11-7-12 and 4-2-16

Mackenzie Environmental Center in Poynette not only educates people of all ages, the place is just plain fun to visit!  It had been 4 years since our last visit so it was time for some updates.  The center includes wildlife rescues, trails and education classes. Also a game farm.  They always need volunteers, see their website, Friends of MacKenzie Environmental Center. Our most recent visit was to attend their Maple Syrup Festival, that was a lot of fun!

Let’s begin our tour of Mackenzie! Here is a map of the grounds.

 

The Lodge

Located on the south end of the complex, the lodge is where classes are held and where the commercial kitchen is.  We had a great pancake breakfast there at the Maple Syrup fest.  There is a large dining/presentation room that easily accomodated the many hungry people that came for breakfast.

There are some exhibits in some of the other rooms in the lodge.  Also a cut from a very large tree that was cut down in 1961, it may have been storm damaged.

In the room are also snowshoes and cross-country skis for groups to use on a winter outing.

Observation Tower

The climb to the top was worth it, great view!  The direction you are facing is labeled inside of the top enclosure. Even though it was very windy, I felt safe.

Next to the tower is a Smokey the Bear figure you can get a fun selfie with.

Wildlife Area

The “zoo” part of the park, there are animals here that you would typically see throughout Wisconsin.  Many are animal rescues as well. The fire tower overlooks the Bison, or buffalo area. They are hard to see since they usually are not near the fence. An overview of the area. I will show you a few of the animals.  It’s great they also show the footprint of the animal so you can identify it in the wild.

After visiting all the animals here, cross the street from the wildlife exhibit entrance to enjoy the Windbreak Walk. It looked pretty with snow on the tree branches and blue sky on our most recent visit.

Right across from the Windbreak Walk is the Badger Den, or conference building.

Lastly, we head down the hill to the little village where many outdoor education classes takes place.  This is the Nelson Cabin, inside is a logging museum with many old photos and displays.

A Sawmill Diorama, very detailed!

We see the other out buildings, the Wallen Sugar House. A display was inside, also a sign telling you how to make your own syrup!

Many trees are tapped here to collect sap, more information on this sign.

The Syrup Finishing House

Behind these buildings is the sawmill building.

Mackenzie also has a Crab Apple Orchard, an important food source for the wildlife in this area.

We had two enjoyable visits here, give yourself several hours to see everything and have good walking shoes.  Be sure to donate at least $1 when you visit to keep this great facility open.  You can donate online as well.  We hope to be back for another one of their seasonal events later in the year.