The Aldo Leopold Foundation Announces the 2026 Phenology Calendar

Keep track of seasonal changes and celebrate the legacy of Aldo's daughter, Nina

BARABOO, WI, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Calling all nature lovers! Want to keep up with the seasonal shifts happening in your neck of the woods? The Aldo Leopold Foundation has just the thing to help you engage with the land: the 2026 Phenology Calendar. Phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal events, such as the first bloom of goldenrod or the return of eastern phoebes in the spring. The Phenology Calendar marks the dates for dozens of these events, inviting you behind the scenes of nature's choreography to inspire wonder and care for the world around us.

Aldo Leopold and his family began keeping phenological records at the Shack in 1935, a tradition that is still going strong today thanks in large part to Aldo's daughter, Nina Leopold Bradley. An eager observer of seasonal events at the Shack during her young adulthood, she and her husband Charles Bradley retired to the area in 1976 and continued the practice begun by her father. Later, in comparing her data to Aldo's, Nina showed that many seasonal events were occurring earlier or later due to warming temperatures; these findings, published in a groundbreaking 1999 paper, were some of the first to use phenological records to demonstrate the ecological impacts of climate change. The 2026 Phenology Calendar honors Nina's legacy and contributions while celebrating the family tradition of nature observation.

In the words of Aldo Leopold, “Keeping records enhances the pleasure of the search, and the chance of finding order and meaning in these events.” The 2026 Phenology Calendar invites everyone to discover the pleasure of the search right in their own backyard! Each month features beautiful images of animals, plants, insects, fungi, and landscapes, with corresponding sidebars written by Dr. Stan Temple: Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame inductee, and colleague and friend of Nina Leopold Bradley.

The 2026 Phenology Calendar is on sale now through the Marshland Market at the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Get yours today and open up a whole new perspective on the natural world! Calendars are available for $18.95 at www.aldoleopold.org while supplies last. Special pricing available for bulk orders.

The Aldo Leopold Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization fostering care of the land and community through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. The foundation is headquartered in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and welcomes visitors from around the world to Leopold’s famed Shack, a National Historic Landmark.

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For cover photo and supporting images of the 2026 Phenology Calendar, please contact:
Maia Buschman, Digital Communications Coordinator
maia@aldoleopold.org


Learn more about the tradition of phenology and the calendar project at this blog post.


Subject matter expert for interviews:
Dr. Stan Temple, Professor Emeritus, Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison, and Leopold Fellow: satemple@aldoleopold.org

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Maia Z Buschman
Aldo Leopold Foundation
maia@aldoleopold.org

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