Holiday Greetings from Upham Woods!
Thinking back on 2020, this past year has been dominated by numbers. This year has further demonstrated the importance of data literacy, something we teach and support in student skill development at Upham Woods.

With 2020 behind us now, we have our own quantitative data to share: 
  • 14 Wisconsin Coastal Quests in the Coastal Guide supporting place-based virtual education on Wisconsin coastal issues.
  • 4,356 hours of conservation service invested in the Wisconsin landscape through raising monarch butterflies, removing invasive species, planting native species, building trail, and others.
  • 4 UW-Madison graduate and undergraduate student courses used Upham Woods as a research site.
  • 3,413 number of youth and adults participating in Upham Woods programs and events.
  • 9 virtual conference sessions sharing our knowledge and stories with our communities. 
While we can quantify our accomplishments in this way, the numbers need context or the story behind the numbers to mean something more. The Wisconsin Coastal Quests were built out of a new partnership with Wisconsin Sea Grant. The conservation hours total was possible because we moved our conservation challenge online and statewide with webinars and instructional videos.
2021 Marks 80 Years of Upham Woods!
First Celebration Planning Meeting:
January 22, 2021, 1pm
2020 Research Accelerators
The Research Accelerators adjusted to a virtual format this Fall and served 10 schools with an auspicious 1,941 points of contact between Upham staff and teachers and students over 64 Research Accelerator sessions. We began serving a new school this month – the 6th and 8th graders at the Doerfler School in Milwaukee.

Program Coordinators, Ariel and Johanna, also supported Escuela Verde students in designing a trail camera study of our barred owl Stella for their virtual Field Studies class. Before setting up the cameras, Ariel and Johanna shared more information about owls. Starting by showing a stuffed barred owl so they could get a better understanding of body shape and wingspan. Johanna also shared Stella’s feeding schedule and process with the class as well as a tour of the mew and then into Stella’s enclosure! Students made observations about Stella’s behavior and had the opportunity to ask questions. Before we left the mew, the students decided where they wanted to put the camera by doing a poll. The class submitted a Research Request Form to the Upham Woods Research team where they had to assess environmental impact, determine methodology, and coordinate with Upham staff to set up the experiment. Check out the scientific story they created below!
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee convened again to discuss Upham Woods updates and to prepare and look ahead to the new year. Several guest presenters described accomplishments of Upham this year including graduate and undergraduate student presentations about their work with Upham Woods. A member of the American Camp Association discussed our imminent accreditation process and the value it will provide the camp. There were also presentations by the UW campus police, the DNR master planner for the central sands plain region, and a former Upham camper and 4-H professional, Kayla Oberstadt. The group broke out into three breakout groups to discuss summer camp planning, supporting schools with year-round engagement, and planning for Upham’s 80th anniversary. 
Note from the Director
Dear Friends of Upham Woods,
Despite this being the first year in nearly 80 years that we have not had our summer camp, we have much to be thankful for and just as much to look forward to in 2021. Camps, field stations and outdoor centers just like us have weathered a really tough 2020; much of the value we deliver is in the form of in-person connections to the land and each other through time spent outside. We will return to that in some form in 2021, and I truly look forward to seeing site buzz with activity again. We made it through this time with hard work from our talented staff, a strong connection to our mission and strategic plan and, of course, through the continued support from people passionate about Upham Woods from all over the state. If you have ideas or partnerships that you think will help us bounce back in 2021, please reach out to me over the wintertime; I am all ears. We will continue to innovate and grow!
Best,
Justin Hougham, Director - Upham Woods  
Upham Woods
N194 County Road N
Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965

(608)-254-6461
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