Nature Notes

Nature Notes: Pollinators – The Heroes of the Plant World By Libby Humphries, Environmental Educator This time of year, Door County is a-flower with golden Alexander, red columbine, and lupine […]
Nature Notes: Protect Birds from Window Collisions By Dan Schieman During this past spring migration upwards of 3.5 billion birds were winging their way northwards (and even more will be […]
Kids running through the woods with an instructor.
Forest Days are designed to bring students outside and into their local forest for place-based environmental education. Forest Day lesson topics include the carbon cycle, patterns in nature, the role of decomposers in the forest, food webs, and other interconnecting themes.
Nests that 3rd graders constructed during a lesson about bird eggs and nest types.
Each school forest functions as both an outdoor classroom and the learning material for each lesson; all Forest Day topics can be explored through the physical space of the forest.
Illustration of a monarch on milkweed in a Nature Journal.
On most weekdays around noon, Ridges staff make their way to the center table in the back offices to eat lunch. While this routine might feel repetitive, the conversations from these gatherings are anything but. Around this table, I have learned so much from my coworkers through their fascinations and questions about the natural world.
A common grackle flying with its wings extended.
Birds’ annual cycles are better defined as breeding, non-breeding, and migration rather than by calendar seasons.
Nature Notes: Lake Level Changes: The Impact of Unpredictability in a Warmer Winter By Anna Foster, published February 4th, 2024 As we delight in above-average temperatures this January, it’s easy […]
Nature Notes: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year By Dan Scheiman, published on December 23, 2023 On Saturday, December 16, I participated in the Ephraim Christmas Bird Count. As […]
The Volunteer Magic Behind Natural Christmas By Anna Foster, Director of Programming This November, while the rest of the peninsula is winding down, The Ridges is preparing for one of […]