2014 Update
The Eagle Nature Trail has been selected as the 2014 recipient of the Virginia M. Kline Award for Excellence in Community-Based Restoration, a program administered by the Friends of the UW-Madison Arboretum and the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
As a place for wildlife and people, we are happy to be part of the National Wildlife Federation’s habitat program. Recent sightings/hearings include turkey, ducks, bluebirds, dragonflies, butterflies, frogs and toads.
Providing habitat for the critters, the prairie — on both sides of the trail — should be fuller and stronger each year. The area was planted in June of 2011 and was slow to start because of two very hot and dry summers. We are proud of the diversity of plants that have evolved and offer their food/seeds and habitat protections.
We are also part of the Wild for Monarchs campaign to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. Eagle Elementary School students participated in our Annual Milkweed Pod Throws for 6 years which helped to plant the milkweed that monarchs need.
In spring or early summer each year, the students have also planted native plant plugs. The plants have been provided by several grants: our Seeds for Education Grant–provided by Wild Ones, and The Go Outside Fund–provided by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and by the Eagle Nature Trail Committee.
Please look for our seven World Trade Center swamp white oak trees inside protective cages. They were donated by Phil Hall and the Eagle Lion’s Club. A school-wide assembly presented the trees as a way to honor the people who were tragically affected by the events at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In remembrance, the trees are cared for by the children at Eagle Elementary School.
We continue to be appreciative of the donated hours from organizations like the local Boy Scout troops, Palmyra-Eagle High School National Honor Society and the Eagle Lion’s Club and many individual community members.
Location
The trail is located between Eagle Elementary School and the Alice Baker Memorial Library. Start your walk from either the school’s visitor parking lot or the Eagle Municipal Building’s parking lot.
Vision and Mission
Eagle Nature Trail’s mission is to achieve an environmentally-friendly connection between the Eagle Elementary School and the Alice Baker Memorial Library, linking two institutions of knowledge and learning. It provides volunteer opportunities and educational experiences to the citizens and children of Eagle and surrounding communities.
History
Begun in the fall of 2009 by two Alice Baker Library board members, David Traver and Dr. Frank Nardine, serious trail work did not begin until organizational meetings in early 2010. A mission statement and goals were established. The clearing of buckthorn for the prairie area and trail occurred in the summer of 2010, with the traffic bond for the foot path installed in time for the school year. In November of 2010, a $7000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation and the donation of a day’s work from 40+ members of the Home Depot team provided the trail and community with many wooden structures to enjoy: a circular tree bench, an outdoor amphitheater/classroom, a boardwalk to the pond, and five Aldo Leopold benches.
Community Volunteers
The Eagle Nature Trail is an all-volunteer, community effort … join us!
VOLUNTEERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!
We regularly hold work days–ranging from 1-4 hours long–to focus efforts on a particular project.
Committee Meetings
- Do you have suggestions for us? Would you like to help guide our work? We meet on the third Monday of each month, except December. Meeting at 4 p.m. in the small conference room of the Eagle Municipal Building, we welcome everyone to attend our meetings. Watch for posted agendas in the library or village office areas.
- Eagle Nature Trail Year End Review
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