University of Wisconsin–Madison
If you were to bike by the Arboretum Visitor Center on Friday, October 3rd, you might have caught UW–Madison students and staff laughing together and ringing their bike bells in celebration as they rode BCycles around the small circle. It was a beautifully sunny fall day for the event, and attendees certainly took advantage. Until …
After years of collaboration with the Green Fund, several student organizations, and other local partners, the UW Arboretum celebrated the installation of a new solar array this spring. The event, "EmPOWERing Youth for a Brighter Future," brought together more than fifty high school and college students to discuss climate change and create community.
For several years, a lively group of sustainability staff, faculty, and students has come together in the middle of the fall semester for the UW System Sustainability Conference. During these meetings, participants discuss best practices for sustainability initiatives, muddle over challenges, share successes, and identify opportunities for collaboration. This year, the UW–Madison Office of Sustainability …
As part of her master of fine arts thesis, design studies student Liz Anna Kozik has installed an exhibit telling the story of the first restored prairie in the world, Curtis Prairie at the UW–Madison Arboretum. Through full-length comics, hand-woven tapestries, and wooden signs over the prairie, “Stories in the Land” explores the history of …
On March 21, the rusty-patched bumble bee officially became the first bumble bee listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Populations of this bee have been found in the UW Arboretum.
Both official and unofficial observations curated by UW Arboretum staff suggest that the mild winter of 2017 – a few snowstorms notwithstanding – is leading to earlier spring activity in some species.
The UW Arboretum still has wild populations of the rusty-patched bumblebee, which is currently under consideration for endangered species status.