Tag: native plants

Riveredge Bioblitz

July 11 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Riveredge Bioblitz

What’s crawling, flying, hopping, and growing at Riveredge? Help us find out! Whether you’re an amateur, an expert, or a kid, Riveredge welcomes citizen scientists of all ages to our annual Bioblitz at Riveredge on July 11! During this free event, participants contribute to the monitoring and inventory of plants, birds, insects, and fish alongside field experts! This year, we’ll be collecting observations on the main campus, with a special focus on the state natural area surrounding Riveredge creek!

Participate for all or part of the day. Wear walking shoes and pack a bag lunch if you’re staying for the day.
Before you arrive, please download the iNaturalist app, login or sign up, and see below for instructions.

All ages welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
This event is free for everyone!
Pre-registration is not required, but highly recommended so you can be notified of any changes due to weather.
Questions? Contact Jana Gedymin at jgedymin@riveredge.us or 262-375-2715.

Register Here

an adult taking a photo of a turtle in a pond on their phone

How to Get Set up on iNaturalist before the Riveredge Bioblitz

1. Download iNaturalist App: Apple  or Android

2. Create an account (free, requires email)

3. Join the Riveredge Bioblitz

4. Make observations

iNaturalist Video Tutorials

July 11 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Wild Plants of Wisconsin: Edible, Medicinal, Deadly

October 14 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Wild Plants of Wisconsin: Edible, Medicinal, Deadly

Most people think of the tropics when they think of incredible plant discoveries, but Wisconsin’s temperate climate and variable seasons make it the perfect habitat for some of Earth’s most amazing plants. Wisconsin is home to hundreds of species of edible and medicinal plants that have formed the way humans have used this land for thousands of years, including many species that are still coveted by specialists today. But Wisconsin is also home to some of the most poisonous plants in the world, and some of them are deceptively similar to delicious favorites. Take a hiking tour through some of Wisconsin’s most amazing plants, and learn the basics of plant safety in our wild places.

For ages 14+
Member*: $10 | Non-member: $15
Pre-registration is not required, but highly recommended.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member discount after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

October 14, 2025 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Prairie Tour: Seedling Identification and Seeding Methodology

September 26 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Prairie Tour: Seedling Identification and Seeding Methodology

In this workshop we will tour successfull prairie plantings across southern wisconsin, discuss their installation methodologies and most importantly get to know how to identify seedling prairie plants as the first signs of a successfull seeding.

For ages 14+
Member*: $35 | Non-member: $40
Pre-registration required by September 23 at 11:59 pm.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member discount after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

September 26, 2025 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Composites: Goldenrod and Aster ID

September 12 @ 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Composites: Goldenrod and Aster ID

Do you visit or manage lands with asters and goldenrods and can’t tell one from the next? This is the instruction you need. Work with regional botanist Zach Kron for both inside and field instruction on how to identify the many asters and goldenrods of Riveredge’s fields and forests. See species in their natural settings and leave with new identification skills. This event is rain or shine. Please dress accordingly.

For ages 14+
Member*: $35 | Non-member: $40
Pre-registration required by September 11 at 11:59 pm.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member discount after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

September 12, 2025 @ 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Wild Plants of Wisconsin: Edible, Medicinal, Deadly

September 2 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Wild Plants of Wisconsin: Edible, Medicinal, Deadly

Most people think of the tropics when they think of incredible plant discoveries, but Wisconsin’s temperate climate and variable seasons make it the perfect habitat for some of Earth’s most amazing plants. Wisconsin is home to hundreds of species of edible and medicinal plants that have formed the way humans have used this land for thousands of years, including many species that are still coveted by specialists today. But Wisconsin is also home to some of the most poisonous plants in the world, and some of them are deceptively similar to delicious favorites. Take a hiking tour through some of Wisconsin’s most amazing plants, and learn the basics of plant safety in our wild places.

For ages 14+
Member*: $10 | Non-member: $15
Pre-registration is not required, but highly recommended.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member discount after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

September 2, 2025 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Summer Plant ID and Management

July 18 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm & 4:15 pm – 7:15 pm

Summer Plant ID and Management Daytime and Evening Options

Get to know native and non native plant species in their natural settings and leave with a good understanding of how to and how not to manage them. In this short half day course students will tour Riveredge’s high quality and low quality habitats alongside Matt Smith. Matt serves Riveredge as the Director of Research and Conservation. He has over 22 years of experience as a restoration ecologist and is the primary manager for this project responsible for monitoring, project implementation and reporting. He has worked throughout the great lakes region as both a technician, project manager, and consultant on projects small and large scale covering a wide range of disturbance and habitat type. These classes are rain or shine, please dress accordingly.

Choose the class time that works best for you: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm or 4:15 pm – 7:15 pm.

Ages 14+ | Member: $30 | Non-member: $35
Pre-registration is not required, but highly recommended.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Riveredge has a new registration system. Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member price after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

July 18, 2025 @ 12:00 pm – 7:15 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Willow ID with Zach Kron

June 6 @ 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Willow ID with Zach Kron

Expand your restoration skillsets by getting past the genus Salix to further your understanding of willow species identification and their habitat needs. Follow Zach Kron and Matt Smith into off-trail areas of Riveredge’s uncommon habitats to find willow populations, identify species and discuss management. We will start our day in the lab to review herbarium specimens and end it in the field.

Dress for all forecasted weather, bring your knee-high boots, and pack a lunch!

Ages 18+ | Member: $45 | Non-member: $55
Pre-register by June 4 at 11:55 pm.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Riveredge has a new registration system. Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member price after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

June 6, 2025 @ 9:00 am – 2:30 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Riveredge Bioblitz

July 12 @ 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Riveredge Bioblitz

Riveredge welcomes all to our first annual Bioblitz at the new Riveredge Sandhill Property! (Sandhill is located @  4630 St.Finbars Road, Saukville, WI 53080  – park on the East side of St. Finbars Road.)

The Bioblitz is a free event where participants actively contribute to the historic monitoring and inventory of plants, birds, insects, fish and more within a fixed acreage of land and water. We’ll use photo documentation and data collection with the easy-to-use iNaturalist app. (If you’re new to iNaturalist, we’ll show you how to use it.) See below for a guide to the day–come for all or just drop in for your favorite activity.

GUIDE TO THE DAY

Anytime 8:00 am – 3:00 pm | Registration and App Orientation (Downloading iNaturalist on your phone is the first step to contributing to this citizen science community effort. We will be on-hand to give you a short tutorial to the app if you haven’t used it before! If you would like your observations to count towards this BioBlitz, you will join the Riveredge Bioblitz through the iNaturalist application on your smart device.) Our Registration and App Orientation Table will be located on the trailhead into Sandhill and open from 8:00am to 3:00pm.

Anytime 8:00 am – 3:00 pm | Bioblitz! (Once registered, simply use the app to help you identify and record everything from grass, flowers, insects, trees, birds and mammals!  Your contributions will be added to our total species list, help to inform management, and track change over time. 

8:00 am – 12:00 pm | Songbird Capture and Banding Research Observation (Mist-nets and a banding table will be set up with an ability to approach and engage researchers recording data and banding wild songbirds. The Riveredge Research Manager Jana Gedymin will lead this effort.  Jana is a Master Bander certified through the Institute for Bird Populations)

9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm | Tour Woody Plant Identification and Community Orchard Demonstration Area (Matt Smith, research and conservation director, will lead groups on a tour of wild native woody plants and the native agroforestry plantings Riveredge has established with the Savanna Institute and Great Lakes Protection Fund.  Matt has been a restoration ecologist for the last 24 years and is well-versed in teaching native species identification and ecology.  Tours will be 30 minutes long and run on the hour at 9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm

8:30am, 9:30am, 11:30 am, 1:30pm | Tour Birding by Sight and Song (Nathaniel Reinartz, conservation manager, will lead groups on an educational hike to discover the area’s songbirds by sight and song.  Nathaniel is a professional atlaser and bioacoustic technician that annually monitors birds in their habitats, conducts Wisconsin breeding bird atlas field surveys, and speciates birds through audio recordings and spectrograph analysis.  Nathaniel also leads the Friday morning bird walks at Riveredge.  If you don’t have binoculars we have enough to lend for the tour 🙂  Tours will be 45 minutes long and run at: 8:30am, 9:30am, 11:30 am, 1:30pm  

8:00 am – 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Interactive Youth Activity Table (Riveredge Environmental Educators will host fun nature-based activities t<hroughout the day in the shade)

 

All ages welcome | Children must be accompanied by an adult
This event is free for everyone!
Pre-registration is not required, but highly recommended so you can be notified of any changes due to weather.

Register Here

View or print the instructions for the iNaturalist app ahead of time by clicking the green button below!

Instruction Sheet for Getting Started with iNaturalist

July 12, 2025 @ 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

OWBC: The Cedarburg Bog

February 12 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Ozaukee Washington Bird Coalition: The Cedarburg Bog – Formation, Hydrology, Ecology, and Uniqueness

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO THE INCLEMENT WEATHER, THIS PROGRAM WILL BE VIRTUAL ONLY (not in person)

Presented by Jim Reinartz, president of the Friends of the Cedarburg Bog and former UWM Field Station director. Glaciation of the Cedarburg Bog and UWM Field Station area created pronounced topographic relief in the Bog’s basin and adjacent uplands comparable to that in the Kettle Moraine. The large size and slope of the wetland that developed in the low-lying basin results in a complex pattern of water movement responsible for a mosaic of nearly every major wetland plant community found in Wisconsin. The Cedarburg Bog is regionally unique as the last remaining large wetland with pre-settlement plant communities that were once the dominant wetland types in southeastern Wisconsin.

Ages 12+ | No registration necessary, join on Zoom at the link below.

Join on Zoom


  • Join Presentation

    Ages 12+ | Free
    No registration necessary

    Join on Zoom


  • Become a Member

    Take advantage of member benefits and discounts!

    Join Now


  • More Events

    Explore other upcoming events!

    Event Calendar

February 12, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Composites: Goldenrod and Aster ID with Zach Kron

September 13 @ 9:00 am – 1:30 pm

Composites: Goldenrod and Aster ID with Zach Kron

Do you visit or manage lands with asters and goldenrods and can’t tell one from the next? This is the instruction you need. Work with regional botanist Zach Kron for both classroom and field instruction on how to identify the many asters and goldenrods of Riveredge’s fields and forests. See species in their natural settings and leave with new identification skills. This event is rain or shine. Please dress accordingly.

Ages 14+

Members*: $35 | Non-members: $40

Pre-registration required by September 11 at 11:55 pm.

Register Here

*MEMBERS: Riveredge has a new registration system. Please login (for the member discount) by following these instructions.

Members:

Follow the instructions using the button below to login to your member account for member discounts on programs and events. You can use this login to check your membership status, see your expiration date, and renew your membership as well.

If you don’t see the member price after logging in, need help checking your membership status, or you are unsure what email address we have on file, please reach out to our Membership Manager, Renee Buchholz at rbuchholz@riveredge.us or call the Riveredge office at 262-375-2715.

To become a member, click here

How to Register as a Member
Cancellation Policies

September 13, 2024 @ 9:00 am – 1:30 pm

Riveredge Nature Center

4458 County Hwy Y
Saukville, WI United States + Google Map
(262) 375-2715

Become a Member

Take advantage of all the benefits of a Riveredge membership year round!

Learn More