Stop by the Hoard & Curtis Scout Camp next to the Lake Ripley boat landing to see "fish sticks" at work!
Karen Joyce
Dawn Westio
Jenna Neumiller
We would like to thank the Cambridge School District for participating in our Pontoon Classroom. It was a great day to have Ms. Leverson's class learn about Lake Ripley. This great group of students collected water quality data, sampled bottom sediments, discussed the watershed, and identified aquatic plants. Thank you to Paul Garrison from the WNDR for participating!
Photo Credit: P. Leverson
Below are a list of simple lake friendly practices that help keep Lake Ripley beautiful. Click on each link to learn more!
We have partnered with the WDNR, Friends of the Glacial Heritage Area, USFWS, Cambridge School District and the Severson Educational Center to help control purple loosestrife, an invasive wetland plant. Students helped to collect plants that were used to grow beetles that feed only on purple loosestrife. Beetles were released in wetland areas with known purple loosestrife populations. Over time, the beetles will chomp plants down, stressing the plants, which provides an opportunity for native wetland plants to reestablish. Thanks to all our partners for their help in restoring our precious wetlands!
Students helped to dig up purple loosestrife from wetland areas.
Nets surround the plants used to host beetles. Each plant will receive 10 beetles that will reproduce and can yield 100 times more in just 4 weeks!
Beetles are collected in the wild and sent in bags for us to place them on our plants. Board Member Georgia Gomez-Ibanez uses a respirator to suck up beetles into a vial for placement in our netted pots.
