Events

Join us for a quiet and enlightening evening walk in the Horicon Marsh prairies during peak bloom.  Your guides will help you learn about plant identification, the importance of native prairies to the ecosystem, the role they play in pollinator habitat and the crucial nesting cover they provide for the marsh’s avian residents. You can also learn about establishing your own native prairie in your own backyard, no matter how big or small an area that you have available.  We will go over soil preparation, garden establishment and the crucial weed management that follows. Please feel free to bring your camera and a notebook, along with plenty of bug spray!

Focus this week: Pollinators

The World Around Us: Science Labs are biweekly, open house, drop-in programs designed for all age participants. All events will be held outdoors except for severe weather. Please wear appropriate clothing and shoes/boots designed for walking on gravel trails. Each program will include 1) information about the subject, 2) a book reading, 3) a craft, 4) greeting card making, and 5) an activity.

One out of every three bites of food you eat are because of pollinators.  Think of your favorite foods like apples, chocolate, and blueberries. Pollinators—including bees, birds, butterflies, insects, and bats—are animals that move pollen between flowering plants, enabling plant reproduction and producing over a third of our food. They are critical to healthy ecosystems and agriculture, with at least 75% of flowering plants relying on them. Populations are currently declining so grab a net and magnifying glass as we try to catch and release some of our pollinator friends and go on the hunt for monarch eggs.

No registration is required.  The Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center.

An up close and personal hike through the Horicon Marsh prairies. Your guides will help you learn about plant identification, the importance of native prairies to the ecosystem, the role they play in pollinator habitat and the crucial nesting cover they provide for the marsh’s avian residents. You can also learn about establishing your own native prairie in your own backyard, no matter how big or small of an area that you have available.  We will go over soil preparation, garden establishment and the crucial weed management that follows. Please feel free to bring your camera and a notebook, along with plenty of bug spray!

No registration is required.

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Registration link coming soon.

Enjoy an indoor presentation about monarch life cycles and how to tag.  We will then go outside to catch monarchs and watch as DNR staff tag these magnificent migrants as they start their journey to Mexico. Free and open to the public. Bring your own insect nets if you have them!

No registration is required.  Please meet at the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center located at N7725 Highway 28, Horicon, WI. 

Gather the family and spend some time together around the campfire as we share stories at the Horicon Marsh. Each month we will have a different topic that we explore through books, crafts, and adventure. We will finish the night with a sweet treat that we get to cook over the fire.  Please bring bug spray.  Some walking may be involved but on flat trails and 1 mile or less.

No registration is required.  The Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center is located at N7725 Highway 28, Horicon, WI.  Meet at the picnic shelter.

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Registration link coming soon.

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.