MILWAUKEE — This hidden gem has been available to us for 53 years. The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center is a definite must-do if you haven't been and a re-do if you have.
“We welcome over 170,000 visitors here every year. With a variety of educational programs for people of all ages”, said executive director, Helen Boomsma. She went on to say, “Part of our mission is to help cultivate and sustain a relationship with nature. Nature brings joy and solace throughout a person's lifespan, and as we cultivate and introduce nature to our youngest learners, that tends to stay with them.”
The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center has 185 acres. There are 6 miles of hiking trails, 2 miles of which are fully accessible, enabling people of all ages and physical abilities to enjoy and learn about nature. Year-round programs designed to integrate science and the humanities are offered for adults and children.
Watch: The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center is a definite must-do
Lindsay Focht, Raptor program director, says, “Our Raptor program is home to 16 non-releasable birds of prey that would not survive out in the wild. Here they work as ambassadors to give people an up-close look and bring awareness to wildlife populations.”
Bird watching, also known as “birding”, has surged in popularity, and the Schlitz Audubon’s Birding Academy (opening in the fall) will be a premier center for birding education and birding stewardship.
Drew Schuster, director of conservation and land management, says, “We have a wide variety of habitats that make up the property from our beach along Lake Michigan to the prairies. We have young forests and mature old-growth forests.
Forests with oak and sugar maple trees, some that are 400 years old."
The process of maintaining 185 acres is a big job, Schuster says, “We clip and lap off every individual plant and use mowers and compact track loaders, which can mow through small trees. But a controlled burn to remove the thatch layer is the best way to manage a prairie, so we light a small fire, and let it slowly burn through the prairie to burn off the dead grass that's built up over winter. And when we do that in the spring, it recycles nutrients, so the grasses and wildflowers grow faster and happier.”
The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center offers year-round opportunities to commune with nature.
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