Wisconsin Land Trust Days started in late July this year with the Town of Dunn Food Cart Night hosted by Groundswell Conservancy and wrapped up in mid-October with Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation’s Race for Open Space, a trail run/walk.
These were both special events that welcomed hundreds of people to enjoy time outdoors this summer and fall!
Show Me the Numbers!
This was the 5th annual Land Trust Days with 19 Wisconsin land trusts hosting 34 amazing events! We can’t know for sure how many people attended these events or visited land trusts, but it’s safe to say the number of participants is in the thousands, and many of these people were new to the land trust community!
This Happens Every Year…
Some of the events you saw on the calendar have been part of Land Trust Days from the beginning! We look forward to these annual events that happen, including Tall Pines Conservancy’s Ride to the Barns, an annual bike ride that draws upwards of 500 people, and Caledonia Conservancy’s Mane Event, a mounted scavenger hunt and obstacle course on horseback.
There’s also Ozaukee Washington Land Trust’s Treasures of Oz, an eco-tour through the natural areas of Ozaukee County, North Central Conservancy Trust’s annual fall harvest dinner, the beloved Grandparents Day celebration hosted by Glacial Lakes Conservancy, and the yearly seed harvest at Hackmatack Wildlife Refuge held jointly by Geneva Lake Conservancy and Kettle Moraine Land Trust.
But It’s Not Always the Same…
Land Trust Days is different every year. We always look forward to learning about new events on the schedule and love seeing photos of smiling faces. For example…
Kinnickinnic 
River Land Trust and Baird Creek Preservation Foundation hosted some really fun fall night hikes with luminaries along the path.
The Prairie Enthusiasts taught workshops on nature sketching and blacklighting and sugaring for moths. Listen to a story about the moth event here.
Trained mycologists helped people search for edible mushrooms at Mississippi Valley Conservancy.
Northwoods Land Trust, Landmark Conservancy, and Madison Audubon welcomed hikers to special properties with excellent views and unique features.
Driftless Area Land Conservancy had a pollinator party.
Volunteers helped the Ice Age Trail Alliance construct miles of new trail and boardwalk.
Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy introduced people to their properties and offered sweet treats at Muffins with MALC.
Waukesha Area Land Conservancy celebrated their 30th anniversary!
The Host-ests with the Most-est
A big shout-out this year to Glacial Lakes Conservancy, which hosted a whopping 7 events! Geneva Lake Conservancy wasn’t far behind with a total of 4 events this year. We are so grateful to all the land trusts that hosted and welcomed people to their properties to #HaveFunOutside!
Thank you to the dedicated staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly over the past few months to pull these events off. And thanks to everyone who attended an event or visited a land trust property during Land Trust Days! We hope you had fun and learned a little bit more about land trusts and the important work they do.
Some of the things our hosts have said about their events…
“Smiles all around. It was a great opportunity for everyone to meet in person, make personal connections, experience the beauty of a protected landscape and learn from a local expert about the flora in the area.”
-North Central Conservancy Trust
“We had a number of landowners we hadn’t met who came out looking for resources on restoration projects, which was very exciting. Also, the majority of our attendees came out in the morning even though there was a thunderstorm!”
-Driftless Area Land Conservancy
Don’t Forget About the Land Trust Days Adventure Challenge!
Complete the challenge by filling out a short form to tell us about which land trust event you attended or which property you visited. You can share any comments or photos with us, if you like. You’ll be entered into a prize drawing for the chance to win YETI prizes, including a grand prize of a YETI cooler!
Enter by October 31, 2022. We’ll be drawing names on November 1 and will notify the winners shortly after that.
