Community Education

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Resolve to be more nature-minded in 2020

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Resolve to be more nature-minded in 2020

Happy 2020! It’s a brand new year, a brand new decade. Full of promise, hope, anticipation, perhaps a little anxiety, or a whole lot of ambivalence. Maybe you’ve made some new year/new decade resolutions. Maybe you’re still looking for inspiration. Well, you’re in luck: read on!

The suggestions below are based around the goals of getting yourself more into the outdoors (literally and figuratively!) and being a more mindful steward of the natural world around you. Pick one, pick multiple, or let your imagination go crazy and do something more!

Photo by Jeff McDonald

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Kestrel Nestboxes: The Good, the Bad, and the Just Fine

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Kestrel nestboxes are busy places this time of year. Because kestrels’ nesting habitat (tree snags) has all but vanished in their range, and because they take readily to man-made and managed nestboxes, our dedicated group of Kestrel Nest Box Program volunteers are also busy this time of year checking out what’s happening in the nests!

To aid in their efforts, Madison Audubon volunteer Pat Ready created a “Guide to Kestrel Box Species” which helps monitors determine who is using the nest (because it’s not always kestrels!), and what to do about it.

Photo by Jim Stewart

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Assisting Visually Impaired Birders

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It was back in October when my friend Dorothy called me about seeing birds in her backyard. Or rather, not seeing them. She had trouble seeing the birds due to aging eyes and Macular Degeneration, a frustrating and usually debilitating visual impairment that millions of elderly experience. Dorothy is in her mid-90’s and, incredibly, still living independently (with assistance from her aides and the Wisconsin Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired). As it happens, Dorothy is also Madison Audubon’s longest-standing member and an avid bird-watcher… that is, until her eye-sight started to fail.

Photo by Monica Hall

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Register now for Birds, Bikes, & Brews!

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What could be better than spending an afternoon birding, biking, and drinking beer?

Come celebrate three of Wisconsinite's favorite past times with us!

Advanced registration is now open for our third-annual Birds, Bikes, & Brews event - a casual afternoon of biking, birding, and enjoying locally-brewed craft beer with our friends at Next Door Brewing Co.! 

Your $15 registration includes a Birds, Bikes, & Brews pint glass, coupons and deals from local businesses, plus a free pint of our specially-brewed bird themed ale made by the beer geniuses at Next Door Brewing when you return from your ride. Plus, Madison Audubon receives $1 from each pint of specialty beer sold that day!

Here are the details:

- Join us at any time between 2-6 p.m. at Next Door Brewing Company
- We'll give you a map and a checklist, and you'll head out on the Lake Monona Lake Loop to look for as many birds as you can find while on two wheels!*
- We'll have several birding stations set up along the way, with helpful volunteers. You can stop, take a peek through a spotting scope, and learn something new!
- When you're done birding and biking, the Lake Loop brings you right back to Next Door Brewing, where we'll have a cold one (or two!) waiting for you! Cheers!

*No pressure, no rush! Enjoy the ride, and know that birders of ALL skill levels are welcome. Even if you don't consider yourself a birder, we guarantee you'll have fun (and there's good beer involved)

Here's a little secret we'll let you in on: when you register before August 31 and use code EARLYBIRD16, you can get 15% off of your $15 registration! 

This event is made possible with support from Next Door Brewing Co., Cricket Design Works, and Screen Door Studio.

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From the Educators: Summer education programs wrap up

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This year has been filled with adventure for kids and young adults in our Madison Audubon programs. Thanks to your support, we have been able to reach 2,259 youth since January – and have built long-term relationships with over 100 of them! Because of your support, local kids are spending more time exploring outside, asking questions, and making observations about nature...and they're unearthing their own special love and connection to our natural world as they explore.

Conservation Academy partcipants from Operation Fresh Start learn about water quality management. Photo by Carolyn Byers

Conservation Academy partcipants from Operation Fresh Start learn about water quality management. Photo by Carolyn Byers

What were we up to this summer?

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Academy participants celebrate the end of their summer season with Smokey the Bear! Photo by Carolyn Byers.

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Academy participants celebrate the end of their summer season with Smokey the Bear! Photo by Carolyn Byers.

  • Kids at Vera Court Neighborhood Center and Salvation Army Community Center adventured with insects, water critters, and tiny flowers in our Micro Explorers curriculum.

  • Through our Conservation Academy program, Operation Fresh Start crews learned about career paths in habitat restoration, stream ecology, ornithology, wildlife biology, urban forestry, and water resource management. We celebrated their summer of learning with a retreat at the Mackenzie Environmental Education Center!

  • A partnership with MSCR (Madison School & Community Recreation) allowed us to provide a week of Wildlife Immersion lessons for summer camp kids. Birds, binoculars, scat, tracks, and art projects were our highlights!

This fall, we plan to continue our partnerships with local schools and community centers, and hope to share the wonder of wildlife with as many kids as possible!

- Carolyn Byers
Director of Education