Have you ever had the chance to raise a puppy to adulthood or see someone you have known your whole life grow up? Well, this summer I got the opportunity to do exactly that, but with frogs. When I was told that we could add some frogs to our nature centers animal room as education […]

Summer Naturalist Brooke talks about a personal favorite (and can’t resist the puns): There are many different types of animals and critters that reside in Upham’s backyard, the Wisconsin River. One of the coolest and my personal favorite is the otter. There are thirteen known species of otter but the Northern River Otter is what […]

Program Coordinator Caleb Jenks recaps our August Session of Open Enrollment Camp, a “week of firsts”: This summer has had the largest open enrollment camp presence of any summer so far, with over two hundred total youth participating in three separate camp blocks.  With each different open enrollment, we have tried new things such as […]

We were delighted to have another successful Statewide Open Enrollment Camp, July 20-23. Once again, we were able to provide a fun and positive experience for campers from across the state of Wisconsin. A unique feature of our Open Enrollment sessions is incorporating more “free choice” activities. These are opportunities for campers to choose what they would […]

Within the last month, Upham Woods has added three new animals to the collection of reptiles and amphibians housed in the nature center. The first and largest of the newcomers is a tiger salamander named Squishy.  In the wild, tiger salamanders are Wisconsin natives, calling wet prairies, and woodlands home.  They are also the largest […]

Every year, camp Upham Woods is the setting for making many memories that stick with people for a lifetime. This comes through new experiences, exciting events, and good friends. Sometimes, we don’t know where the next bit of inspiration will come from. “Heard on the Trail” is a way to pay tribute to the experiences of our campers, […]

Summer Naturalist Rob shares an exciting fish tale…tail?: If I could describe the fishing profile of the Wisconsin River at Upham Woods in one word, it would be… slow. Maybe it’s not the best fish habitat. Maybe my fishing skills aren’t where I’d like to think they are. Whatever the reason, fish stories have been few […]

We join Marina on the trail, as she helps some campers decipher something decipher something she had never seen before: This past week, while trudging through the local wetland, a few curious students lifted tree branches out of the dense algae filled waters. “Ah! What is that! It’s slimy!” “Touch it! No you first!” I […]

Ok, so Caleb is our Program Coordinator, not technically a naturalist, but he still spends a lot of time on the trail, leading programming.  It gives him a great view of our natural world.  Check out his article about dragonflies! Summer provides the perfect season for watching metamorphosis in action. Every summer, as campers are loading […]