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.