Year in Review: The Best of 2023 from The Natural Realm

December 28, 2023  |  Topics: Spotlight

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By Eddee Daniel

I’ve hesitated to select the year’s best moments. What does “best” even mean in the context of such a grim year? I don’t want to dwell on all the terrible things that have happened—and continue to happen—in the world. Plenty has been written in that vein elsewhere. But what brought events in the outside world home for us locally—at least it did for me—were the weeks over the past summer when our air was so foul with smoke from Canadian wildfires that I didn’t even go outside. I missed large parts of the best part of the year to do what I love: explore the outdoors all around me.

Without minimizing the world’s misfortunes, we must continue to live our lives … with love and even joy. Fortunately, nature provides endless opportunities, not to forget the travails, but to live with them without succumbing to despair. (My final blog post of 2023 reflects further on this topic: Finding Hope in a Wintry Fog.) In this spirit I bring you my selections of the best from The Natural Realm in 2023. Links in each will take you to the original stories.

Interspersed with the stories you’ll also find some of my favorite photos of the year that did not end up in a blog post. The banner photo above of a kettle pond in autumn is from Glacial Blue Hills Recreation Area in West Bend.

Best Day

I didn’t label this “best photo” because I couldn’t decide among at least four or five I shot in one park on a single amazing day! The place deserves its own superlatives: Ridge Run Park in West Bend; also a section of the Ice Age Trail. Check out the full story and see if you can decide which image is the best.

Most Popular Post

If reactions to guest contributor Ed Sternberg’s story about Wauwatosa’s attack on his natural yard are the measure, nearly everyone loves it (and not just readers of this blog). His post reached more people, by far, than any other—not only in 2023, but the entire five and a half years of The Natural Realm! He also shared an update later about the outcome.

Most Educational Burn

I love photographing controlled burns! I’ve done quite a few over the years. Most of them have involved keeping the public away. But the one I witnessed at Pringle Nature Center in Kenosha County encouraged visitors to watch (from a safe distance, of course), turning it into an educational event as well as an ecological management tool. Liz Alvey, a staff naturalist at Pringle, contributed to the story.

Best place within 55 miles to view the Niagara Escarpment

The rock formations were worth the drive to Horicon; the peak autumn colors the day I visited were icing on the cake! The spectacular view of the marsh from Dodge County’s Ledge Park is another attraction.

Most dramatic engineering achievement in a park

This could also be called “most breathtaking view from the Lake Michigan bluffs.” Virmond Park in Mequon has a new stairway, described as “floating” because it isn’t anchored to the bluff’s surface on which it rests. It’s suspended from above. It was just one stop on the 2023 Treasures of Oz Eco-Tour.

Best adventure in an enchanting woodland

It’s a hidden gem with a tiny parking area. I’d never seen anyone there before, but this time I found myself surrounded. Find out what happened next in Genesee Oak Opening and Fen SNA: Enchantment and adventure!

Best new addition to the National Park Service

It was a surprise to me that the Ice Age Trail wasn’t already part of the NPS, but now it’s official. In honor of the announcement, I created a photographic tribute and guide to the Trail in SE Wisconsin.

Most surprising encounter in a small neighborhood park

I added several neighborhood parks to our Find-a-Park map this year. One of them inspired me to reflect on the importance of these local treasures: Biwer Park in New Berlin.

Best place in Milwaukee to spend Groundhog Day

I joined a small, intrepid band on the frigid morning of February 2 to celebrate Groundhog Day at Lakeshore State Park. Leah Anderson, a DNR educator serving the park, contributed to the story.

Best Outdoor Education Center run by Milwaukee Public Schools

Guest contributor Jonathan Rupprecht shares his experience and knowledge of Hawthorn Glen. Although its mission is to serve the environmental educational needs of MPS, it is also open to the public.

The Longest Autumn

It was in 2022. It was the longest only because I managed to go to every corner of SE Wisconsin and take hundreds of photos of dozens of parks. The series of blog posts that resulted lasted well into the winter of 2023. The eighth and final episode of the series—Kenosha County in a Blaze of Color—includes links to all of the previous ones.

Best environmental restoration story

This one was a tie. Susan Buchanan, Executive Director of Tall Pines Conservancy, brought us “Re-meandering Mason Creek.” Dave Giordano and Kristine Heuser of Root-Pike WIN teamed up for “The Seed Idea: Smolenski Park Prairie Restoration.”

Most prolific guest contributor

Christel Maass takes this prize for the second year in a row! This year she shared the following stories:

A Woodland Sculpture Garden and a Wilderness Walk

Enjoying Point Beach State Forest!

Winter waterfalls: Manitowoc and Brown Counties

A wintertime walk along Harrington Beach

Best special events (that I happened to attend)

Three Bridges Park in Milwaukee turned ten this year. The celebration, which went on throughout the park on June 3, included music, dancing, tours, speeches, and a piñata for the many children who came!

Root River Paddle. A joint program sponsored by SEWRPC and Root-Pike WIN took a flotilla of kayaks on a “salt paddle” tour of the lower Root River in Downtown Racine to learn about river restoration and monitoring.

Riveredge Nature Center. While bird banding is done at other times and out of the public eye, Riveredge Nature Center held a bird banding event especially to inform visitors about the scientific importance of the endeavor. Riveredge staff members Amy E. Casey and Jana Gedymin brought us the story.

OutWIgo. Thousands of people thronged to Ottawa Lake and the Scuppernong Trails in the southern unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest on a drizzly May morning for OutWIgo, a Wisconsin State Park System health and wellness initiative focused on promoting the mind, body and community benefits of outdoor recreation.

Hopkins Hollow is a restored segment of Lincoln Creek that is being developed as a much-needed Greenway in the inner city of Milwaukee. When a pair of “Peace Posts” were installed at the trailhead in April, a crowd gathered to celebrate and hike along the creek. David Thomas of Nearby Nature Mke brought us the story.

Guided tours of special places inspired these stories:

West Bend Sculpture Walk

Trekking the Retzer Nature Center with the Sierra Club

Nearby Nature Mke recognizes “Harriet Tubman Day” with a water trail hike

A walk in the wilderness of Cedarburg Bog!

Hiking the Niagara Escarpment on National Trails Day: Oakfield Ledges SNA

Mangan Woods: A surprising hidden gem shaped by the glaciers

This Year in Review does not include any of the many featured artists. There is a separate Year in Review for that. Best wishes for a peaceful, beautiful year in 2024!

Eddee Daniel is a board member of Preserve Our Parks.

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