Join us for Wisconsin’s largest bird conservation fundraiser! It’s like a walk-a-thon style fundraiser, but instead of logging miles, we’ll be logging bird sightings. We’ll be participating in the Great Wisconsin Birdathon as team Grousewell!
Great Wisconsin Birdathon
Saturday, May 4, 2024
9:00 – 11:00 am
Patrick Marsh – Stein Rd, Sun Prairie, WI 53590
What to Expect
The outing will be approximately one to two miles of slow-paced walking on a dirt trail. It’ll be spring migration, so there should be great bird activity. American White Pelicans are typically at Patrick Marsh during this time of year too!
No Birding Experience Required
Everyone is welcome and no birding experience is required! This is a great opportunity to join even if it’ll be your very first-time birding. Birding is a team effort and we can all learn from each other.
Binoculars
The Feminist Bird Club Chapter of Madison has generously let us borrow some of their binoculars! We’ll have binoculars available to borrow (a limited amount). Please indicate in the registration if you would like to borrow a pair during the outing.
Registration
If you plan to join us for the outing, please register at the button below.
Support Our Team
The Birdathon is a great opportunity to come together and support bird conservation. We hope you’ll support us, the birds, and our community during this great event.
Half of the donations that we raise will go to Groundswell and half will go towards the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin’s Bird Protection Fund.
Are you looking for an easy way to support conservation where you live in 2024?
It’s fast and simple to set up automatic monthly gifts to Groundswell. Your gifts will provide reliable, ongoing support to help protect special places for everyone in our community.
“In a short period of time, our land has been destroyed by exploitation and extraction of what our Mother Earth lovingly gives us. As an individual, I can only do so much to protect her, but when we come together we can be stronger and achieve more. This is why I contribute to Groundswell Conservancy’s efforts to protect land from being developed and further destroyed. I have seen closely, right in my own town, the work they do and I’m grateful for it.” –Yolibeth Rangel, Monthly Sustainer (pictured above)
Monthly giving is:
- Convenient: Your gifts are automatic and you don’t have to worry about remembering to donate online or by mail each year.
- Secure: Groundswell’s online giving platform is secure and your payments are encrypted, so you can rest assured your credit card or bank information is safe.
- Eco-friendly: Automatic gifts don’t require envelopes, stamps, or checks, and Groundswell can send you fewer appeal mailings knowing you are already making regular contributions.
- Special: As a Groundswell Sustainer, you’ll receive special seasonal emails with a behind-the-scenes look at what’s happening at Groundswell.
I hope you join the community of Groundswell Sustainers by signing up online today and selecting the monthly donation type. You can change your monthly gift amount or cancel at any time by calling 608-258-9797.
Thank you for caring about conservation where you live.
We can’t thank you enough for making #GivingTuesday a big success!
The outpouring of community support we saw yesterday was inspiring. Together, we raised $22,752.21 to support conservation where you live. An anonymous donor matched your generosity dollar-for-dollar, bringing our total to $45,504.42 (as of 12/8/23).
Your gift will plant a seed for local conservation. It will help grow connections to nature, equitable land access, thriving wildlife habitat, protected farmland, and more.
Thank you again for being part of this special day of giving.
Today’s the day! It’s #GivingTuesday and it’s your chance to “plant a seed” for local land conservation with a gift to Groundswell.
Every gift made today will be DOUBLED thanks to an anonymous donor! Your donation of $50 becomes $100, $100 becomes $200, $200 becomes $400, and so on.
#GivingTuesday is a great time to support conservation where you live. By donating today, you are…
Conserving wildlife habitat
Connecting kids to nature
Providing equitable access to land
…and much more!
You can also give by phone by calling 608-258-9797. Or you can mail a check to 211 S. Paterson St., Suite 250, Madison, WI 53703. Please include a note indicating your gift is part of #GivingTuesday.
Thank you for caring about special places!
We’ve raised $16,500 so far to buy our first tractor and mower. Only $11,000 more to go!
Groundswell continues to improve access to Westport Prairie and to restore the prairie landscape for plants and wildlife. To care for our restored prairies and to mow our new trails, we are raising funds for our first tractor (~$25,000) and pull-behind mower (~$2,500), including insurance and maintenance.
We’re planning to buy these items used, so the kind of tractor and mower will depend on what we find available on the market. Here’s an example of a tractor and mower we’re interested in purchasing.
Give today in support of a tractor and mower! You can give online (indicate in the gift notes: for tractor) or mail a check to Groundswell at 303 S. Paterson St, Suite 6, Madison, WI 53703. Indicate in the check memo: for tractor.
Please consider joining the donors below who have already generously given to our tractor campaign:
- Phyllis Davis
- Green Bay Packers Foundation
- Stan Kanter
- Cathy Schmitz
- Cathy Schmitz’s Facebook fundraiser
- Tom Wilson
- Tracy Wiklund
- Terri Beck-Engel
- Ursula Muehllehner
- Jeff Lange & Dolly Marsh
- William & Virginia Nelson
- Stefanie Moritz & Vince Jenkins
- Kelly & Linda Sweeney
- Carrie Morgan
- Lois Curtiss
- James & Susan Zerwick
The tractor and mower will be instrumental in our efforts to restore and care for Westport Prairie.
Of the original 64,000-acre Empire Prairie that historically covered much of Dane and Columbia Counties, there are only 202 acres left that are protected. This huge loss of prairie habitat has led to dwindling populations of native plants, insects, and animals.
Westport Prairie is a 227-acre wildlife area in Waunakee, WI managed by Groundswell. It is open to the public for recreation with 1.5 miles of hiking trails. It is also part of the Empire Prairie State Natural Area that preserves approximately 100 native plant species—some endangered—and many types of grassland birds. Each year, Groundswell converts more and more agricultural land to prairie at this special place for the benefit of people and the biodiversity of Dane County.
We are in year 4 of an ambitious 14-year plan to convert a total of 170 acres of land to native prairie. As we continue to plant more prairies, we need proper equipment to manage the land and ensure that the prairie habitats we’ve planted continue to thrive well into the future. Groundswell would like to purchase a tractor to help us with the long-term land management at Westport Prairie.
If you have questions about the tractor or mower, please contact BJ at bj@groundswellconservancy.
Are you looking for an easy way to support conservation where you live in 2023?
It’s fast and simple to set up automatic monthly gifts to Groundswell. Your gifts will provide reliable, ongoing support to help protect special places for everyone in our community.
“I deeply care about spending quality time and connecting with my kids through time spent in the outdoors. Groundswell helps create, protect, and give access to those places close to home.”
-Alton Multhauf (pictured above with his family), Groundswell Sustainer & Board Member
Monthly giving is:
- Convenient: Your gifts are automatic and you don’t have to worry about remembering to donate online or by mail each year.
- Secure: Groundswell’s online giving platform is secure and your payments are encrypted, so you can rest assured your credit card or bank information is safe.
- Eco-friendly: Automatic gifts don’t require envelopes, stamps, or checks, and Groundswell can send you fewer appeal mailings knowing you are already making regular contributions.
- Special: As a Groundswell Sustainer, you’ll receive exclusive emails throughout the year so you have the inside scoop on what’s happening at Groundswell.
We hope you join the community of Groundswell Sustainers by signing up online today and selecting the monthly donation type. You can change your monthly gift amount or cancel at any time by calling 608-258-9797. Thank you for caring about conservation where you live.
Groundswell continues to improve access to Westport Prairie and to restore the prairie landscape for plants and wildlife. To care for our restored prairies and to mow our new trails, we are raising funds for our first tractor (~$25,000) and pull-behind mower (~$2,500), including insurance and maintenance.
We’re planning to buy these items used, so the kind of tractor and mower will depend on what we find available on the market. Here’s an example of a tractor and mower we’re interested in purchasing.
Give today in support of a tractor and mower! You can give online (indicate in the gift notes: for tractor) or mail a check to Groundswell at 303 S. Paterson St, suite 6, Madison, WI 53703. Indicate in the check memo: for tractor.
To date, we’ve raised $13,529 for the tractor and mower thanks to these generous donors:
- Phyllis Davis
- Green Bay Packers Foundation
- Stan Kanter
- Cathy Schmitz
- Cathy Schmitz’s Facebook fundraiser
The tractor and mower will be instrumental in our efforts to restore and care for Westport Prairie.
Of the original 64,000-acre Empire Prairie that historically covered much of Dane and Columbia Counties, there are only 202 acres left that are protected. This huge loss of prairie habitat has led to dwindling populations of native plants, insects, and animals.
Westport Prairie is a 227-acre wildlife area in Waunakee, WI managed by Groundswell. It is open to the public for recreation with 1.5 miles of hiking trails. It is also part of the Empire Prairie State Natural Area that preserves approximately 100 native plant species—some endangered—and many types of grassland birds. Each year, Groundswell converts more and more agricultural land to prairie at this special place for the benefit of people and the biodiversity Dane County.
We are in year 4 of an ambitious 14-year plan to convert a total of 170 acres of land to native prairie using local-genotype prairie seed. This type of seed is well adapted to the region and has a high chance of seeding success. As we continue to plant more prairies, we need proper equipment to manage the land and ensure that the prairie habitats we’ve planted continue to thrive well into the future. Groundswell would like to purchase a tractor to help us with the long-term land management at Westport Prairie.
If you have questions about the tractor/mower, please contact BJ at bj@groundswellconservancy.org.
We cannot thank you enough for making #GivingTuesday such a big success!
You were part of a huge outpouring of support. Thank you for showing how much you care about local conservation.
You helped raise $26,682 to support conservation where you live. An anonymous donor matched your generosity dollar-for-dollar, bringing our total to $53,365! (As of 11/30/22)
Your gift will help protect special places in our community, connect kids with nature, provide equitable access to land, restore wildlife habitat, act on the climate crisis, and so much more.
Thank you again for being part of this special day of giving.
#GivingTuesday is your chance to honor local land with a gift to Groundswell.
Every gift made on #GivingTuesday will be DOUBLED thanks to an anonymous donor! Your donation of $50 becomes $100, $100 becomes $200, $200 becomes $400, and so on.
Click here to DOUBLE YOUR GIFT!
#GivingTuesday is the perfect time to support conservation where you live. By donating today, you’re helping conserve wildlife habitat, connect people to nature, provide equitable access to land, and much more.
You can also give by phone by calling 608-258-9797. Or you can mail a check to 303 S. Paterson St., Suite 6, Madison, WI 53703. Please include a note indicating your gift is part of #GivingTuesday.
Thank you for caring about special places!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yesterday on #GivingTuesday, Groundswell supporters were part of a huge outpouring of support for local conservation. Thank you for showing how much you care about special places in our community.
You helped raise $28,581 to protect special places, right here in and around Dane County, forever. Thank you!
A generous, anonymous donor tripled each gift with a 2:1 match which means a total of $85,743 was raised for local conservation.
Thank you to everyone who gave on #GivingTuesday:
| Scott and Rebecca Allen | Ed Lauzon |
| Patricia Arndorfer | Herbert Ley |
| Alexandria Baker | Jane and Wes Licht |
| Jane Bannerman | Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin |
| Aleta and Duane Barmore | Seth and Sarah McGee |
| Michael Benish | Kristine Merrill and Bill Hans |
| Sandy Bennett | Jim Molloy and Chris Hess-Molloy |
| Judy and Ed Borke | William and Virginia Nelson |
| Steve Born | Shawdi and Rick Nesbit |
| Jim Bredeson and Cheryl Becker | Ed Neumueller |
| Melissa Clements | Dave and Lavonne O’Malley |
| Gary Coenen | Pat and Pam O’Malley |
| Mitch and Sandie Custer | Jefren Olsen |
| Greg Delwiche | Kathy and Carl Olson |
| Cal and Ruth DeWitt | Paul Patenaude |
| Marcia and Joseph Doll | Connie and Mark Pelton |
| Bill and Amy Dunlop | Kathy Perleberg |
| Chris Elholm | Harry and Sylvia Peterson |
| Ron and Sheila Endres | Caleb Pourchot and Heidi Habeger |
| Mike Engel and Hannah Spaul | Shawn Pourchot |
| Martha and John Fechner | Stacy Rhone |
| Doug Fendry | Jamie Richardson |
| Don Ferber | Mark and Dana Roffers |
| Mike and Doreen Festge | Veronica Rueckert and Benson Gardner |
| Andrew Fitzpatrick | Mike Rupiper |
| Mike Foy and Carrie Morgan | Mark and Holly Schleicher |
| Elizabeth and Tom Ganser | Gregory Schneider |
| Stacy Gates | Rodee Schneider |
| Keith Gilkey | Gary Schwager and Gabrielle Banik |
| Susan and Gary Gimmestad | Lon and Susan Sprecher |
| Jorden Grubb | Sandra Stark |
| Justin Gutoski | Jennifer Stenglein |
| Terry and Nancy Habeger | William Taylor |
| David and Lynn Hanson | Mark and Daria Thomas |
| Sharla Hanson | Patty Tipson |
| Todd Hanson | Vern and Vicki Treinen |
| Tamara Hill | Jonathan and Lily Yee Van Dyke |
| Cary Hunkel | Ross and Rosalie Volkert |
| Steve Jandl | Robyn Weis |
| Sarah Janowski | Jim Welsh |
| Susan and Conrad Jostad | Alex Wenthe |
| Peter and Beth Kaseman-Wold | Zane Williams |
| Kathy Kershaw | Scott and Amy Wisner |
| Marjorie King Studio | Fred Wolf |
| Mary Anne Koos and Will Abberger | Fred and Karen Wollenburg |
| Ed Krois and Joan Hayden | Eli Woyke |
| Katherine and Richard Larson | Carla Wright |
| Joseph Lasee | William Zane |
| Renee Lauber and Graham Cody | Jan Zimmermann |
| Matt Zine |