Today’s the day! It’s #GivingTuesday and it’s your chance to support special places in our community like Westport Prairie and Patrick Marsh.
Every gift made today will be tripled thanks to an anonymous 2-1 match! When you give $100, the matching donor gives $200. That’s a total of $300 for protecting local lands.
#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 more.
You can follow our #GivingTuesday progress on Instagram and Facebook. And you can help spread the word about the importance of local conservation by sharing our posts and telling your friends and family why you support Groundswell.
Thank you for protecting special places.
There will soon be another reason to visit the Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area in Sun Prairie, WI (map): a unique wildlife viewing platform in the shape of a bird in flight is currently being constructed on the west shore of the marsh by crews from Operation Fresh Start, a job-training program for at-risk youth. The official unveiling of the viewing platform is scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday, October 4, 2015.
The new viewing platform and other improvements at the Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area are made possible under a partnership that includes Groundswell, Patrick Marsh Conservancy, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Operation Fresh Start. The viewing platform was designed by Shane Bernau of Ken Saiki Design, based on a plan Shane developed in 2006 while a student in landscape architecture at UW-Madison.
The platform will provide easily accessible wildlife viewing, just a short walk from the Patrick Marsh parking lot on Stone Quarry Road. The bird shape will make it possible for an entire class of students from nearby Patrick Marsh Middle School to get a front-row view of the marsh during outdoor classroom activities. In addition, a new distinctive metal entrance gate (also in the shape of a bird) will soon welcome visitors at the parking lot, along with an updated information kiosk orienting visitors to Patrick Marsh. Students in the Discovery Club at Patrick Marsh Middle School are designing new interpretive signs for the trails that will explain the history of the marsh from pre-settlement times until now. A new trail will connect neighborhoods on the south side of the marsh with the wildlife viewing platform
Funding for the improvements to Patrick Marsh has been provided by the Sun Prairie Rotary Club, Evjue Foundation, Rotary Foundation District 6250, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Courtier Foundation, Natural Resources Foundation, Dane County Environmental Council, members of Groundswell, and many community members. Fund-raising efforts are on-going.
For more information about the wildlife viewing platform or the unveiling event, or to make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work, please contact Jim Welsh, Executive Director, Groundswell, at jim@groundswellconservancy.org or (608) 258-9797.
Starting this fall, employees of state government (including UW System employees), Dane County, City of Madison, Madison Metro School District, Monona School District, and Madison College, can donate to Groundswell through EarthShare Wisconsin in their workplace giving campaigns, primarily through payroll contributions.
Giving to Groundswell through EarthShare Wisconsin is an easy and cost-effective way to support permanent land conservation here in the Dane County region. EarthShare Wisconsin’s goal is to be the public’s trusted and proven way to support Wisconsin’s and the nation’s most respected environmental and conservation charities at work. Earthshare has earned the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance accreditation.
“We are very happy to have Groundswell as a member of EarthShare Wisconsin,” said Managing Director Darren Blankenship. “They have been a very effective organization for many years protecting vital lands, lakes, and streams in Dane County and beyond. That is why my wife and I have been longtime members of the organization.”
EarthShare Wisconsin’s benefiting organizations work hard every day to safeguard public health and the environment by seeking solutions to climate change and sustainability issues, advocating for clean and renewable energy, protecting ancient forests and conserving wildlife and habitat, cleaning up our water and air, saving endangered species, and many other vital initiatives.
If you would like more information about EarthShare Wisconsin and how they can be an option in your workplace giving campaign, please contact managing director Amanda Oenbring at amanda@earthshare.org or (240) 333-0306.
Groundswell is now enrolled in Thrivent Financial’s member-advised charitable grant program, Thrivent Choice®. This is thanks to Fred Wollenburg of Dalton who nominated Groundswell through his local Thrivent financial representative. On March 6, 2014, we received the first electronic grant from Thrivent Financial to help support our local land conservation efforts.
Thrivent Choice lets eligible Thrivent benefit members recommend where some of the organization’s charitable outreach funds go. “In 2014, I directed Choice Dollars to Groundswell because I want to help protect John Muir’s legacy in Wisconsin,” said Fred Wollenburg.
Here’s how the Thrivent Choice program works:
Eligible Thrivent members are designated Choice Dollars® that they can direct online, by phone, or through their Thrivent Financial representative. By directing Choice Dollars, participating members are thereby recommending that Thrivent provide charitable grant funding for their choice among thousands of enrolled congregations and nonprofit organizations, including Groundswell.
During the past 4 months, five individuals have directed Choice Dollars to Groundswell. Choice Dollars directions have ranged from $20 to $1,000, with the median direction being $72.
Click here to learn more about supporting Groundswell through the Thrivent Choice program or contact Heidi Habeger at 608-258-9797.