Monday Morning
We had 17 members at our Monday meeting at our new temporary location along with three guests and our guest speaker, Brain Kolstad. Joining us for breakfast were Lin & Beth Leeds and Chris Cooper. Gary Miller was able to put together an InterClub to the FDL Evening Club for Wednesday evening, August 14th to hear about a Police Department program on Internet crime and how the local Kiwanis Clubs might be able to help. Del Waldschmidt was the 50/50 Raffle Winner and he drew the Seven of Spades, not a winner. Next week’s drawing will have 13 cards, four pay cards and a pot of at least $505.

Brian Kolstad, Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum
Restored with seeds collected from plants found in the last original prairie remnants in Fond du Lac County, the 42-acre prairie located on the UW-Fond du Lac campus serves as a living snapshot of the wildlife and colorful landscape that was once common to this region. Adding a 4.5 acre formal arboretum representing eight types of Wisconsin forest communities, the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum provides a unique opportunity for education and the enjoyment of our natural heritage.
The project began in 1990 when a group of students and staff at UW-Fond du Lac approached Dean Bradley Gottfried with an idea to establish a prairie on campus. The majority of the land surrounding the campus was open lawn which provided no ecological benefit and was costly to mow and maintain. With the help of Bill Volkert, a naturalist with the Department of Natural Resources in Horicon, and the UW-Madison landscape architecture program, a plan was prepared and in 1992 the first 20 acres of native prairie grasses and wild-flowers were planted by volunteers. Since then the prairie has grown to include an additional 22 acres, a formal arboretum, interpretive hiking trails, a bike path, a shelter with an informative kiosk, two native wildflower display gardens, and a wildlife pond. All projects have been funded with private donations and grants. Today the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum is managed by a board comprised of educators, ecologists, and wildlife enthusiasts in conjunction with UW-Fond du Lac and the FDL County Board.