Welcome Our New Bilingual Nutrition Educator

We are delighted to welcome Fernanda (Fernie) Magaña as the new Bilingual Nutrition Educator for Dane County!

Green Thumb Gardening Fall 2025 Series

The Green Thumb Gardening Fall Series will help you bring color to your fall garden and prepare you for a successful spring. Classes cover a wide range of autumn-themed and other topics from ornamental grasses, to bulbs, to getting the garden ready for winter. All gardeners from the novice to the experienced are welcome. You […]

There are holes in my leaves!

Yes, this time of year we often see some leaf damage courtesy of some garden friends and garden foes (as well as hail!). Holes are not necessarily a reason to panic and pull out the insecticide sprayer. In fact, they can be an indicator that your ecosystem is healthy and functioning as it should. The […]

Retirement Planning Today: Fall 2025

This fall, discover the keys to a successful retirement and gain valuable insights from experts in the field. Whether you’re just starting to plan or looking to refine your strategy, this class can help. You will learn about maximizing Social Security benefits, investment strategies, healthcare considerations, and much more. You’ve worked hard to provide for your […]

Online Tool for Determining a Guideline Timing for Pruning Oaks

The pruning season for many woody plants has been especially difficult to determine this year as the temperatures have swung wildly between frigid and too warm for pruning certain species. Temperature is critical in determining when it is safe to prune oak trees. This is due to the activity of the beetles that carry oak […]

Youth Climate Action Fund: Activating Young People in Driving Climate Solutions

With 84 percent of youth around the world reporting that they are worried about the threat that climate change poses to people and the planet, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced in March of 2024 that Madison would join Bloomberg Philanthropies’ new Youth Climate Action Fund, which provided technical assistance and funding for 100 Mayors to activate […]

Healthy Choices Healthy Lives

The FoodWIse program in Dane County is federally funded by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). With local strengths, we support healthy eating habits, active lifestyles and healthy community environments for Wisconsin residents experiencing limited incomes through nutrition education at the individual, community and systems levels. […]

Engaging Community to Inform Housing Strategies

Dane County has experienced rapid growth in jobs and residents, but housing construction has not kept pace. Demand for all kinds of housing – from affordable rentals to high-end family homes – is surging. Limited availability of workforce and senior housing is leading many households to pay more in rent or mortgage than is feasible […]

Black Lace™ elderberry: A landscape standout

Black Lace™ elderberry (Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’) is a great black-leaved shrub for full sun. The plant was bred Ken Tobutt and Jacqui Prevette of East Malling Research Station in Kent, England from European elderberry cultivars. Black Lace™ elderberry is marketed under the Proven Winners® brand. Our plant at the Dane County Extension Teaching Garden is […]

Pilot Project Brings Farmers Markets to Seniors: Improving Access to Fresh Produce

Situation: Low-income seniors who participate in the food access program known as the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) may face barriers in accessing traditional farmers markets. While Dane County distributes all their senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers annually, redemption of vouchers has been historically low in Dane County as compared to other counties across […]

When Large-Scale Solar Comes to Town: Building community capacity to address economic, environmental, and social change

Situation: The U.S. is undergoing a rapid energy transformation to clean renewable energy as a major strategy to mitigate climate change. Rural communities in Wisconsin, which are well suited for large-scale solar or wind development, may experience major economic, environment, and social transitions when a large-scale electric power facility comes to town. With any major […]

Advancing Racial & Social Equity in Wisconsin Farm to School: Strategies for Investing in Historically-Underserved Producers

Situation: Farm to school programs provide kids access to nutritious, high-quality, local food while creating market development opportunities for local farmers. Yet, not all local farmers have equal access to this economic opportunity. This is especially true of historically underserved farmers, a federal designation that includes Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); women; beginning […]