We are not-for-profit centers, offering experiential, place-based environmental education to the schoolchildren, teachers, and families of Southern Wisconsin.

Nature Net is a service, providing free and low-cost environmental education programming to teachers, parents, and schoolchildren interested in Environmental Education in South-Central Wisconsin. From Nature Passport, a summertime, family "scavenger hunt", to Nature Express, a bus reimbursement program for nature education field trips, Nature Net seeks to increase everyone's awareness of the wonderful natural resources in our own backyard!

The History of Nature Net

Nature Net was founded in 1995 by the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in an effort to promote collaboration and educational excellence in nature education throughout southcentral Wisconsin.  Identifying nature field trip programs within a 45-minute bus ride from the metropolitan center, Nature Net began with a consortium of 16 member sites, ranging from private not-for-profit centers to governmental agency sites.  Its success in southcentral has spawned similar efforts around the State and country.

Since its inception, Nature Net has focused on making area resources available and attractive to local schools and families.  Its programs are designed to make nature education innovative, relevant, affordable, and fun!

Entirely supported by grants and contributions, Nature Net has been considered a model for regional collaboration and has been featured by the US Department of Education as a premiere example of community partnerships in education.