The Gallery at The Nature Place featuring artist Colleen Shore

Immerse Yourself in Art: The Gallery at The Nature Place

September 30, 2024

Erica Black, our Facility Rental Coordinator explains the purpose and passion behind The Gallery at The Nature Place. Our hope is that by showcasing local art, we can offer visitors access to local artists they may not otherwise know about. We also know an that providing an opportunity for a new artist to display their art allows them to reach a broader audience. Come visit The Gallery during our public open hours and feel the connection between the art an our natural world.

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Purple Coneflowers with a Silvery Chersopt Butterfly on the seed head.

Coneflower Power and Other Native Plant Perks

August 15, 2024

Mace Tompson | Visitor Services – Gardens and Grounds AmeriCorps Member, September 2023 – August 2024 Growing native plants in your garden can be as simple as sprinkling seeds onto a patch of dirt in fall and seeing what pops up in spring, or it can be more involved like starting seeds indoors at the end…

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Finding My Way: Outside of My Comfort Zone

July 26, 2024

Amber Bydynkowski | Visitor Services Manager There is something to be said about stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something new. That nervous excitement builds up, almost like a euphoric vibration that sends you through a whirlwind of emotions. Not only is experiencing something new a big step into becoming a well-rounded individual,…

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Sustainable Made Attainable

July 11, 2024

Ashlyn Luckey | Visitor Services Assistant AmeriCorps Member, September 2023 – August 2024 Sustainability has become quite the buzzword over the past few years. From news headlines to the grocery store, it seems to be plastered on everything, and it can get overwhelming! Though it may seem like a daunting journey, it’s actually easier than…

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Gabby Arnold, Community Programs Educator takes an image of a yellow bellwort flower in Hixion Forest, La Crosse, WI

Community Science, a Catalyst to a Connected World

May 30, 2024

By Gabrielle Arnold | Community Program EducatorAmeriCorps Member, September 2023 – August 2024 The concept of delving into the scientific community with no prior experience is intimidating. Without a degree and years in a lab, what makes you qualified to make scientific observations? How could you, without any credibility, possibly contribute to a field filled…

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A Clay-colored Sparrow is foraging on the ground. The bird is small, streaky brown, and scratching up leaf litter with its foot.

Watching Out for Warblers…and Windows

May 16, 2024

By Emma Lather | Environmental Educator AmeriCorps Member, September 2023 – August 2024 As an undergrad, I got hooked on Pokémon Go. In grad school, I got hooked on birding. The similarities are uncanny; I wander through the tall grass in search of new creatures to capture in my Pokéball (binoculars), record in my Pokédex…

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The Joys of Springtime

April 18, 2024

Spring is finally here! There are special memories about springtime from when I was little that cemented it as my favorite season. I remember putting on my jacket and waterproof shoes to look for signs of spring to emerge.

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Community members sit in a large circle of chairs placed outside The Nature Place and play drums with Drums For Peace at the 2016 Earth Fair.

Earth Fair: 16 Years of Environmental Awareness in the Coulee Region

March 28, 2024

Have you been to the annual Earth Fair here in La Crosse? Since 2009, it has helped foster an appreciation for and understanding of the natural world in our small community.

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Cindy and summer camp kids walking through a prairie

Nature’s Recommended Readings

March 14, 2024

Cindy Blobaum | Environmental Education Program Manager I have Thursday, March 21 circled on my calendar. That evening, I have a ticket to attend Robin Wall Kimmerer’s talk at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse’s Prairie Springs program. Kimmerer is perhaps best known for one of her books, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and…

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Chelsea Bruemmer, Environmental Educator, playing in the snow with a child.

Savor the Natural World

February 29, 2024

When I was a small child, I considered the earth to be my friend. I grew up in a valley between West Salem and Mindoro where native Wisconsin wildlife was and still is abundant. I remember looking for amphibians late at night all summer long. A whole row of frogs would line up on my parent’s gravel driveway waiting for the bugs that would fly under the outdoor light.

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