BRODHEAD — Join the Three Waters Reserve for a Lunch & Learn on the story of biodiversity recovery on the Sugar River. The event will be from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, June 13 at Three Waters Reserve, N3941 Golf Course Road, Brodhead. Purchase tickets and register for the Lunch and Learn session by June 7 at https://threewatersreserve.com/pages/calendar-1.
Across the globe, pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, or birds are tied into food webs and ecosystems. It is estimated that roughly one million of these species are threatened with extinction around the globe.
The health of local soils, streams, and farm fields is tied to the same web of life: deep-rooted native plants and the soil organisms beneath them are what slow floodwaters, filter nutrients out of runoff, and keep the Sugar River clean.
What was formerly the Decatur Lake Country Club and Golf Course has been restored to native prairie, oak savanna, and wetlands. This 71-acre nature reserve, now known as Three Waters Reserve (TWR), is playing a key role in the resurgence of biodiversity along the Sugar River.
Since ceasing chemical treatments and reintroducing fire to the land, officials are seeing a reappearance of rare plants such as the purple-fringed orchid and the return of nesting Sandhill Cranes on the property for the first time in over 100 years.
Join to hear the full story. The Lower Sugar River Watershed Association (LSRWA) and Southwest Wisconsin Land Conservation (SWLC) invite the community to a Lunch & Learn presentation on why biodiversity matters globally, what it means locally for flooding and water quality in the Sugar River Watershed, and how a former golf course has become a living model of what restoration can accomplish.
Stay for a guided walk through the prairie and wetland trails of the Norwegian Creek Tributary Basin. The same day as the Lunch & Learn is a free community Bioblitz. Guests are invited to join for a day of exploration and learning about the importance of biodiversity to local ecosystems.
A bioblitz is a community science event where scientists, naturalists, and community volunteers come together to survey and record as many species as possible. This bioblitz will act as a snapshot of the biodiversity within the watershed.
There will be field forays held at TWR, the Sugar River Retreat, and Headgates Park. Guests can sign up for one foray, or stay all day. They will have light refreshments and water available throughout the day, but guests are encouraged to bring their own as well. Dress for the weather.
Newly added, they have Easy Terrain Botany, Nature Journaling, self-led nature bingo cards, and tables with additional nature activities for anyone who would like to stay closer to the building while learning something new.
Learn more about the bioblitz and register at www.lsrwa.org/bioblitz.
