2/26/20 15 degrees F, sunny, calm The recent warmth of February has left the snow waterlogged and crunchy. My snowshoes are necessary for the trek to the mandala, but they’re much too loud for my liking. Five minutes of slipping and sliding through the dense snow brings me to my sit-spot […]
Read Full PostHeel, toe, and over we go, And over we go, And over we go. And this is how he did it… My summer camp memories came flooding back recently in sub-zero temperatures. In an effort to help sixth graders stay warm at the Wolf Ridge ropes course, I taught them a song I remembered from […]
Read Full PostWhat did Pete Smerud, Wolf Ridge’s Executive Director learn on his trip to several Nature Reserves in southern China? Listen to Pete Smerud’s interview with Jeff Johnson on 95.1 The One. More posts about Wolf Ridge and China The Great Human Migration In this blog series, Wolf Ridge Executive Director Peter Smerud talks about his […]
Read Full PostTo all readers, this was a post by Pete on January 14, before the coronavirus had exploded throughout the country and world. The great human migration has been massively altered this year with very limited movement due to the virus. The Great Human Migration is underway in China. This is a country in which […]
Read Full PostOctober 31st Overcast, calm, 29 degrees F The winds that played music for the dancing aspens proved too much for others in the forest. Last week, winds rocked the ridge like I have never seen. Trails that provided safe and clear passage through the storm one minute […]
Read Full PostOctober 6th, morning Windy, sunny, 45 degrees F It’s a windy day here at the mandala. The largest aspen, just a few feet in front of me, is swaying in a pendular motion. Side to side, front to back, and round in circles. There are four aspens in this stand, […]
Read Full PostOctober 1st, early afternoon ~50 degrees F, partly sunny Recent heavy rains The forest is familiar today, comforting. Although it is not how it was. Like coming home for the holidays only to realize that your parents have repainted the outside of the house; what was once an odd grey-green […]
Read Full PostWe’re excited to welcome Sarah Mayer, the new Farm Manager at Wolf Ridge. She comes to us from southeastern Wisconsin. She has a B.S. in Chemistry and Environmental Science, Natural Resource Emphasis from Carroll University, Waukesha, WI. Wolf Ridge Almanac editor Lori Walewski sat down recently to learn a bit more about her story and […]
Read Full PostKitchen remodel anticipation! Wolf Ridge alumni, Judy Gibbs, and her spouse Shawn Wentz were looking forward to renovating their 1946 kitchen. Wolf Ridge had taken on the Living Building Challenge (LBC) for our new staff housing and student dormitory. These two events were about to come together. After visiting the Wolf Ridge Open House of […]
Read Full PostSo there I was, hanging out with our raven, Korppi. We were working on her new training exercises where I ask her to pick up a pencil and jab it down onto a piece of paper, with the intention of building up to free drawing over time. Enrichment like this is critical to keeping her raven […]
Read Full PostA forest can seem very constant, immovable, and unchanging. It is easy to get lulled into a sense that a specific forested area has always been here and will always be here. However, this is actually far from the truth. A forest is a living system, and like any living thing, there is constant movement, […]
Read Full Post“Look at my rock! It’s so shiny!” “Well mine looks like it has a face in it!” Sounds of future rock collectors can be heard at the beginning of every “Geology” class now that the lesson plan has been rewritten. After spending minutes agonizing over the choice of which rock is the perfect pocket rock, […]
Read Full PostAs I meander down to Wolf Lake from the Lakeview House with fishing pole in hand, it becomes hard not to notice all the changes going on in the forest this time of year. Under the surface of the lakes there are almost just as many, going unnoticed by most. My earliest memories are of […]
Read Full PostAs I begin my second year as Chair of the Wolf Ridge Board of Trustees, I am reminded of how proud I am of the accomplishments of this amazing organization. Your support of Wolf Ridge has been critical in the success of Wolf Ridge. Wolf Ridge has educated students and adults for over 45 years. […]
Read Full PostSeptember at Wolf Ridge is the start of our year. Since we are a school, I imagine you’re not surprised by that way of viewing September. We welcomed 15 new students into our naturalist training program. Here they learn to be effective educators, whether in a formal K-12 classroom or hiking with kids along the […]
Read Full PostWhen you first view Lake Superior on the way to Wolf Ridge, it’s the size that makes the biggest impression. The vast and occasionally fog-shrouded lake keeps asking you to look at it as you drive along its shore. Large bodies of water have that attraction and this body of water is indeed large. It […]
Read Full PostTori Dahl is currently the Farm Field Manager at Wolf Ridge, a seven-month job she started in April, 2018. Her background includes B.A.s in Biology and English from California Lutheran University and from Antioch University of New England, a Masters in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Environmental Education, plus a Certificate in Food Justice and Resilient Communities. […]
Read Full Post“We should call that one The Great Pigdini!” “And that one can be named JEFF!” No matter what age of students you bring down to the farm, as soon as you allow them some free time to explore, they inevitably all end up surrounding the pigs. Meeting pigs isn’t the only highlight of the day. […]
Read Full PostIf you happen to be visiting the Wolf Ridge Organic Farm this summer, you might see some new critters stalking about. Pigs, thats right. We have 3 pigs in each of 4 pens (12 pigs total) rooting around the scrub land that was cleared a year ago. When they get moved to a new piece […]
Read Full PostI’ve had the wonderful opportunity to intern here at Wolf Ridge for the past five months. The experience was part of my undergraduate studies at University of Minnesota Duluth. This internship has taught me so many things it’s going to be hard to cram them into this small post, so I’ll focus on my top […]
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