By Libby Humphries, WisCorps Environmental Educator When I was a child growing up in the metro-Atlanta area, my public education was greatly limited to the confines of a brick-and-mortar building. Tales of plate tectonics and photosynthesis were recited like oral tradition, with only illustrations in textbooks to supplement my teachers’ words. Learning about these real-life [..Read more]
By Jackie Rath, Program Coordinator On most weekdays around noon, Ridges staff make their way to the center table in the back offices to eat lunch. While this routine might feel repetitive, the conversations from these gatherings are anything but. Around this table, I have learned so much from my coworkers through their fascinations and [..Read more]
Published by Peninsula Pulse, Craig Sterrett – March 14th, 2024 A crew’s careful tree-cutting operation near the historic Baileys Harbor Range Lights served two restorative purposes, leaders at The Ridges Sanctuary said. During a narrow window of cold temperatures and snow cover this winter, workers cut and removed trees and brush without harming the fragile [..Read more]
By Dan Scheiman, Visitor Engagement Specialist During this mild El Niño winter, it feels like spring is just around the corner here in Door County, and it certainly is according to the calendar, if not according to phenologies such as bud burst and frost-free days. Birds’ annual cycles are better defined as breeding, non-breeding, and [..Read more]
Published by Door County Pulse – February 15th, 2024 To raise awareness in the community on how to protect Wisconsin’s owl species, The Ridges Sanctuary will host its annual Owl-O-Rama on March 1 and 2. The Owl Prowl on Friday, March 1, 6-8:30 pm, begins with a presentation at the Nature Center by Ridges Sanctuary [..Read more]
By Anna Foster, Director of Programming As we delight in above-average temperatures this January, it’s easy to forget how the warmer days occurring now could impact what Lake Michigan looks like next summer. While we’re complaining about the lack of ice fishing and snowmobiling (or, in my case, snowshoeing), we don’t often consider how this [..Read more]
Published by Green Bay Press-Gazette, Christopher Clough – January 20th, 2024 FISH CREEK – The Gibraltar Area School District is offering 4K students the chance to take part next year in one of the most unique learning opportunities around – a mostly outdoor opportunity. That’s because the school district entered a partnership with The Ridges [..Read more]
Published by NBC26, Katlyn Holt – January 19th, 2024 (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story) The days of traditional school may be over before they even started for some of Door County’s youngest students. I’m your Door County neighborhood reporter Katlyn Holt, and while a new type of 4K isn’t a [..Read more]
By Dan Scheiman, Visitor Engagement Specialist On Saturday, December 16, I participated in the Ephraim Christmas Bird Count. As a new Wisconsin resident and Ridges employee, it was my first time on this count, which has been going on for 60 years as part of an annual community science program, now in its 124th year. [..Read more]
By Door County Pulse, Peninsula Pulse – December 14th, 2023 Nature-based, 4-year-old kindergarten programming will return next school year to The Ridges Sanctuary, and this time it will become one of three public 4K options in the Gibraltar Area School District. Approved unanimously Dec. 11 for 2024-25 by the Gibraltar school board, the classes based in the indoor classrooms [..Read more]
