What's blooming, flying, hopping, or maybe just growing under and around the solar panels at Mauston’s Lemonweir solar farm? Lace up your boots and join the Wisconsin Energy Institute, the WI Center for Environmental Education, WI SeaGrant and OneEnergy Renewables for a morning of exploration in the array. We’ll meet at Mauston High School for a brief orientation and then head into the 18-acre 3 MW solar array to document all the species we can observe.
All are welcome to join this unique citizen science opportunity! Registration is required.
Children 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult. All participants must wear long pants, closed-toed shoes and the provided hard hats and safety vests while in the solar array.
Agenda
- 8:30-9:30 am - Orientation at Mauston High School, 800 Grayside Ave, Mauston, WI 53948
- 9:30-9:45 - Travel to Lemonweir Solar Farm, N2702 US Hwy 12/16, Mauston, WI 53948
- 9:45-12:00 - Bioblitz in the Array!
What's a bioblitz?
A bioblitz is a group project to record as many species within a specific location and time period as possible. Bioblitzs are fun ways to connect with our community while generating useful data for science and conservation. We'll be using iNaturalist to log our observations in the array.
Who should participate?
Everyone! Educators, youth groups, individuals, and families. Folks who know about solar or biology, and those who are just curious. No experience is necessary. We will have "expert" identifiers to help log observations. This is a special opportunity to go "behind the fence" of an active solar farm and contribute to our understanding of the connections between solar array's and biodiversity.
I'm an educator. How can I use this experience?
During the bioblitz we'll hold a few "educator breakouts" to preview ready-to-use lessons for integrating solar and agrivoltaics into your teaching space. You'll also get some tips and tricks for how to run a bioblitz with your students.
Will this be accessible for me?
The Bioblitz will take place outside and will involve walking over uneven ground. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services, and activities. If you need an accommodation for this event please let us know in your registration form or by emailing outreach@energy.wisc.edu or calling 608-890-0946 (voice only). Requests should be made by Fri, July 17, 2026, though reasonable effort will be made to support late accommodation requests.