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MSCR offers Madison lakes event

Submitted by Leah Linscheid on Friday, April 26th, 6:27 pm

Madisonians can learn more about what treasures lie at the bottom of their community lakes from a local diving expert this weekend.

Madison School and Community Recreation will hold a public conversation with Rick Krueger, a diver with more than 22 years of experience with exploring Madison’s lakes. The event will cover topics ranging from a Lake Mendota cave where Chief Black Hawk once hid to sunken boats and cars that now rest at the bottom of Lake Monona.

The event will take place April 27 at 9 a.m. at the La Follette High School. The fee is $5.

Anyone interested in registering for the talk can visit www.mscr.org and use the course number 42295 to sign up.

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Olbrich Gardens holds public input meetings for renovations

Submitted by Leah Linscheid on Friday, April 19th, 9:16 pm
Olbrich Gardens holds public input meetings for renovations

Before Madison's Olbrich Botanical Gardens see possible expansion and renovation, it’s asking for the public’s advice.

The final two of five meetings deciding the future of the garden will be held in the coming weeks. An April 22 meeting will discuss renovation plans by HGA, the architectural firm hired to evaluate how Olbrich Gardens should move forward. People who attend the meeting will be able to offer feedback on the plans.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 at the garden’s location at 3330 Atwood Ave.

A final May 20 meeting will also take place at the garden at 6:30 p.m.

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Living next door to bees: The pitfalls and perks

Submitted by Susan Endres, Madison Commons Reporter
Friday, April 19th, 2013, 5:26pm
Living next door to bees: The pitfalls and perks

Madison buzzed last year when urban beekeeping became legal, but not everyone loves living near a hive. While they are relatively few, the city has received some complaints about beekeepers over the last year.

According to zoning administrator Matt Tucker, there are 39 beekeeping licenses out in Madison, and only about three or four have had complaints lodged against them since the ordinance passed in February 2012. This is comparable to complaints about Madison's urban chicken raisers, Tucker said.

He noted the issues that most commonly come up with beekeepers have to do with the personal responsibility of keepers, like hives resting closer to lot lines than the ordinance allows.

Loni Broesch has filed multiple complaints about her neighbor and said she's miserable living next to a beekeeper.

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Area Earth Day events offer nature excursions

Submitted by Aldo Leopold Nature Center
Friday, April 19th, 2013, 3:13pm

Zoo, children's museum, nature center to host celebrations    

A variety of events this weekend tied to Earth Day celebration and National Environmental Education Week will take place in the Madison area. Events include opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, get involved in the local nature community and make a difference in the health and sustainability of the environment.

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Madison flora and fauna slowly signal spring

Submitted by Yilang Peng, Madison Commons Reporter
Friday, April 12th, 2013, 12:08pm
Madison flora and fauna slowly signal spring

Although March 20 marked the arrival of the spring equinox, Madison is still shivering in cold temperatures. According to the National Weather Service Offices, the average temperature on March 20 was 15 degrees this year, while the same day last year reached 71 degrees.

"[We've] got snow covering the ground for a longer period than normal, and we still have it now," said Levi Wood, a naturalist at UW Arboretum, after guiding a public tour titled "End of Winter" in the Arboretum on March 24. That day turned out windy and snowy, with a high temperature of 31 degrees.

"This is becoming one of the longer lasting, snowier winters any of us can remember," wrote Wood in the trip's note on the Arboretum website.

In the freezing wintry air, a few species still surfaced to herald the spring in Madison, including the skunk cabbage, a plant distributed near the Wingra Woods in the Arboretum.

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Road salt lingers in Madison’s watersheds, drinking water

Submitted by Yilang Peng, Madison Commons Reporter
Wednesday, March 27th, 2013, 5:43pm
Road salt lingers in Madison’s watersheds, drinking water

Report: Decades of salt use causes chloride levels in watershed to rise   

Every winter, George Dreckmann, the public information officer for the Streets Division, faces numerous complaints from the public about bad road conditions, asking the department to use more salt in their communities.
 
"It is our policy to not apply salt to residential streets to protect our lakes and groundwater," responded Dreckmann to one resident's complaint via e-mail.
 
The road salt, also known as sodium chloride, doesn’t simply vanish after winter.
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A year of gains and losses: How the 2012 drought affected Wisconsin agriculture

Submitted by Yilang Peng, Madison Commons Reporter
Thursday, March 14th, 2013, 8:01am
A year of gains and losses: How the 2012 drought affected Wisconsin agriculture

Economist: Crop yield down, but price spike levels revenue 

Chad Myar grows corn and soybeans and houses 44,000 chickens on his farm 20 minutes north of Madison. In the wake of the severe 2012 drought, Myar said his farm was “doing all right.”

His yields of corn and soybeans declined by 30 to 40 percent because of the drought, yet his poultry and eggs generated consistent revenue.

Wisconsin farmers and residents are still exploring the widespread and lingering effects of last year’s drought. And yet, according to an estimate from the 2013 Status of Wisconsin Agriculture report, released by the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics at UW-Madison in January, the state actually reached its second highest net farm income on record last year.

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