Put Down the Rake, Let Nature Do Its Thing!

 By: Cali Martozie, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

It’s officially that time of the year when the leaves falling from the trees have sped up their pace, leaving the beautiful array of reds, oranges, purples, and yellows to settle on the soil. This means it’s time to take out the rake and throw them away, right? Well, not exactly… Instead, you can save time in yard work and leave them be!

While there may be the initial instinct to look at the yard filled with leaves and say it’s messy, then bag them up, there are harmful processes that occur when bags of leaves go to landfills. When leaves don’t have enough oxygen to decompose, they release a harmful greenhouse gas that is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, methane, which traps heat in the atmosphere. Letting the leaves stay could help everyone do their part in reducing these harmful emissions that contribute to climate change (Environmental Protection Agency, 2025) (Tangley, 2015). 

On the other hand, by letting the leaves stay, a lot of healthy and natural processes unfold that wouldn’t occur otherwise. They provide many benefits to yards as they decompose, creating a mulch that suppresses pesky weeds and places healthy nutrients back into the soil. Not only that, but leaves provide shelter for wildlife that stay overwinter, such as turtles, salamanders, toads, moths, fireflies, butterflies, and bees! By the time one starts raking, these creatures could have already found their home, and others will be left without one (Black, et .al, 2025) (Tangley, 2015) (Zoological Society of Milwaukee).

In the end, I’m not saying you have to leave all the leaves where they fall. If there are too many in one area and not a thin and healthy spread, they can be moved to garden beds, and be used to make compost, be used to make a brush shelter, or even be given to other people who will use them in the community! It is also beneficial to be careful and keep an eye out for any wandering leaves that could end up in storm drains and pollute waterways (Zoological Society of Milwaukee) (Tangley, 2015).

Go out, spread the word, and save the extra work and back pain! For more information on how to safely dispose of leaves, reach out to your local county sustainability office. If you are interested in learning more about pollinators and how to help them, keep an eye on our program calendar for our spring seasonal programs here at Beaver Creek!

Northern Saw-whet Owl Season Recap!

By: AmeriCorps Avian Field Technician, Santiago Tabares Erices

Our Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) season had a slow start but climbed to new heights. After a few nights with no owls, we captured our first two owls on October 7th. Across 29 nights of banding, we captured 192 owls, representing 169 individuals. Of these, 153 were new birds that we banded, and 14 were “foreign” recaptures from other banding stations, 3 of which we caught twice. So far, we know that one owl was from Steven’s Point, and another one was from Carpenter Nature Center! We also caught 17 “local” recaptures, and caught 3 of those a 3rd time! 

We only captured 1 male this season, along with 159 females and 9 unknowns. The male, our smallest bird of the season, weighed just 77.1 grams, while the "chunkiest" owl was 114.9 grams. This skewed ratio is normal for our station and banding stations across the nation, and new research is trying to find out where the male owls spend the winter. Our Motus station also detected an owl! Tagged in northern Wisconsin, a Saw-whet flew near Beaver Creek on its way to another station in Missouri, where it may spend the winter. 

October 19th was our busiest night, with a new station record 36 owls captured in one night! 

We hosted 3 public programs to share knowledge about the owls of Wisconsin and bird banding, focusing on the research efforts surrounding NSWO. More than 60 people attended! 

8 new volunteers attended our bander training, and our volunteer team collectively put in almost 1,000 hours this season! Some also exciting news, we banded our 2,000th owl since the start of the program here at Beaver Creek in 2004.

Thank you to all our incredibly dedicated volunteers and to the landowners we worked with. It was a wonderful season, we look forward to the next one! If you are interested in getting involved with our Citizen Science Center, visit our website for more information.

A Fang-tastic Night at Boofest!

By: Cali Martozie, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern 

On Thursday, October 30th, Beaver Creek lit up with spooky spirit as we celebrated this year’s Boofest!

After visitors checked in at the Wise Nature Center, they headed to our Storybook Hiking trail, where they were greeted with a blown-up orange and grey arch with floating ghosts. There, waiting for them throughout the trail were stations with our Environmental Educators, eager to hand out candy, and teach the creepy crawlers of Beaver Creek… Moths, black bears, salamanders, bees, opossums, cockroaches, termites, and dandelions! Once the trick-or-treaters filled up with candy and nature knowledge, they were met with cozy campfires where they could warm up with some hot apple cider and s’mores.

Inside the Wise Nature Center, visitors made their way to the Auditorium for a reading of I’m Not Scary or The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin, and the chance to see some of our very own animal ambassadors here at Beaver Creek, Luna the Barred Owl and Mickey the Eastern Fox Snake! The attendees could then go downstairs to our Woodland room, where both parents and children unlocked their creativity to paint a variety of beautiful pumpkins.

To end the night, and new this year, was our Halloween Candlelight Hike! Before the event, our Beaver Creek staff set up over 30 Jack-O-Lantern paper bags with luminaries inside across our trails. At 6:30, as the sun disappeared from the sky, guests had the opportunity to follow their light as they began their journey behind the nature center and made their way back to the parking lot by traveling down stairs, through the woods, and past the creek!

All in all, this year’s festivities were a success due to the hard work of our staff, volunteers, and the over 460 visitors who showed up to celebrate with us, making this year our biggest Boofest yet! If you are interested in joining us at more events like these, visit our Beaver Creek calendar for more information. 

Get Outside, Spot the Leaves!

By: Cali Martozie, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

As the summer season comes to a close and the shift into fall begins, the world around us begins to change. People begin to be more tired as daylight hours become scarce. Animals become more active as they scurry around, searching for food and collecting pieces of their environment to build their homes for the winter months ahead. Other animals go out in search of a mate or migrate south. The temperatures drop and the air turns brisk as we tilt away from the sun, leaving the summer humidity behind. Most notably, the foliage around us changes colors.

Like many animals and other living things, trees need to find a way to survive through the coming winter. To do so, some trees need to shed their leaves, causing them to change color, illustrating to the world that change can be beautiful as it fills up with reds, browns, gold, and even purple. Here in Wisconsin, these colors can even tell you what type of tree it may be.

If you take a stroll outside, you can spot oak trees that will show off hues of reds and browns, while a dogwood tree will display leaves that are purplish-red. Various colors of yellow can be spotted from hickory trees’ bronze, birch’s bright yellow, and poplar’s golden hue. Then, there are a variety of maples, such as a sugar maple that can be orange and red, a black maple that shifts to brilliant yellow, and red maples that turn scarlet (Wisconsin DNR).

The next time you go outside, take a good look at the world around you to fight the sleepiness that comes with the season. Play a game of “name that tree,” and enjoy the processes that are taking place right before your eyes. See what animals you can spot scrounging for food or sticks for their homes. Since they’re not always visible, keep your ears peeled for the rustling of leaves, for there could be a squirrel or a deer nearby! You may even hear the hoot of an owl or a bird chirping. Enjoy the change while it happens before it's over, and the winter months settle in.

Before the fall season ends, join us at Beaver Creek to enjoy all the processes and changes that come with it. Step on some crunchy leaves on our 9 miles of trails suited for both beginner and experienced hikers. Try and see how many different animals and trees you can spot! 

If you are a member with us, a University student, or have an active Military ID, you can get in for FREE. Non-members are free for those 2 and under, $5 for youth 15 and under, and adults are $8. We are open Monday - Saturday from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM and Sundays from 12:00-4:00 PM. We’d love to see you stop by and enjoy our wildlife before it gets cold!

Bat-tling the Stigma: The Truth About Our Nocturnal Friends

By: Cali Martozie, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

If you’re anything like me, you were warned to steer clear of bats at all costs. Since I was never told why, I assumed everyone was trying to protect me from a creature that would hurt me. It didn’t help when I discovered vampires—people that could transform into bats and feast on human blood as soon as the sun set. With these preconceptions about bats, whenever people told me another scary “fact,” I automatically believed what they said to be true.

One of the biggest, and might I add scariest, things people are told to believe is that bats drink human blood.

Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)
Photo by Bat Conservation International

While there are species of bats that drink blood, only three out of fifteen hundred species have the capacity to ‘drink’ human blood. The most common of those three bats is the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus). They live in tropical and subtropical areas such as parts of Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. Their diet mainly consists of mammal blood, specifically livestock, and sometimes birds and larger animals. It is extremely rare that they would ever go for humans. To feed, they cut their prey using their sharp incisors and lap, not drink, the blood that comes out. Typically, their prey doesn’t even notice this is happening, as this feeding doesn’t hurt them due to their saliva containing an anticoagulant enzyme. The enzyme not only helps them feed and makes it less painful for their prey, but the enzyme in their saliva is also used in stroke medication (Bat Conservation International, 2025)(Klockzien, 2025)(National Geographic).

Then, there’s the notion that bats will fly into people’s hair and get stuck!

Little Brown Bat

The only reason a bat would actively fly near a human is that their food is flying around them, bugs. Because of their great eyesight and use of echolocation, this is rare, as it helps them avoid humans and other large objects to find what they need. Mainly, a bat will only be near someone by accident. Overall, they are not interested in interacting with humans, much less attacking them as their instincts favor them fleeing when there is a threat rather than confronting it (Klockzien, 2025).

Finally, there is the idea that all bats have rabies.

In general, less than 1% of bats have rabies, and animals such as dogs, skunks, raccoons, and foxes are more likely to have it. The main reason they are the leading cause of rabies-related deaths is due to humans not fully being aware that bats can contract rabies and their high population around the United States. It is a good idea to be mindful that bats should be avoided, especially if they are acting strangely, even if there is a low chance the bat could bite someone, have rabies, and give it to them. Being mindful and understanding bats can help lessen this risk (CDC, 2019)(Klockzien, 2025).

Misconceptions like these are what lead people to forget the importance of bats and can make it harder for people to want to support research in saving their populations. They pollinate plants in tropical areas, such as banana plants and agave, and disperse seeds. They even save billions of dollars in payments for pesticides and crop damage just through keeping the bug population in check. By being informed about the truth of our furry nocturnal friends, they can continue to live healthy lives, and research can go towards restoring their populations that are being harmed here in the United States by White Nose Syndrome, a fungus that interrupts their hibernation, leaving them to starve. In turn, they will help our ecosystems thrive while saving us from an overpopulation of bugs (Bat Conservation International, 2025)(Celley)(Klockzien, 2025)! 

If you are interested in working with bats and volunteering, keep an eye on our program calendar for bat programs or contact our Citizen Science Center to get involved!

Native Plant Sale Opening Soon!

 By: Amanda Lamm, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

The geological consensus is in: April showers are officially here! And you know what that means… Starting Wednesday, April 30, Beaver Creek is having their annual online Native Plant Sale! New this year, we've added bundles to our sale, perfect for people looking to attract certain species, or for beginner gardeners. Our bundles of Wisconsin wildlife-friendly plants come in three types; each designed to attract bees, butterflies, or birds. 

Calico Aster

May the flower ‘bee’ with you, and plenty of pollinators, too, with our bee bundle! As the breadbasket of the U.S., bees play a massive role in our agricultural success through pollination, not to mention their help in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and, well…honey!

This bundle includes:

• Anise Hyssop, a drought tolerant plant with a plethora of petite purple blossoms

• Spotted Bee Balm, its willowy petals range in color from pink to maroon

• Calico Aster, an ivory cluster of disc-like flowers

• Early Figwort, a particularly nectar-rich plant that blooms from May to July

• Common Ironweed, a plant with spectacular magenta blooms especially valuable to native

Common Milkweed

Turn your yard into a free-range butterfly garden with our next bundle! In addition to being pollinators, the presence of butterflies is a great indicator of a healthy ecosystem. The bundle has nectar plants as well as host plants which are essential for butterflies. This includes:

• Common Milkweed, the Monarch butterfly’s host plant on which they exclusively lay their eggs

• Prairie Blazingstar, a plant that features electric purple blooms and attracts all types of pollinators

• New England Aster, bold and late-blooming, this plant provides for butterflies well into the fall

• Wild Bergamot, known for its medicinal properties, it’s butterfly-approved too

• Brown-eyed Susan, a drought tolerant plant sporting abundant yellow coneflowers

Cardinal Flower

The birds! Not Hitchcock’s, but Wisconsin’s diverse range of native aviators (and Turkeys, too)! In addition to pollinating, birds are responsible for seed dispersal and nutrient recycling.

This bundle includes:

•  Cup Plant, standing tall at six feet, its seeds provide birds with a hearty meal

• Cardinal Flower, hued as the bird of its namesake, this plant specifically attracts hummingbirds

• Purple Coneflower, this beautiful prairie bloom is deer-resistant, but bird-attracting

• Little Bluestem, a native grass that’s seeds keep the songbirds fed

• Round-headed Bush Clover, a rose-hearted flowering plant whose seeds feed songbirds and game birds alike

Our online sale opens at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, April 30. The online store closes Wednesday, May 7 at 4:00 PM with order pick-up being at the Wise Nature Center on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10. Some plants will be available to purchase in-person during order pick-up, but most plants will be sold online. To view the list of available plants and plan your garden, you can head to- https://www.beavercreekreserve.org/events/native-plant-sale/

Women in Conservation Unite-Hike!

By: Amanda Lamm, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

On Friday, March 14th, we here at Beaver Creek celebrated women in conservation with an informative PowerPoint presentation and 1.5 mile hike on our trails, amongst Silver Maples in the midst of tapping season. 

The evening began inside the Wise Nature Center, where staff members gave a presentation on women’s representation in the field of conservation. Attending the event were women of all ages and from all walks of life; some worked in the field of conservation and others simply appreciated it. We gathered to learn about the lack of representation of women in this field and to celebrate the accomplishments of the phenomenal women, such as marine biologist and writer, Rachel Carson, chemical engineer and former administrator to EPA, Lisa P. Jackson, Potawatomi botanist and author, Robin Wall Kimerer, and English zoologist, primatologist, and anthropologist, Jane Goodall. 

After the presentation, we headed outside on the beautiful early-spring evening and made our way along the yellow trail, field guides and binoculars in hand, hoping to catch sight of a wing or two in motion. Along the trail, we spotted a few birds (namely two noisy geese), a few whitetail deer, dozens of Silver Maples, and glacier-like sheets of ice still clinging to life on the shores of Beaver Creek. We, a community of women, celebrated women in conservation in the best way we knew how; sharing knowledge, getting outside, and acquainting ourselves with each other and the promise of spring.