The Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve is a community-based nonprofit organization that supports Schmeeckle Reserve, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point campus natural area. The mission of the Friends is to support the work of and advocate for Schmeeckle through engaging the local and wider communities. This is accomplished by:
Upcoming events
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Have you seen the new signs along the Trail of Reflections? As part of their Practicum in Environmental Education and Interpretation, UWSP students researched, wrote, designed, printed, and installed 8 different nature trail signs, which interpret the life cycles of animals in Schmeeckle! What makes Opossums unique? What are the hidden super powers of Spring Peepers? Where do Western Dusky Slugs live? You can find the answers to these questions and more by experiencing the new signs!
A special thank you to the students who worked so hard this semester to create these beautiful signs, and to Dr. Chris McCart for coordinating the project each semester. The signs will be on display until November.
A special thank you to the students who worked so hard this semester to create these beautiful signs, and to Dr. Chris McCart for coordinating the project each semester. The signs will be on display until November.
Our intrepid Tuesday volunteer crew made great progress on removing the old boardwalk near the visitor center this morning! It is being replaced with a new 8-foot wide, accessible walkway. Just a reminder that this portion of the Trail of Reflections/Frog Chorus Trail is CLOSED for your safety. Large sections of walkway have now been removed, and there are multiple exposed nails. Please follow the detour to safely access the lake from the visitor center.
The materials for the new boardwalk were purchased with financial gifts from numerous donors. The labor is being donated by Friends of Schmeeckle volunteers. Thank you to everyone who is making this project possible!
The materials for the new boardwalk were purchased with financial gifts from numerous donors. The labor is being donated by Friends of Schmeeckle volunteers. Thank you to everyone who is making this project possible!
It's time to start the next big Friends of Schmeeckle trail project! Starting tomorrow, May 13, portions of the Frog Chorus Trail/Trail of Reflections will be closed. An 8-foot wide, accessible boardwalk is being constructed to replace the oldest boardwalk in the Reserve, just southwest of the visitor center. The project will be completed in two phases, which will likely take most of the summer. For your safety, please do not enter the construction area. During phase 1, visitors can follow detour signs around the Trail of Reflections to continue accessing the lake from the visitor center (see the map below).
A special thank you to the nearly 30 donors whose financial gifts were used to purchase the boardwalk materials. And to our intrepid Tuesday volunteer crew who will be braving the heat, muck and mosquitoes to construct the new elevated walkway.
We'll keep you posted as the project progresses!
A special thank you to the nearly 30 donors whose financial gifts were used to purchase the boardwalk materials. And to our intrepid Tuesday volunteer crew who will be braving the heat, muck and mosquitoes to construct the new elevated walkway.
We'll keep you posted as the project progresses!
We've got some hilarious books and stickers for the snarky nature lover in your life! Stop by the Gift Shop in the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center for a laugh. M-F 9-4, Sat & Sun 10-4.
Join us this spring for Community Input Sessions! We need your feedback around our currently empty museum space: What exhibit ideas do you have? How could we use the space in an innovative way? So far, we have heard that folks are interested in ideas as diverse as a Little Free Library with a reading nook, a collection of artistic murals with soundscapes that represent the unique habitats of Schmeeckle Reserve, or a water-play tabletop with figurines of frogs and turtles for the little ones! Sign up to participate in a Community Input Session, happening on May 12th, 28th, and June 9th - you'll get a chance to hear more of the cool ideas we've already received from visitors, as well as participate in group brainstorming that will help us craft a proposal for how to use the museum moving forward! Sign Up Form: https://forms.gle/sTuHm7sCAFCFLpKN9
The Zimmerman Prairie and Savanna will be more colorful this summer! Students in the UWSP College of Natural Resources Ecological Basis for Natural Resources Management class planted 84 pots of butterfly weed that they grew as part of the course. Butterfly weed is a native, drought-adapted, orange wildflower that attracts numerous butterflies. The students also made it "snow" by sowing fluffy seeds from milkweed pods. This planting and seeding supplements the previous seeding done as part of the savanna restoration project.
This activity was in support of a much larger Landscape Scale Restoration grant from the US Forest Service focused on enhancing bird habitat. For more information on the project, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/private-land/landscape-scale-restoration/funded-projects
This activity was in support of a much larger Landscape Scale Restoration grant from the US Forest Service focused on enhancing bird habitat. For more information on the project, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/private-land/landscape-scale-restoration/funded-projects