Badger Talk: Aldo Leopold, Phenology, and Climate Change

Join presenter Stan Temple as he explores Aldo Leopold’s nature journals, revealing how his observations highlight the impact of climate change and the importance of careful observation. Aldo Leopold, best known as the author of A Sand County Almanac, was a keen observer of the natural world. Throughout his life he kept daily journals recording observations of seasonal events, especially those occurring at his beloved shack on the Leopold farm, which was the setting for many essays in A Sand County Almanac. Leopold’s meticulous phenological observations have provided us with an unparalleled record of when plants bloomed, birds migrated, and other natural events. Comparing his observations of hundreds of natural events to recent records helps us understand how climate change is affecting the ecological community. One lesson of Leopold’s journals is clear: For those who love nature and take time to observe it closely, keeping records enhances the enjoyment and value of our time and effort, both now and in the future. Stanley (Stan) Temple is the Beers-Bascom Professor Emeritus in Conservation in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at UW–Madison and is currently a Senior Fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation.