Here’s a recap of Driftless Area phenology from the past month, written by our very own Pat Trochlell. Pat’s inspiration comes from her career as a wetland ecologist with the Wisconsin DNR. She and her husband, Ken Wade, live near and are stewards of TPE’s 30-acre Parrish Oak Savanna, a diverse woodland ecosystem of over 240 native […]
How do children learn to care for the land? Often, it’s time spent outside with a family member that first makes them curious about nature. But teachers also have the power to spark curiosity. Walter Mirk of TPE’s Glacial Prairie Chapter has created a resource to bring the prairie into the classroom. A sampling […]
This article was a collaboration with Grace Vosen and is an update to an article in our August 2019 newsletter. Read the original piece here (navigate to page 5). The New Ulm (Minnesota) area is seeing a renewed interest in prairie. Residents, and especially educators, are working to understand the history of prairies and to restore […]
In 2019, the site stewards of Moely Prairie joined forces with Sauk Prairie High School to implement a summer internship program. Participants report to the prairie once a week and conduct monarch monitoring research. Not only are these exceptional students documenting meaningful data for scientists, but they are also learning about the need to preserve […]
This article was a collaboration with Pamela Eyden. Motivated to reverse habitat loss and fragmentation, a team of private landowners (the Pleasant Valley Pollinator Corridor or PVPC Team) began this spring to work toward creating a pollinator corridor in Pleasant Valley outside Winona, Minn. These landowners have worked for many years to manage natural areas […]
There’s another new face at TPE’s virtual “office.” Grace Vosen has joined our staff as a Communications and Outreach Specialist. She will be managing our communication channels (such as social media and the monthly E-News) and working to make them even more effective. Grace is a graduate of Northland College in northern Wisconsin. She has […]
In the heart of Driftless Wisconsin, Viroqua is home to the TPE chapter support office. We are lucky to be surrounded by many prairie remnants and State Natural Areas (like Romance Prairie). Within walking distance of the office are several public native gardens. One consists of a planted prairie and small oak savanna between two schools. […]
The Many Rivers Chapter was recently featured on the Minnesota DNR’s Prairie Pod podcast. Chapter chair Henry Panowitsch represented TPE on the episode titled “A Legacy of Love for the Prairie Landscape: A Landowner’s Perspective.” Henry kicks off the discussion by pointing out that “it’s never too late to do the right thing.” He shares […]
Summer is here and the time it right for many species on the prairie. The Prairie Enthusiasts take pride in restoring biodiversity to our Midwestern prairie and oak savanna communities. Here are a few images that captured our attention this past month. Hope they remind you to get out on the prairie. There is so […]
The new Landowner Services program is up and running, and though the program is in its early days, it’s already yielding some noteworthy botanical finds and conservation opportunities. Given the myriad threats that our natural communities face and the pervasive, visibly obvious distress of the landscape, I’m heartened to come across irreplaceable elements of biodiversity […]
