Dear Friends, Guests, and Supporters of Upham Woods;

 It is with great anticipation and excitement that I begin the Upham Woods supporters blog.  I hope you’ll take time to not only find out more about all the new, exciting happenings at Upham Woods described on this blog, but also discover the ways you can help support a place and program that is special to thousands of people throughout several generations.  

In 1941, the Upham sisters (Elizabeth & Caroline)  created one of their lasting legacies by donating the land that is now Upham Woods to the University of Wisconsin.  Through this generous donation, they were able to ensure a place and program that helps youth and adults learn and grow through the outdoor experiences that were so special to them throughout their childhood.

 After the land was transferred to UW-Extension and the Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development Program, 4-H clubs throughout Wisconsin ensured their legacy by raising funds to build the structures and programming you see today at Upham Woods.  From the dimes that the first Director, Ranger Mac, challenged individual 4-H members to bring with them to camp (which eventually allowed Upham Woods to purchase additional adjacent acreage) to the cabins which were funded by individual families and county 4-H organizations, generous contributions of time, talent, and funding became a cornerstone for making the original dream of the Upham sisters a reality.

Thank you for your interest in Upham Woods and your support of this incredible place.  

Jessica Jens
Upham Wood Outdoor Learning Center Director
Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center main website

Let’s Get Our Kids Outdoors!

We are holding a teacher training in service at Upham Woods this August, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin DPI.  We have two days of programming scheduled.  All teachers, K-12, are welcome to attend.  Participants may attend either or both of the days.

Day 1, Thursday, August 16th: A day filled with hands-on workshops to help teachers integrate outdoor education into their curriculum.  A key not address will be provided by the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Teachers will be able to participate in two of the following workshops:

• The “Why” and “How:” Research, Techniques and Best Practices for Teaching Outdoors
• Facilitation Group Activities for Life Skill Development
• Green Ribbon Schools
• A Practical Experience in Living History Programs
• Integrating Residential Environmental Education Trips Into Your Curriculum

Day 2, Thursday, August 17th: Participants will be trained in the Project WET 2.0 and Project WILD DNR curriculum.  All teachers will leave with copies of the curriculum, lots of great ideas to integrate the curriculum within existing classroom lessons, and load of other free stuff!

For more information, training schedules, and registration information, please open the Let’s Get Our Kids Outdoors! Information Packet

For teachers who also bring groups of students to Upham Woods, we are hosting a Peanut Butter Moutain Training and More! program on Wednesday, August 15th.  For more information and registration instructions on this program, please open the Peanut Butter Moutain Training and More! Information Flyer.

Staff at Upham Woods have tons of fun! Our Summer VISTA members will work daily with our education animals including our snakes and raptors.

Download the position description as an easily printable pdf document.

Do you have passion for the outdoors and teaching others about it? This is the job for you! Spend your days hiking and canoeing while teaching children in a beautiful setting right on the Wisconsin River. This position is a great way to broaden your skills by teaching environmental education programs, outdoor recreation, as well as helping in many aspects of program management and delivery.

Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center is a residential facility operated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension and located on the magnificent Wisconsin River, two miles north of Wisconsin Dells. The site consists of 14 buildings that supply lodging, meals and environmental education resources year round for youth and youth leaders. The center rests on 310 acres of forested land including Black Hawk Island, a 210-acre designated State Natural Area. This wooded property is considered one of the few remaining “old growth” natural areas of the state. The rock cliffs, shady canyons, caves and sandy beaches feature a variety of flora, fauna and unique geologic and cultural history.

About Americorp VISTA:

AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program. Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA has been on the front lines fighting to strengthen communities in America for more than 45 years.

By serving through VISTA, you’ll gain new skills, friends, and experiences—plus you’ll get the satisfaction that comes from helping others. During your service, you’ll also receive a modest living allowance, health care, and other benefits. And, upon completing your service, you can choose to receive either a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award or post-service stipend.

Dates:

June 22 – August 16, 2012; the first day of the position (June 22) will be spent in Madison at a statewide summer VISTA training for the 4-H Youth Development program (which Upham Woods is part of).  We do have some ways that we can be flexible with the dates if this time frame does not work for you.  Please ask for more information.

We also are interested in offering our Summer Intern VISTA members a pre-service three week employment.  See the “compensation” section of this position description for more information.

Specific Responsibilities:

Two Summer Intern Americorp VISTA members will provide critical support for our summer naturalists and trip leaders during our busiest weeks of the summer. By providing this assistance, you will be helping thousands of youth learn, grow, and explore in the natural environment. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Feeding and care of our educational animals which include a variety of reptiles and amphibians as well as two raptors: a red tailed hawk and barred owl
• Work with group leaders to facilitate meals in the dining hall including set-up, meal delivery, and clean-up
• Support our tripping (aka Outpost) program including check out, clean up and check in of gear;  load/unload canoes; and possibly transporting canoes to local drop off sites.
• Lead youth orientations for arriving camps
• Teach the following classes on a regular basis: Wacky Water Critters (aquatic macroinvertebrates) and Scales, Scutes, and Skins (reptiles and amphibians)
• Occasionally teach the following classes: outdoor survival, archery, orienteering, raptors
• Optional lifeguarding opportunities (if certified) include swim tests, swimming, and canoeing/kayaking
• Assist the naturalist staff member who is serving as the group’s liaison, specifically during group check-in and check-out.

Qualifications:

Ability to work in a team setting with enthusiasm and creativity and the desire to teach environmental education to school groups and weekend recreational groups. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. A number of our programs are conducted on or near the Wisconsin River, so lifeguard certification is desired. Preference will be given to applicants with training and/or experience in environmental education, natural resources or youth development.

A background check will be performed on selected applicants and is a requirement of the position.

Compensation:

This is an eight week program from June 22 – August 16, 2012.  EachVISTA will receive $892 per month for their work (total of $1,716 for the eight weeks of service), plus an additional educational award to apply to higher education (upcoming tuition or outstanding student loans), and valuable resume building experience. Summer VISTA members receive a $1,174 educational award (or $250 cash).

To help with staff and program continuity, Upham Woods is also offering the opportunity to begin working for us beginning  June 4^th.  From June 4 – June 21, we would offer you a lump sum payment of $810 ($270/week).  During this time, you would participate in our week long staff training and then begin fulfilling the same responsibilities as the Summer Intern VISTA position.  This additional appointment, prior to the VISTA position beginning, is optional.

Housing is provided.  The Summer Intern VISTAs will have private rooms in the staff duplex. Meals are provided when groups are on site.  A kitchen in the staff duplex is available for storing and preparing personal food.

To Apply:

First contact Jessica Jens (jessica.jens@ces.uwex.edu)  or Toby Grabs (toby.grabs@ces.uwex.edu)  at Upham Woods to let them know you are interested and to check the status and availability of the positions.  Next, create a log in at My AmeriCorps at https://my.americorps.gov/mp/login.do.  Search for the Upham Woods summer VISTA positions and complete an online application. Even if you have submitted a resume for our review, you must also complete the online VISTA application.  If selected, there will be a variety of other forms that must be completed through this portal.  Keep your login information in a safe place as you’ll use it often.

Come to Upham Woods and learn best practices of how to teach youth in your 4-H club, school, or group how to fish! Angler Education workshops provide training for adult volunteers to offer fishing programs in their schools and communities. The program introduces children to basic fishing skills and connects them to Wisconsin’s lakes and streams. The program will be hosted by the Wisconsin DNR on Friday, June 15, 2012 from 10 am – 4 pm.

Adults who attend the workshops receive free materials that they can use to teach their own angler education courses and help guide adventures in local water resources investigations. Fishing equipment and other supplies are available for loan to instructors.

Youth leaders, classroom teachers, fishing club members and civic leaders are encouraged to attend as a team or form one at the workshop. Start an after-school fishing club, offer it as a summer enrichment class, build a school event around a fishing clinic, or include one as part of a community festival! Materials are correlated to Wisconsin’s academic standards for grades 4 through 8, making the program an easy fit in the classroom. Additional materials are available for younger and older learners.

Lunch is provided! The program is free but you must submit a $15 workshop commitment fee, refundable upon arrival at the workshop. You may cancel up to three days prior to the workshop and your check will be returned.

What to Bring to a Workshop:

• Empty 3-ring binder
• Pen or pencil

Registration is due by June 8^th.   Download registration form: Angler Education Registration Form

If your group brings in an average of $10 per person, you'll group will be able to pour buckets of disguesting "Mystery Goop" on the Upham Staff. What will be in the buckets? You'll only know if you meet the goal!

“Coins for My Camp” is a fun way to recycle a bottle, collect spare change, and help Upham Woods in the process! All donations will go toward the Upham Woods Legacy Campaign.  We are starting this project with the 4-H summer camps, but other groups are always welcome to participate!

Upham Woods has a new Facebook page, and we are trying to get as many people as possible to “like” us!  We are giving away a free gift certificate (good for up to four people) for one of our 2012 Family Camp Weekends to two randomly selected people who “like” our FB page!  Make sure to tell your friends and “like” us before Earth Day, April 22nd.  Each gift certificate is worth up to $420!

Almost every day I run across someone who says “I remember going to Upham Woods when I was in middle school!”  Our Facebook page will help connect all of those people who have had the amazing opportunity through 4-H, school, scouts, church or other groups to come and visit this special place.  In its 71 year history, over a half million people have visited Upham Woods!

Upham Woods is again offering open-enrollment adventure trips to all Wisconsin 4-H members!  We’re starting of small this year with one Porcupine Mountain Backpacking trip and one Devil’s Lake Rock Climbing Camp.  If they are popular this year, next year we’ll grow even more and add some additional backpacking trips and even an Apostle Island sea kayaking trip.  All the information is available on our regular website’s Adventure Education page.   Here are some pictures of past Porcupine Mountain backpacking and Devil’s Lake rock climbing trips.  Enjoy!

We’ve just posted the latest edition of our newsletter, Woods Writings.  You can view it on our newsletter page or by using this link to directly view the 12 page pdf document.

Did you know that Upham Woods now offers open enrollment Family Camp weekends? Our Family Camp programs offer families a

Two aunts and their niece having fun canoeing at the October Family Camp!

vacation that gets them unplugged from their iPhones, laptops, X-Box, Wii’s and televisions.  Enjoy land and water activities, yummy meals each day, campfires, camp crafts, family adventures, our toboggan run in the winter and more!   We had our first weekend in October and the families had a terrific time!   Because of its tremendous success and requests from the families who participated, we’ve planned three Family Camp Weekends for 2012.

• February 25-26: Family Camp, Mini Winter Weekend
• August 10 – 12: Family Camp, Summer Weekend
• October 19 – 21: Family Camp, Autumn Weekend

Gift Certificates for a Family Camp Weekend are available by contacting Jessica Jens at jessica.jens@ces.uwex.edu. We’ll even send you a stuffed Upham Woods owl or teddy bear to go along with this special gift. What a great gift to give your family or a special family in your life.  What about sending grandparents and grandchildren?  All ages and abilities are welcome!

Lots of information is available the Family Camp page.

Join us next Saturday (October 8th) for our Autumn Community Day at Upham from 1 – 4 pm. Hikes on Blackhawk Island will start at 1:00 and 2:30, so don’t miss the boat to cross the river! Hikers will explore sandstone caves and keep their eyes peeled for the island’s native plants and animals. Enjoy the weather on the mainland with an autumn scavenger hunt, or take a break in the Nature Center to learn about the birds of Wisconsin, including live raptor presentations at 1:30 and 3:00, bird beak experiments and dissecting owl pellets. If you’d like more information, please contact Upham Woods at 608.254.6461 or email Jessica Jens at jessica.jens@ces.uwex.edu.