RSVP for Southern Wisconsin’s Glacial Landscapes

media release: 2026-2027 Friends of the UW Arboretum Luncheon Lectures

We are pleased to announce another fantastic roster of speakers this year! Seats fill up quickly, so register soon. Luncheon Lectures are held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Arboretum Visitor Center. A buffet lunch, provided by Blue Plate Catering, is followed by an educational presentation. Register online at foamadison.org or send a check to: Friends of the Arboretum, 1207 Seminole Hwy., Madison, WI 53711.  The cost of each event is $50. Registration closes ten days before each event.  

Tuesday, November 17, 2026: Southern Wisconsin’s Glacial Landscapes by Dave Mickelson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Geoscience and Badger Talks, UW–Madison.

How has Wisconsin’s landscape come to be what it is today? Dr. Mickelson will show that in the past, glaciers covered more than two thirds of Wisconsin and resulted in the glacial landforms visible today in many regions of Wisconsin: moraines, kettles, outwash plains, lake plains, drumlins, eskers, and tunnel channels. And he will explain the geology of the Driftless Area in southwestern Wisconsin which wasn’t glaciated—how its steep valleys narrow ridges, where limestone and sandstone abound, are the result of millions of years of stream erosion. Join us to learn why Wisconsin was chosen as the location of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve.