About Aldo

If you are not from Wisconsin (and even if you are) the name Aldo Leopold may mean nothing to you.

That's too bad.  His name was more of a curiosity to me before moving back to the state last year.  In the course of my work, I've talked with people who were taught by him or follow the concepts of observation and conservation that would serve each of us and our planet for the best.

Leopold (1887-1948) is considered the father of wildlife ecology.  You can read more about him here, or learn more at the center in Monona, Wisconsin that bears his name.  He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and a student of the natural world.

He observed the natural world around him and took notes that allowed him to compare one year to the next.  The $10 word is phenology - the study of the timing of natural events.

When are the flowers blooming?  When do the birds leave and return?

In 1935, the Leopolds bought land in an area known as Sand country and Leopold worked in a shack like the one now on display at the center that bears his name.  It was a place for observation and game management (something he was a leader in doing in the early 1930s) that helped manage and restore wildlife populations.

We are all (or can be) Aldo Leopold.  Watch, note, remember the beauty and wonder of this wonderful creation we are blessed to live in... we do this already when we compare mental notes of one season to another... if the mental notes are committed to paper then we are doing actual science!

It's a great way to never stop learning about the world around us.