11/21/2023
2:50pm / Sunny, 40 degrees F
Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Monona WI
I chose to visit this place because it is close to home, and very familiar to me. Aldo Leopold Nature Center is a nature preserve that is surrounded by suburbs and a few miles away from the city of Madison. It serves as a refuge for wild plants and animals, education, and recreation.
The specific location within the property was a dock by a pond. The nature center has two ponds and a bit of swamp, as well as basswood forest, oak Savannah, and some pines. I know the naturalists work to protect native species here.
One difference I noticed about this area compared to Salmon Hold back in Vermont is the difference in trees. There were definitely red and white oak back in Vermont, but they didn’t have the dominance that they do here. I know this part of the Midwest was primarily oak savannah before it was developed. This oak savvanah remains up until you hit the pond, where you can find many cattails and red-wing blackbirds. Both locations I visit are near water, but Salmon Hole is slowing water with a rocky shore, while the pond at ALNC is still water surrounded by vegetation.
While both ALNC and Salmon Hole are set aside as natural areas with public access, the nature of Aldo Leopold being further away from busy roads makes it a quieter place. I could hear songbirds here, and I could not in Salmon Hole.
