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by Melissa Ruether We are a month out from the Spring Candlelight Hike Festival! This biannual event brings thousands of visitors to Schmeeckle for an evening of themed activities and a chance to hike torchlit trails through the Reserve. May’s theme is Fantastic Critters and Where to Find Them. During the character program, meet...

by Barbara Dixson Tim Taschwer, pictured above, joined the Executive Board of the Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve at a moment when we were primed for growth but unclear on how to move forward. Tim brought the expertise of his professional career as well as his many-decades’ love for Schmeeckle Reserve to the work of...

posted by Barbara Dixson, photos by Rae Henneman Rae explained, “I was planning to do spring birding, but then it snowed.” Lucky for us that she went wandering with her camera the fourth Sunday in March, when Stevens Point got seven inches of wet, heavy, clinging snow....

posted by Barbara Dixson, photos by Steve Faber As Steve wandered the Reserve in March, varieties of beauty met his camera. The most dramatic is of the prescribed burn in the cattail marsh, about which Steve said, “The fire picture is from one of the recent burns. The flair-up only lasts a few seconds,...

by Chris Thompson As spring approaches, visitors to Schmeeckle may notice many seasonal changes are happening.  Some common sights are robins returning, turtles basking on sunny days, plants beginning to pop through the leaf litter, and the chipmunks running about.  Another creature that you may not have noticed starting to move around in spring...

text by Barbara Dixson and Rae Henneman, photos by Rae Henneman At the end of the fall 2024 Candlelight Hike, when some Schmeeckle visitors were taking refuge in the bird viewing area of the Visitor Center to warm up, and others were zipping up their jackets and lingering on the deck, Rae Henneman spotted...

by Chris Thompson After a brief hiatus, the Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve trail cameras are back in action. For the winter, the cameras have been relocated to some creekside locations in the reserve in hopes of catching some of Schmeeckle’s inhabitants in action.  This month, we are highlighting the little seen and smallest of Wisconsin’s member...

posted by Barbara Dixson, photos by Steve Faber Steve Faber barely had to step outside his house last week to find beauty near and far: shining in the distant clouds, sparkling at his feet, and fiercely gripping the trunk of a nearby tree. Just walk into Schmeeckle with your eyes open, and you’ll meet...

posted by Barbara Dixson, photos by Rae Henneman Rae has been wandering in the Reserve (when she is not working there or taking a class there or volunteering there) and taking photos since she first came to UWSP. Here’s what she said when I asked about this group of photos: “I got a new...

posted by Barbara Dixson, photos by Steve Faber And the answer is… Red tailed hawk!...