Groundswell Conservancy Inc

WE ARE A LEADER IN PROTECTING PLACES PEOPLE LOVE IN SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

THIS YEAR GROUNDSWELL CONSERVANCY HELPED CONSERVATION-MINDED COMMUNITIES AND LANDOWNERS PROTECT GREAT PLACES IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WISCONSIN.ANOTHER PIECE OF WISCONSIN'S WONDERFUL NATURAL LANDSCAPE WAS PROTECTED FOREVER WHEN PAT AND RON PASKA DONATED TO GROUNDSWELL A QUARTER-ACRE OF LAND ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER. THE PASKAS ENJOYED THEIR SPOT ON THE WISCONSIN RIVER FOR MANY YEARS AND ALWAYS PLANNED A CONSERVATION FUTURE FOR THE PROPERTY. THE RIVERWAY IS ONE OF WISCONSIN'S GREAT CONSERVATION SUCCESSES. IT IS A PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP THAT PROTECTS THE SCENERY, WILDLIFE, AND HISTORICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ALONG 92 MILES OF THE RIVER FROM PRAIRIE DU SAC TO WYALUSING STATE PARK. STREAM HEALTH, FLOOD CONTROL, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR A LONGER BIKE/HIKE TRAIL WERE THE INGREDIENTS THAT LANDOWNER FRED WOLF MIXED TOGETHER IN NOVEMBER FOR A NEW STREAMBANK AND TRAIL EASEMENT ON HALFWAY PRAIRIE CREEK. LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE VILLAGE OF MAZOMANIE, THIS TEN-ACRE EASEMENT HAS TWO MAIN PURPOSES: STREAMBANK RESTORATION AND EXTENSION OF A POPULAR HIKE/BIKE TRAIL. THE EASEMENT JOINS THE WOLF RUN TRAIL THAT LINKS MAZOMANIE WITH WISCONSIN HEIGHTS SCHOOL. IT IS PART OF AN AMBITIOUS TRAIL THAT WILL ONE DAY CONNECT MADISON AND MIDDLETON WITH SAUK CITY, PASSING THROUGH CROSS PLAINS, BLACK EARTH, AND MAZOMANIE.THE TOWN OF DUNN AND GROUNDSWELL PERMANENTLY PROTECTED 53 ACRES OF FARMLAND IN THE TOWN. IN 23 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOWN, WE HAVE PROTECTED 33 FARMS. BEHIND EACH OF THESE FARMS IS AN INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY WHO KNOWS THE VALUE OF LAND. EACH OF THEM HAS CHOSEN TO LEAVE A LEGACY OF LAND PROTECTION. LAST NOVEMBER, JOHN GEFKE LEFT HIS LEGACY. THIS IS THE LATEST CONSERVATION SUCCESS FOR THE TOWN'S RURAL PRESERVATION PROGRAM.AT PATRICK MARSH, GROUNDSWELL UNVEILED AN INTERACTIVE SCULPTURE TO SUPPORT EVERYONE'S CONNECTIONS TO NATURE THROUGH ART. DESIGNED BY STUDENTS AT SUN PRAIRIE'S PRAIRIE PHOENIX ACADEMY AND WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THE SCULPTURE DEPICTS A PHOENIX RISING OUT OF FLAMES. THE STUDENTS CHOSE THIS DESIGN TO REPRESENT THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT NATURE, RESILIENCE, SECOND CHANCES, AND PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY GROWTH. FOR THEM, BEAUTY CAN RISE THROUGH ADVERSITY. DON SCHMIDT, A METAL ARTIST AND CONSERVATION EASEMENT LANDOWNER IN THE TOWN OF DUNN, BROUGHT THIS SCULPTURE TO LIFE. THE DESIGN INCLUDES A PHOENIX STANDING MORE THAN TWELVE FEET IN THE AIR ABOVE STEEL FLAMES.OUR SUMMER INTERN PRAIRIE PARTNERS CREW IMPROVED WILDLIFE HABITAT AT WESTPORT PRAIRIE AND PATRICK MARSH AND GAINED VALUABLE WORK EXPERIENCE ABOUT MANAGING NATURAL AREAS. GROUNDSWELL SUPPORTERS AND THE PUBLIC ENJOYED NATURE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING A WINTER STORY HIKE AT PATRICK MARSH, A VIRTUAL BIRDING TOUR, AN EARTH DAY SCAVENGER HUNT, AND A NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP.AT WESTPORT PRAIRIE, OUR DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS SPENT A BRIGHT WINTER MORNING SPREADING PRAIRIE SEED ON THE SNOW ACROSS FIVE ACRES OF CROPLAND BEING CONVERTED TO GRASSLAND. THIS PLANTING WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT FROM THE WISCONSIN HABITAT PARTNERSHIP FUND, A PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO EXPAND QUALITY WILDLIFE HABITAT. RESTORATION WORK ON THE WEST SIDE OF PATRICK MARSH, SUPPORTED BY THE JOHN C. BOCK FOUNDATION, REMOVED INVASIVE BRUSH AROUND THE KETTLE POND. NEARBY TREES WERE REMOVED FROM THE VICINITY OF A 25-ACRE FIELD WHERE PATRICK MARSH MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL PLANT PRAIRIE NEXT YEAR. THE NEW PLANTING WILL PROVIDE A BEAUTIFUL TRANSITION FROM PRAIRIE TO OAK SAVANNA TO WETLAND. MANY HMONG ELDERS ARE LIVING WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND DEPRESSION BECAUSE THEY SURVIVED NON-STOP TRAUMA THEIR WHOLE LIVES. GARDENING IS A THERAPEUTIC ANTIDOTE TO THESE DISORDERS. IT IS A LIFELONG ACTIVITY FOR THE ELDERS AND IS RESISTANT TO MEMORY LOSS. GARDENING ALSO ALLOWS THE ELDERS TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES, CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR SENSE OF WORTH AND CONNECTING THEM TO NATURE. SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC IN 2020, HMONG ELDERS HAVE BEEN SOCIALLY ISOLATED AT HOME AND THE ISOLATION HAS INCREASED THEIR FEELINGS OF MEANINGLESSNESS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN HEALING CENTER, THIS YEAR GROUNDSWELL IS CREATING ACCESS TO LAND FOR THERAPEUTIC HEALING FOR HMONG ELDERS LIVING WITH PTSD, DEPRESSION, AND DEMENTIA. THE ONE-ACRE THERAPY GARDEN IS LOCATED AT OUR WESTPORT FARM EAST OF WAUNAKEE.GROUNDSWELL CONSERVANCY WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1983 AND HAS PERMANENTLY PROTECTED MORE THAN 13,000 ACRES OF IMPORTANT LAND AND WATER. GROUNDSWELL IS ACCREDITED BY THE LAND TRUST ACCREDITATION COMMISSION.