our public areas is free to our community, but please let us know if you’re bringing a group and what your plans are so we can discuss any accommodations or other offerings that might be of interest. ALNC is a private 503(c) nonprofit organization that stewards the land and engages all with nature through donations, memberships, program fees, and grants.
 

Personal Conduct Policy

All staff, volunteers, visitors, and members of the public shall maintain reasonable personal conduct and decorum while on the premises. Please see our Personal Conduct Policy for more information. If you have specific questions or needs, please call 608.221.0404, ext. 0.
 

Pet Policy

To protect our wildlife, conservation areas and other visitors, we do not allow dogs or other pets on our grounds. Leashed service animals, marked as such, are allowed on trails and public areas of the facility.
 

Photography

Interested in taking your family, engagement, graduation, prom, or senior photos at ALNC? Please do! This public land is for all to use. We simply ask that you avoid any educational programs, events, or facility rentals that may be taking place and that you follow Leave No Trace principles. We gladly accept donations to help maintain our facility and grounds.

Wedding Photos
For wedding photos, large-scale photo shoots or access to specific locations, please coordinate ahead of time by calling (608) 221-0404 x 0 or emailing rentals@aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org.

Drone Policy
To protect our students and visitors, the use of drones is not allowed on/over nature center property. In some cases, ALNC may engage in drone usage for promotional or educational purposes. For more information, or to inquire about approval for this, please contact our Director of Marketing & Communications at cara@aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org.
 

Prescribed Burns

We work to conserve and restore our grounds in the spirit of Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic for healthy ecosystems, habitat for native flora and fauna, educational programs, and the enjoyment of our community. Our staff and land stewards employ the teachings of Aldo Leopold and other best practices for land management, including seasonal prescribed burns. For more information on why, when and how we burn, please review our information on prescribed burns.
 

Smoke-free Campus

In keeping with the ALNC’s interest in the environment and human health, we have a smoke-free campus policy, in order to protect this environmental habitat and prevent exposure of this educational facility, its occupants, and visitors to environmental tobacco smoke. There shall be no smoking or use of other tobacco products while on premises either owned, rented by, or under the control of ALNC. This includes, but is not limited to: ALNC’s campus, facilities, and grounds. Members of the public, including visitors, rental groups, student groups and teachers, and any ALNC staff who accompany them, shall not use tobacco products while on ALNC property or engaged in any ALNC-sponsored activity.
 

Winter Weather Policies

As a general rule, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center will be closed and programs canceled if the Madison Metropolitan School District has cancelled classes due to inclement weather. We do, however, reserve the right to close at our own discretion. If a closing occurs, a notice will be put on our homepage as well as on our Facebook page.