Celebrate nature with yoga, prairie tours, environmental education and art displays, short nature pop-up presentations, and more at this year’s Prairie Fest on Saturday, August 2 from 8:00 AM – Noon at the beautiful Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum, adjacent to the Fond du Lac County Campus.
Prairie Fest is a FREE family-oriented environmental education event with activities for all ages.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE as of 7/18/25:
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION DISPLAYS from 8:00 a.m. - noon
Learn about native plants, trees and shrubs; dragon flies; cranes; pollinators; small wild animals; history of area; climate change and other nature and sustainable topics from:
-Friends of the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum
-WI Dragonfly Society
-International Crane Foundation
-Marsh Haven Nature Center
-Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
-Wild Ones Fox Valley Chapter
-Fond du Lac County Audubon Society
-CSA (Congregation of Sisters of St Agnes)
-Fond du Lac Public Library
-Citizens Climate Education
-Sustain FDL
-Earth Justice Now
-The Loop
-Twisted Warrior Yoga
-Brothertown Indian Nation
-Fond du Lac County Historical Society & Galloway House & Village
-Local Legacy (Native plant information and plants for sale)
-Johnson's Nursery (Native plant information and plants for sale)
NATURE INSPIRED ART AND FOOD TO PURCHASE 8:00 a.m.-noon
-Hand-carved birds, mystical gnome houses from Joe Longo
-Hand painted drawings and crafts from Mary's Crafts
-Butterfly and dragonfly themed gifts and décor from Two Bear Originals
-Bakery and beverages from Annie's Fountain City Catering
GUIDED TOURS & YOGA
8:00 am Bird hike with Lisa Mick from UWO & Friends of the Gottfried
8:00 am Yoga in the Prairie Featuring Lucy Mathers, Twisted Warrior
9:30 am Find-and-Identify Dragonfly walk by pond
10:00 am: Native Plant ID Walk-Learn about native plants and how to identify them.
NATURE POP-UP TALKS (20-30 mins):
-9:00 a.m.
The Fascinating Life of Dragonflies and Damselflies by Edgar Spalding from the WI Dragonfly Society
Learn about the lifecycle of dragonflies and damselflies in the context of the ponds at the Gottfried. Find out what field markers to look for when identifying species at the site. After the presentation, you'll explore the ponds starting around 9:30 am to see what you can identify!
-11:00 a.m.
Native Trees and Shrubs with Ben French from Johnson's Nursery
Learn about the different Wisconsin native trees and shrubs you can plant plus the insects, birds and mammals that benefit from them.
OTHER FUN KIDS ACTIVITIES from 8:00 am-noon:
-Prairie Dog Challenge (Youth Obstacle Course). Venture through the Arboretum with zigs, zags, ups, and downs. Go through once or as many times as you can!
-Face/arm painting by Perspective Studios
-Kids arts and crafts including prairie hats, paper tambourines, bat masks and dragonfly crafts, Goosekazoos
NEW this year: Kids & adult prairie hat parade at noon
LIVE ACOUSTIC MUSIC from 10am-11:30am
You may also like the following events from Friends of the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum:
Also check out other
Kids events & activities in Fond Du Lac,
Festivals in Fond Du Lac,
Health & Wellness events in Fond Du Lac.
