Dear Friends...
Updated: Jan 6, 2020
2018 was an exciting year for the Wisconsin Friends of John Muir.
In spring, Bobbie Erdman from the Berlin Area Historical Society came to our annual membership meeting to talk about ship builder George D. Ryan from the perspective of his daughter Elizabeth. The Fox River was a bustling thoroughfare in John Muir's neighborhood and steamships similar to the ones George Ryan built would have been a common sight for the young Muir. A few weeks later we welcomed Tracy Hames from the Wisconsin Wetlands Association who taught us about the importance of isolated wetlands.
We celebrated Muir’s birthday in April with the unveiling of our new interactive John Muir Nature Center at Family Adventure Day thanks to a Besadny grant from the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. This combined with the Earth Day clean up and saunter at John Muir Park made for a great day. The celebration continued the following week when we co-hosted a B’EarthDay Party in Madison with the group Connecting Whitehorse Families. This event celebrated Muir’s birthday, Earth Day and Arbor Day and featured a number of fun activities such as tree climbing and tree planting. We are thankful to MORE Healthy Foods for providing the delicious Scottish dinner at our annual fundraiser and the opportunity to spend the evening with our friends and supporters.
In summer, we co-sponsored the Walk when the Moon is Full children’s saunter with the Marquette chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance and held a children’s archaeology camp taught by Board member Seth Taft.
In autumn, we welcomed Jeb Barzen for a program on the Healthy Grown Standard. We also explored the Fox River Wildlife Refuge during the annual Fall Color Hike.
In winter, we worked on developing a fundraising campaign to raise funds to permanently protect land near Knights/Mulhern Lake where a young John Muir was baptized by his father.
Throughout the year we worked on managing the wild areas near Muir’s boyhood home and focused on organizational development to ensure our ongoing success and longevity.
On behalf of the Wisconsin Friends of John Muir Board of Directors we thank you for your generous support of our work to preserve the spirit and legacy of John Muir, the landscapes of his boyhood, and the park that is dedicated in his honor.
Thank you,
Tiffany Lodholz
President
Wisconsin Friends of John Muir