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The Children's Shack
The Children's Shack is a historically accurate, child-scaled
replica of Aldo Leopold's famous retreat.
 Designed to teach children about Aldo Leopold and the simplicity
with which he lived on the Wisconsin landscape, "The Children's
Shack" is a joint project of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, the
Aldo Leopold Foundation, and The Renschler Company who donated materials
and labor. Local craftsmen, carpenters, building suppliers, and
community members also contributed to the project.
Leopold and The Original Shack
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) is known for his thoughtful essays and
his practical approach to land use. He was an internationally respected
scientist and conservationist instrumental in formulating policy,
promoting wilderness, and restoring land back to health. He was
instrumental in establishing the first official "wilderness area"
in the United States (the Gila National Forest), helped to create
The Wilderness Society, and founded the field of Wildlife Ecology.
But perhaps his biggest contribution was his articulation of "The
Land Ethic" (that we are part of a natural community of interdependent
parts) and his pioneering work in what is now known as restoration
ecology - bringing the land back to health.
Leopold's "Shack" was originally an abandoned chicken coop that
his family renovated in the late 1930's as a weekend retreat near
the Wisconsin River. At the Shack he and his family experimented
with land restoration on a worn out farm in the sand counties of
Wisconsin. It was this location that inspired most of the essays
found in his landmark work, A Sand County Almanac. Published in
1949, the Almanac has been translated into nine different languages
and is still read and studied around the world.
The original Shack is a small post-and-beam structure, constructed
with castoffs, found windows and door, and recycled wood planks.
It has a fireplace made from local stone and originally had beds
made out of snow fencing and hay. It is considered a Mecca for environmentalists,
historians, and educators, and has the distinction of being the
only chicken coop on the National Register of Historic Places.
"My father would really be smiling. He would really be so
pleased, as are all of us," said Nina Leopold Bradley about
the project as she as her siblings visited the Children's Shack
on Earth Day weekend.
Bringing the Shack Experience to
Children
While Leopold's Shack is a thing of beauty, it is far too fragile
for the thousands of children and teachers who wish to visit it
each year. Specializing in hands-on, outdoor environmental education
for young children, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center offers award-winning
programs predicated on Leopold's philosophy: "teach the student
to see the land, to understand what he sees, and enjoy what he understands."
The child-scaled Shack replica will be used as a teaching shelter
and to demonstrate how Leopold lived simply and lightly on the land.
Shack Construction
Like the original Shack, the children's replica was built with found
objects and recycled materials. Siding from a demolished barn, flooring
from 100-year old planks, local stone and an assortment of old windows
found in dumpsters and dump sites completed the project and followed
Leopold's practice of using materials that floated down river to
his abandoned farm.
In addition, the contributions of others added to the authenticity
of the project. Volunteer Kenneth Kidder donated hand-made copies
of some of the rustic furniture found in the original Shack. Comments
Kidder, "When you look at this furniture made from driftwood, old
planks, and such, and the way it is made, it is so very unique.
Leopold's hand is all over this place."
At its dedication, school children planted white pine seedlings
around the building site, as Aldo Leopold and his children did at
the original Shack over 60 years ago.
The Children's Shack will be opened and used during school field
trips and for special family programs, including the
Family Backpack Program. The
Shack replica compliments other Leopold-based programming at the
Center: Its "Leopold Interpretive Trail
for Families" won the national Kodak American Greenways Award
in 1998. A video documentary for children,
"Aldo Leopold: Learning from the Land" is regularly broadcast
on public television and received the 1999 Award of Merit from the
Wisconsin Historical Society. In addition, the Center produced
"Who Was Aldo Leopold: A Small Book for Small
Children", a Leopold exhibit for children,
conducts the Leopold Education Project training for teachers, and
offers dozens of Leopold-inspired nature programs for children and
families on its site in Wisconsin. The Center's main facility was
constructed in 1997 by The Renschler Company and features green
building techniques, recycled materials, and a renewable energy
system. It also features eight historic 20-foot pine logs originally
planted by Aldo Leopold in the 1930's near the Shack.
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