The environmental issues facing our world have never been greater – our climate is changing, farmland is disappearing, not everyone has good access to land, wildlife habitat is vanishing, and people are losing their connections with the outdoors. Groundswell Conservancy is pushing back. With the help of our supporters, landowners, partners and volunteers, we are taking on big issues with focus and resolve. Acre by acre we are getting results.
With your help, we restore and care for our local natural landscapes for communities to enjoy and wildlife to thrive. No experience is necessary, and we provide the tools for the job.
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🌍 Earth Day is this week. It’s an excellent time for us to put an emphasis on the environment and the special places. But it’s also important to thank the people who make all the protection of these special places possible.
Our staff are working hard to keep Dane County and its surrounding counties full of its special places so that future generations can continue to enjoy them forever. And it’s not just our organization. There are land trusts across the state and country doing similar work. There are folks doing important government advocacy. Others are doing education, land management or fund raising. It’s a community effort to protect our parks, farms and natural resources.
And that includes YOU! Thank you for all you do to support our work and our special places.
Who is someone you’re thinking of and thanking for this Earth Day?
#EarthDay #Environment #Nature #Outdoors
🎉15 YEARS! 🎊
Help us celebrate our fearless leader Heidi Habeger`s work anniversary. Heidi started with Groundswell in 2010 part-time doing data entry and worked her way up the ladder over the years, becoming our membership and outreach manager and director of major and planned gifts. Last September she took the big job: executive director. Several of our supporters recalled fond memories of watching her grow professionally over the years.
"I am going to start calling her hero Heidi," long-time Groundswell volunteer Nancy McGill said. "She really grabs the bull by the horns."
Here`s to the next 15 years. Thank you Heidi!
If you visit our offices right now, you can play a game of I Spy with many little pollinators hidden in various nooks and crannies. These felt bees and ladybugs and their accompanying spring habitat are from our own Amanda Dambrink. Amanda is a self-appointed member of the unofficial office "Fun Committee." She wanted to add some fun and whimsy to the office.
Not only did she succeed in brightening in our days, but the decorations serve as a reminder of the important work we are doing to encourage and preserve more habitat for pollinators in the Madison area. The land we maintain at Westport Prairie contains many, MANY flowering native plants that Wisconsin bee populations need to survive.
Once the pollinators get going this spring, you should take a trip out to Westport Prairie and enjoy the scenic views and happy buzzing bees for yourself. If you take any pictures, be sure to share them with us.
And if you find any of Amanda`s bees or ladybugs in our office, feel free to move them into a new hiding spot for someone else to find!
#SpringVibes #Pollinators #WestportPrairie #MadisonWI #OfficeDecor #WildlifeHabitat
And the stamp makes it official! This is what protecting 175 acres of wetlands and rolling hills looks like. You spend years going over and over the details of how to preserve a special place for the next generation. You spend so much time thinking about the value of the place. You get lost in the stories the property`s owner tells. You savor the way the land looks in the sun during site visits. All for it to end with a notary in the boardroom of a title company.
Some parts of the job aren`t glamourous, but it`s when those pens and stamps hit the paper that you start thinking about how what you did is for forever.
This particular project is the Brehm Quayle Conservation Easement. It is the first project we`ve ever completed in the Town of Dunkirk. Read all about it on our blog by touching the link in our bio.
One of the first signs of spring is out there if you look close enough! Pasque flowers are starting to open. We went on a little bit of a hunt for the first blooming pasque flower of the season at Westport Prairie. What do you think? Do any of these count as open?
Pasque flowers are among the first perennials to bloom in the spring. They love dry meadows and have a beautiful purple hue. If you see any out at Westport Prairie or anywhere in Southern Wisconsin, send us a picture! 📸
The timelapse makes it look quick, but this controlled burn by the @wi_dnr at Westport Prairie took several hours. Burns like these are an important part of preserving prairie health.
Before European settlement, fire was a natural part of the lifecycle for Wisconsin`s grasslands. Many prairie plants depend on fire as a means of regeneration and growth. For around they 150 years fires stopped happening. Now the state and others are bringing them back in a controlled form and our native prairie are loving it.
The next time you are out at Westport Prairie, see if you can see the remnants of the burn on the drumlin. You might be surprised how quickly the plants make a comeback.
Our team got the chance to share some of the special places you have helped us protect at @gatheringwaters’ annual Land Trust Conference a couple of weeks ago. Some of what we showcased is still in the works, but we promise to have more good news for you very soon. 😉Recognize any familiar faces?
🔥Before and after: The @wi_dnr burned about a quarter of the glacial drumlin at Westport Prairie. It took the crew about four and a half hours to clear around a dozen acres of land.
Controlled burns like this are an important tool for preserving prairie health. They give native prairie species a chance to grow and flourish. Before European settlement, fire was a natural part of the Empire Prairie`s rhythms.
We have a bunch of cool videos and photos from the burn that we will be sharing soon!
#PrairieRestoration #ControlledBurn #WisconsinDNR #WildfireManagement #NativePlants #ConservationEfforts #SustainableLandManagement #PrairieEcosystem #FireEcology #WestportPrairie
