Events for August 16, 2023 › Drop-In Programs

Events Search and Views Navigation

1:30 pm

Senior – Bird & Nature Adventures

August 16, 2023 @ 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Aldo Leopold Nature Center | Monona Campus, 330 Femrite Drive
Monona, 53716 United States + Google Map

Join a naturalist for an easy, senior-friendly walk from Aldo Leopold Nature Center into the beautiful Edna Taylor Conservation Park and enjoy a bit of nature education along the way.

Find out more »

6:00 pm

Nature Healing Hike

August 16, 2023 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Aldo Leopold Nature Center | Monona Campus, 330 Femrite Drive
Monona, 53716 United States + Google Map

Join us on Wednesday, August 16th, from 6 to 8pm, to meet Naturalists Stephanie Briand and Tara Dary at the Children’s Shack for a free, fun, and relaxing hike focused on nature healing.

Find out more »

+ Export Events

Aldo Leopold Nature Center is at Aldo Leopold Nature Center.

11 hours ago

What are those purple flowering plants popping up in the Basswood Forest? It’s the invasive species, Dame’s Rocket. Because of its vibrant color, Dame’s Rocket (Herpesis matronlis) was introduced and brought to North America from Eurasia in 1600 to be used as an ornamental plant. However, because of its ability to spread easily, with a single plant being able to release 20,000 seeds, Dame’s rocket has become an invasive species that disrupts and displaces native species and ecosystems. Luckily, when controlling this aggressive species, we can put it to culinary use. Dame’s Rocket is known for its spicy flavor, similar to sweet arugula, and goes great on any salad!Dame’s rocket has primarily made its home in moist woodlands and open areas such as the Basswood Forest. This species is a biennial and lives as a rosette of basal leaves the first year, before producing flowering stalks the following year. The blooming flowers often emerge from May to August with colors ranging from white to pink or purple. Along its stalk, the alternate leaves are lance-shaped, slightly hairy, and sharply-toothed along the margins.The species is often confused with the native wood phlox as the blue and white flowers bloom in the summer. Both in color and height, Dame’s rocket and phlox, resemble each other, however, phlox is from an entirely different species family called phlox (Polemoniaceae), while Dame’s rocket comes from the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Next time you spot these beautiful flowers and can’t tell if it’s Dame’s rocket or phlox, you can easily spot the difference by taking a close look at the flowers. The Dame’s rocket only has four petals, while phlox has five!Photo: Jordan Mathias, Aldo Leopold Nature Center#PhenologyFriday #DamesRocket #ForagingFood #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside #InvasiveSpecies ...

Photo

View on Facebook

Welcome

Our facility will be closed on Friday, March 22nd for an all-staff meeting.
Our building will reopen to the public at 10am on Saturday, March 23rd.

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

Events for August 16, 2023 › Drop-In Programs

Events Search and Views Navigation

Events Search

Event Views Navigation

1:30 pm

Senior – Bird & Nature Adventures

6:00 pm

Nature Healing Hike

Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Welcome

Our facility will be closed on Friday, March 22nd for an all-staff meeting. Our building will reopen to the public at 10am on Saturday, March 23rd.

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

Events for August 16, 2023 › Drop-In Programs

Events Search and Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

1:30 pm

Senior – Bird & Nature Adventures

6:00 pm

Nature Healing Hike

Sign up to receive updates

Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Our facility will be closed on Friday, March 22nd for an all-staff meeting.
Our building will reopen to the public at 10am on Saturday, March 23rd.