Lawns really benefit from fertilization at least once a year with nitrogen-containing products to maintain turf density, shade out weed seedlings, and prevent runoff. If you only do it once, it is best to do it now, between Labor Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day October 10. Apply no more than one pound of actual nitrogen […]
by Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator Climate conversations can be initiated in so many different ways. Some conversations are prompted by a powerful question. Other conversations emerge due to circumstances, such as a flood, fire, or other evidence of environmental change. Some of the most powerful conversations are inspired by a creative catalyst, such as […]
by Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator There’s no doubt that Individual actions such as eliminating air travel, reducing car miles, and eating less meat can result in significant carbon reductions. I know from my own experience that when my friends and colleagues are taking action, it motivates me to follow their lead. Individual actions can […]
Fifteen individuals, including two from Dane County (Julia Arata Fratta, Fitchburg, and Jacob King, Sun Prairie), were recognized this month for completing the Wisconsin Local Government Leadership Academy. Their graduation took place at the Wisconsin Counties Association annual conference in the Wisconsin Dells. The Local Government Leadership Academy is a collaborative effort between UW-Madison Division […]
Author: Lisa Johnson, Horticulture Educator The Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change has created a Climate Action Plan to cut carbon emissions in half within the next decade. One of the ways to help achieve this goal is to protect existing trees and increase tree canopy cover in the county. The non-profit American […]
By Maya Walther, Former Natural Resources Education Intern The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in West Virginia v. EPA poses a challenge to regulating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions driving climate change at a time when effective climate action is most critical. This decision restricts the EPA’s power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power […]
Approximately ⅓ – or 1.3 billion tons – of food is wasted annually, posing a critical humanitarian and environmental issue (2021 UNEP Food Waste Index). Composting is one of five actions outlined in the Food Recovery Hierarchy that should be taken to prevent and divert food waste from landfills. Source Reduction The first step toward […]
Author: Maya Walther, Natural Resources Intern Composting is a practical climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy that can be adopted at the individual level. As a climate action strategy, composting has the potential to divert a large portion of organic materials from landfills, while returning these nutrients to the soil. Composting offers a solution for […]
Administered by the Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, the Organics Management Grant seeks to provide funding for community composting projects that help reduce the amount of organics (food scraps, yard waste) being sent to landfills. All Dane County businesses, institutions, municipalities, Native American tribal governments and organizations, community groups, and nonprofit organizations are […]
By Michelle Probst, former Natural Resources Educator I attended a workshop where participants in the room were asked to silently pick two random people in the room and, without those people knowing, you had to stay equally distanced from the two people. People moved throughout the room, slowly, carefully, to make sure they stayed in […]
Our ’21 – ’22 Youth in Governance (YGP) student representatives know something about that. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that they were starting to navigate the same process. Thankfully, they put their heads together and started writing! They spent their Spring semester writing (and revising….lots of revising!) the top tips they thought would […]
Research done by Madison Community Foundation and UW-Madison Extension Dane County highlights key strategies that could help strengthen the local nonprofit sector. Nonprofit organizations have become an essential component of community wellbeing and play a critical role in addressing societal challenges here in Dane County. But how are nonprofits themselves sustained and strengthened? This paper […]
