We’ve got a busy week ahead of sharing science to the wider world. Check out what’s on tap!
Science on Ice at the Frozen Assets Festival – Saturday, February 3rd (11am to 3pm)
Ever wonder what a limnologist does in the winter when their field site gets, well, hard? Come on out to the Clean Lakes Aliiance’s annual winter festival and hang out with CFL grad students as they drill through Lake Mendota’s ice and let you get a hands-on experience taking samples. We’ll talk long-term ice trends in Madison lakes, what fish do down there all winter and why long-term monitoring (even in winter) is important to understanding our lakes.
If that’s not enough to lure you to Mendota’s frozen shores, the CLA will have curling demonstrations, sleigh rides, complimentary hot cocoa AND the return of kites on ice!
Wildlife Science in Wisconsin: Leopold’s Legacy – Science on Tap – Minocqua – Wednesday, February 7th (6:30 – 8pm)
Come celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Science on Tap-Minocqua! Head out to the Minoqua Brewing Company for an early dinner and then, at 6:30, take your drink upstairs for a conversation about Wisconsin’s historical legacy of wildlife management and recreational hunting as part of conservation, the role of wildlife in ecosystems, and the legacy of Aldo Leopold, the 20th-century conservationist, father of wildlife management and former UW–Madison faculty member. Professor Tim Van Deelen will discuss his research and his 2015 UW-Madison online course “The Land Ethic Reclaimed.” Oh, and we’ll have complimentary Babcock Dairy ice cream!If you can’t make it to Minocqua, tune in online!
City-Dwelling Coyotes and Urban Foxes – Science on Tap – Madison – Wednesday, February 7th (7 to 8:30pm)
The newest science cafe in Madison returns to take on the Urban Wilderness – specifically how we can coexist with our coyote and fox neighbors (recently made famous on a PBS NOVA special). Join a conversation at Nomad World Pub – 418 East Wilson Street – as UW-Madison researcher David Drake talks about the Urban Canid Project he started in 2014 to better understand how these animals were making their lives among people, and, with each other. Can we work together to help lessen the chances for conflict between people and the foxes, coyotes and other wildlife that call the city home? Recently, Drake also launched The Urban Wildlife Project, a website to help homeowners and land managers in urban and suburban areas create, enhance and manage habitat for urban wildlife of all kinds, foxes and coyotes included.