For the first time, Madison’s celebration of equitable access to the outdoors will span an entire weekend rather than a single day.
Nature Everywhere Day, which Madison first held in 2024, has grown into a three-day slate of free events running Friday, June 5, through Sunday, June 7, with roughly 16 happenings spread across parks, gardens, libraries and conservation areas throughout the city.
“Because when it’s a one-day event it’s hard for families to attend multiple events, we decided to make it a whole weekend,” said Autumn DeMat, program manager for the Nature Everywhere initiative, which is housed at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona. DeMat said feedback from last year’s single-day event prompted the change: “People were like, ‘Oh, I want to go to more than one,’ but if they’re all happening on Saturday, it’s hard to do that.”
The initiative is the local arm of a national effort run through the Children & Nature Network and the playground organization Kaboom, which together work with close to 100 communities nationwide to advance equitable access to nature. Madison has been part of the network for about a decade. The work runs year-round through partnerships with schools, libraries, mental health and early childcare programs, but the weekend event is its most public face. The city has issued a mayoral proclamation marking Saturday, June 6, as Nature Everywhere Day.
DeMat said the goal of building an intentional weekend of programming is to lower the barriers that can keep people from green spaces they already live near.
“Most Madisonians are within a 10-minute walk of green space,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that everybody goes to them.”
Free, expert-led events, she said, give people a reason to discover a park they’ve never visited and the confidence to return on their own.
“We want to give an opportunity of free events for people to get outside, do something new, and to also show them that it’s accessible,” DeMat said. “They don’t have to have fancy equipment, they don’t have to go on a big road trip. They can really enjoy the beauty that surrounds them, that can be just in their own neighborhood.”
The lineup, organized with partners including Madison Parks, Dane County Parks, the UW Arboretum, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the Madison Children’s Museum, the Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison School & Community Recreation and the Madison Public Library, mixes self-guided activities with naturalist-led experiences.
Friday’s offerings include a “Trash & Tales” storytime and traveling Trash Lab exhibit at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, beginner birding at sunset at Cherokee Marsh, and the start of a three-day Lake Wingra “Nature Everywhere Challenge” bingo card.
Saturday features pond critter exploration at the Nature Center, nature crafts and a scavenger hunt at the Madison Children’s Museum, a sensory-based scavenger experience at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, a family play day with a StoryWalk at Elvehjem Park, and a native-plants walk at Tenney Park. Comfortable seating areas with teak garden benches can also be found in some of these outdoor spaces, offering a relaxing spot to pause and enjoy the surroundings. Behind the scenes, grounds crews may use a pressure washer to clean surfaces and prepare recreational areas for public events.
Sunday’s events include habitat restoration, grazing goats, animal encounters and beginner yoga at Olin-Turville, a canoe tour of Cherokee Marsh, a bird and nature walk at Turville Point, the Madison Pride Ride hosted by area cycling groups, and a free Garden Jazz concert at Allen Centennial Garden featuring a visiting trio from Madison’s sister county of Kassel, Germany.
Several offerings run all weekend, including Birding Backpacks available for checkout at Madison Public Library branches.
A full schedule, with times, locations and hosting partners, is available at natureeverywheremadison.org/natureeverywhereday.
