A Guided Visit to the APT Prairies – Part 1

A quick guide to observing nature here and everywhere.
By Grace Vosen

We at APT are proud to have a tradition of caring for our natural landscapes. The first step for any aspiring land steward—as it was with us—is to observe the present condition of the land before you set to work.

Part 2 of this series will be a crash course on the native landscapes of southwestern Wisconsin. First, though, your assignment is to take this self-guided “noticing tour” so you can start to make natural observations for yourself. The goal is not to find the right answer, but to get used to reading what the landscape has to say.

Pick one location and stay seated or standing there during these exercises. Feel free to bring your friends and family along, but be careful of fellow patrons if you get lost in thought!

Repeat as needed throughout the summer and across the varying landscapes of APT: the pathways, the Prairie Overlook and Oak Savanna Trails, or the Hill Theatre itself.

Look:

• Looking all around your location, notice the trees or lack thereof. Are they scattered apart or packed together? Are they randomly placed, or have they been planted in a neat grid?
• How would you describe the landscape in this area (steep, flat, rolling, gentle, or another word)? Take time to notice if there are different plants growing in areas with different topography.
• If you can see rocks or soil from your spot, how would you describe these? Can you find anything growing on or among the rocks?
• Notice how much sunlight is reaching the ground in this area. Are there different plants growing in areas with more sun or more shade?
• Do you recognize any of the trees or wildflowers from where you live?
• Is there a wide variety of plants, or are there areas where only one plant is growing?
• Look for differences in the shape, height, texture, and color of the plants. If you’re seeing a lot of plant diversity in a small area, you just might be in a prairie!
• Make a note or sketch of the plants that have formed flowers. Come back a few weeks later and see if this has changed.

Listen:

• How many different bird sounds do you hear in two minutes?
• Can you hear insects (mosquitoes included)?
• Are there other natural sounds that you can’t identify?
• What sounds are being made by the current weather conditions?

Imagine:

• You have been asked to describe the APT property to someone who has never seen it. What aspects of the natural landscape would you mention?
• You are a farmer growing crops in this area. Which parts of the landscape would be the easiest to farm (hint: which parts are being farmed today)? What might you do with the other locations?
• Picture how this same spot may have looked ten, fifty, one hundred, and one thousand years ago. What human activities are happening here? How do you think the people in each era feel about the landscape?
• Return to 2025 and congratulate yourself on a successful day of reading the land!