Conservation efforts at Silverwood Park are an integral part of the regenerative agricultural practices and land stewardship to which the Friends of Silverwood Park are committed.

Volunteers from both the Dane County Parks system and Friends of Silverwood Park work together throughout the seasons to develop a landscape that provides diversity of habitat across the park. A key element of the conservation work is restoration of the wooded portions of the landscape. The goal is a range of biodiverse natural communities include oak opening/savanna, oak woodland, and oak forest.

Where invasive species have been removed, kettles left behind by the receding glacier are already clearly visible. With restoration of healthy natural ecosystem, the opportunities multiply for hands-on education about nature and its cycles and the outdoor recreation so essential for physical, mental, and emotional health.

Conservation work goes on all year

Rita Fox is the Volunteer Woods Restoration Manager with Friends of Silverwood Park, directed by  Dane County staff. Volunteers are welcome any time of year.

From January to March, volunteers remove invasive brush and prepare fire breaks. Volunteer crews from Dane County, trained to operate chainsaws and conduct prescribed burns, lend a hand.

From April to mid-June, we focus on preventing invasive species like garlic mustard, leafy spurge, and canary grass  from spreading their seeds, by removing what we can and treating with herbicides where necessary.

Throughout the summer months we mow weeds and continue routine treatment and removal of invasives.

From September to early spring, we return to cutting and stacking invasive brush for removal. When the ground is frozen, crews are able to work near the oaks without damaging them, so removal of undesirable tree species is done then. When snow depth reaches an inch, trained volunteers can burn the brush piles.