Wild Ones Madison Events

In this special collaboration, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author, botanist, and founder of Plant Baby Plant, joins youth leader and Nurture Natives founder Esther Bonney for an intergenerational conversation about belonging, reciprocity, and native plant action. 

Together, they will explore questions such as:

How do we create opportunities for young people to have a voice and feel empowered, even when they are not homeowners or decision makers?What kinds of relationships and mentorships help people stay engaged in native plant work over decades?Why do stories, shared practices, and community invitations matter just as much as plant lists?

Robin and Esther will reflect on what invites people into this work, what keeps them here, and what elders and youth have to teach each other.

On this walk we will learn about the unique biology and ecology of Wisconsin’s earliest-blooming, and perhaps most unique wildflower. Along the way we’ll look for other early signs of spring.
 

Meet at the Wingra Springs Parking Lot (map), on top of the hill, south of the Arboretum's main Visitors Center.

Our upcoming webinar with Basil Camu explores practical, evidence based ways to heal suburban and urban landscapes by working with trees, soil, and natural systems, drawing on real world practices from Leaf & Limb and community centered models for restoring life where we live, work, and play.!  

As we seek to restore habitat with less lawn and more native plantings, we rejoice in the return of the insects and animals that so desperately need these spaces. Join us along with Dr. David Drake, who heads up the UW Urban Canid Project, to learn more about how foxes and coyotes use the urban landscape and how their life histories and behaviors change as a result of their interactions with humans. The UWUCP aims to better understand these urban adapters so that citizens and wildlife managers alike can be more proactive in how they respond to these animals. More knowledge and understanding will lead to less conflicts.

Join Joey Santore, creator of Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, for a candid Wild Ones National Webinar examining how inherited garden aesthetics shape native plant landscapes. Drawing on field experience and real ecology, Joey challenges tidy design norms and explores why dense, irregular plant communities are often the most resilient and ecologically sound.

Register for this guided tour of the Agrecol greenhouse, one of the largest native plant nurseries in the state of Wisconsin. Agrecol’s greenhouse manager, Jamie Rebout, will lead the group throughout the greenhouse, highlighting the different daily processes necessary for a busy greenhouse to operate. This includes: seed starting, transplanting, watering, culling, cutbacks, order pulling, and order fulfillment. The group will also get an up-close look at their extensive plant inventory of over 150 native local ecotype species.

Details:

Date: Friday 3/27/2026
Time: 2:00-4:00pm

Registration is required for this Wild Ones-Madison member only event and limited to 20 members.

Join Wild Ones-Madison as Jeff Steele shares his experiences botanizing on two wheels along southern Wisconsin’s incredible trail network. Jeff will discuss his favorite natural areas, how to get there via bicycle, what plants and animals one may expect to find, and bicycle camping options along the way. 

Those who attend this presentation will learn how to utilize available online resources to develop their own unique route. Jeff will also share sample itineraries for those that would like ideas for their next botany bicycle adventure.

Come join us for our Earth Day Celebration on Saturday April, 18th, 2025. This year we're taking our festivities partially indoors and will be hosting it at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona. We'll have snacks (including our annual hot waffles!) and socializing in the Tamarack Room from 10:30am-12:30pm. At 11:30am, you're welcome to partake in a short guided hike to observe some of the early spring flora.

Join us to see pasque flower, prairie smoke, buttercups, violets and more. Let’s see how this remnant prairie has improved after recent prescribed burns. This walk will include hiking off-trail on steep, rough terrain.

The native gardens at Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center serve many purposes--to showcase native plants in a commercial setting, to provide food for native insects, to educate our Camp Wildside students, and even to provide natural food and enrichment for wild patients undergoing rehabilitation! Come help us maintain the gardens and learn more about native gardening while getting to know other Wild Ones members! 

Join award-winning author, photographer, and educator Rick Darke for What Is Wild and Why It Matters, a free national webinar on Tuesday, April 28th at 10 am CT. Discover how inviting a bit of authentic wildness can create a vibrant landscape that sustains you and local biodiversity. This national event is presented in collaboration between Wild Ones and Homegrown National Park.

Trout lilies, dutchman’s breeches, spring beauties and many other short-lived flowers will blanket the ground around us in this woodland.

This tiny, hidden southwest side gem has a rich assortment of woodland spring flowers covering the forest floor like a carpet of color. Park along the east side of Gilbert Road, just north of Russett Road where we’ll gather to walk over to the woodland.

Come and see prairie and savanna flowers such as prairie phlox, puccoons, shooting star, blue-eyed grass, and more! This walk will include over a mile of hiking, including on steep and rough terrain

The woodlands, wetlands and prairies at Cherokee Marsh have received a lot of restoration and care over the the past several years, which has invigorate the flowering plants already present and reintroduced species that had been lost.

Join us for monthly work days at the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Assoc. (DMNA) Prairie! Stay for as little or as long as your like. 

The native gardens at Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center serve many purposes--to showcase native plants in a commercial setting, to provide food for native insects, to educate our Camp Wildside students, and even to provide natural food and enrichment for wild patients undergoing rehabilitation! Come help us maintain the gardens and learn more about native gardening while getting to know other Wild Ones members! 

Join us for an open house at Alex’s stunningly diverse Homegrown National Park featuring over 120 native plant species, as well as two ponds! 

The native gardens at Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center serve many purposes--to showcase native plants in a commercial setting, to provide food for native insects, to educate our Camp Wildside students, and even to provide natural food and enrichment for wild patients undergoing rehabilitation! Come help us maintain the gardens and learn more about native gardening while getting to know other Wild Ones members! 

Join us for a tour of Athena’s yard, featuring a magical spring woodland, a rain garden, prairie plantings, and a 300+ year old bur oak!

Join us for monthly work days at the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Assoc. (DMNA) Prairie! Stay for as little or as long as your like. 

Join us for an open house at Judy’s west side oasis, which containsover 350 species of native plants, and is buzzing with pollinators in July. Thefront yard is sun/part sun, planted with nearly all native plants, while theback yard is a woodland primarily native habitat, with many native flowers,ferns, grasses, sedges, shrubs and trees and chipped walking trails. Enjoycookies and cherry lemonade while we talk about bees, pollinators and nativehabitat.

This month’s Hub will be a FREE gathering taking place during our Environmental Fun Fair. Anyone at the fair can stop inside the building to learn about native plant gardening, including: Gardening for Birds - Amy Yocum of Wild Ones Madison will share expert tips on how to create a yard that is both welcoming and safe for our feathered friends. Pollinator Friendly Yards - Judy Cardin, local bumblebee and native plant advocate, will share her knowledge related to flower/bee phenology, bee life cycles, shade flowers for bees, nesting habitat, impact of pesticide use and backyard honeybee hives on native bees, and more. Garden Preparation – Native plants can be incorporated into your home landscape in many ways. Learn about lawn removal, smothering, solarizing, and other techniques for creating space for native plants. Garden Design – Our native garden volunteers will be available to answer your questions and provide resources, including our 3D-printed plant tokens, to help you choose a location and plants for your next native garden project.

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

Join us for monthly work days at the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Assoc. (DMNA) Prairie! Stay for as little or as long as your like.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/acpSuGN9nBgyB6fj9

To get on the email list to be notified about work day happenings and changes, contact: 

Robin Craig
DMNA Prairie Garden Volunteer Coordinator (Wild Ones Madison)
[email protected]
608-886-4108 (voice or text)

Join us for monthly work days at the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Assoc. (DMNA) Prairie! Stay for as little or as long as your like.

To get on the email list to be notified about work day happenings and changes, contact:
 

Robin Craig
DMNA Prairie Garden Volunteer Coordinator (Wild Ones Madison)
[email protected]
608-886-4108 (voice or text)

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Meeting will be held at 5:30pm immediately preceding our ice cream social event at the ALNC. Any member is welcome to join the meeting.

It is once again time for our annual Ice Cream Social! Join us for some delicious ice cream with plenty of toppings (and a dairy free ice cream sandwich option!) This event is a chance for us to get together and socialize, strengthen bonds and create new connections, all in the beautiful Aldo Leopold Nature Center facility overlooking a gorgeous prairie. Let's talk about what we've accomplished and enjoyed this year, and look ahead to dream and make plans.

 This year we will have an art activity for all attendees to participate in. It's mess free and you will get to take it home with you at the end of the night (and it involves native plants & flowers...!) 

This event is BYOB--Bring Your Own Bowl (and spoon!) Toppings will be provided.

The native gardens at Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center serve many purposes--to showcase native plants in a commercial setting, to provide food for native insects, to educate our Camp Wildside students, and even to provide natural food and enrichment for wild patients undergoing rehabilitation! Come help us maintain the gardens and learn more about native gardening while getting to know other Wild Ones members! 

Join us for a tour of Megan’s lush garden, where we’ll see purplelove grass, obedient plant, anise hyssop, partridge pea, great blue lobelia,and wild senna in bloom, plus plenty of shrubs and insect life! Register here to attend. 

Join us for a tour of Frank’s well-established garden, whichfeatures a mix of shade and semi-shade areas with savanna and woodland species.Expect a profusion of asters and goldenrods blooming in September! 

Register here to attend

Join us for monthly work days at the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Assoc. (DMNA) Prairie! Stay for as little or as long as your like.

To get on the email list to be notified about work day happenings and changes, contact:
 

Robin Craig
DMNA Prairie Garden Volunteer Coordinator (Wild Ones Madison)
[email protected]
608-886-4108 (voice or text)

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

The native gardens at Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center serve many purposes--to showcase native plants in a commercial setting, to provide food for native insects, to educate our Camp Wildside students, and even to provide natural food and enrichment for wild patients undergoing rehabilitation! Come help us maintain the gardens and learn more about native gardening while getting to know other Wild Ones members! 

To kick off Wisconsin Stormwater Week, this month’s learning topic will focus on rain gardens and downspout gardens. Learn more about these special gardens, when they can be used, and how to install them. Planting plans and resources will be available and experts will be on hand to provide design help and answer questions. You can also watch the rainfall simulator in action to see how rain gardens work to prevent stormwater pollution.

The native gardens at Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center serve many purposes--to showcase native plants in a commercial setting, to provide food for native insects, to educate our Camp Wildside students, and even to provide natural food and enrichment for wild patients undergoing rehabilitation! Come help us maintain the gardens and learn more about native gardening while getting to know other Wild Ones members! 

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Zoe Evans, rewilding coach and VP of Partnerships & Programs at Wildr shares a practical, science-informed framework for evaluating a home landscape, identifying its greatest habitat opportunities, and choosing actions that support more plants, insects, birds, and other wildlife.

Registration link coming soon.