space - Aldo Leopold Nature Center - Page 2

Welcome

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

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

November 2015: Blue Marble – Earth from Space

This month, we celebrate our brand new Immersion Theater and NASA software by taking a step back to look at Earth from space. Planet Earth is home to countless ecosystems, overwhelming numbers of species, and billions of people. It’s easy to think about the seemingly endless resources and the vast differences and diversity that cover […]

September — Blue Marble: Earth from Space

Planet Earth is home to countless ecosystems, overwhelming numbers of species, and billions of people. It’s easy to think about the seemingly endless resources and diversity that covers our globe. But taking a step back and viewing things from another perspective, we are reminded that our fragile planet is alone in the vast darkness of […]

September — Blue Marble: Earth From Space

Planet Earth is home to countless ecosystems, overwhelming numbers of species, and billions of people. It’s easy to think about the seemingly endless resources and diversity that covers our globe. But taking a step back and viewing things from another perspective, we are reminded that our fragile planet is alone in the vast darkness of […]

Aldo Leopold Nature Center is at Aldo Leopold Nature Center.

12 hours ago

Did you know that earthworms ARE NOT native to Wisconsin!?It’s hard to believe but it’s true. While there’s no real way of knowing if there were worms here before glaciers altered the landscape of the state, we do know that our forests evolved without the presence of earthworms. While there are worms native to North America (mostly in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest), the species found in Wisconsin all originate from Europe and Asia.They were brought over with non-native plants, living in the soil the plants were transported in. There are also species that were introduced by fishermen dumping their leftover bait on the side of rivers. Because of this, certain types of worms are extremely abundant on the shores of Wisconsin’s waterways. Many people believe that earthworms are harmless, or even good for the environment but that's not entirely true. While good for your garden, earthworms are detrimental to our native northern forests. Forests rely on leaf litter to shelter small animals and insulate the ground, becoming mulch that helps wildflower seeds grow. Leaf litter decomposes slowly with bacteria and fungi but worms eat it up at a much faster rate. The worms can even eat the wildflower seeds themselves. The worm’s diet leaves (no pun intended) a hostile environment for seeds and reduces the abundance of shelter and food sources for animals.Programs like the Great Lakes Worm Watch have dedicated themselves to researching and studying the effects of invasive earthworms in the Great Lakes Region.Learn more here: wormwatch.d.umn.edu/ Photo: Aldo Leopold Nature Center#PhenologyFriday #Earthworms #InvasiveSpecies #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside ...

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