Our Literary Nature

“If we surrendered to earth's intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.” —Rainer Maria Rilke

Since the time pictures could be drawn on cave walls, we have tried to express our awe of nature through images, music, worship, and the spoken and written word. Nature writing has the power to connect us to the earth and to each other, a symbiosis which continually craves nurturing and protecting.

Join Tracy Burandt, National Board Certified Teacher of English Language Arts, at Three Waters Reserve for three monthly sessions to explore literature about nature with a community of the curious. Our monthly readings will be rooted in Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and will also incorporate complementary readings by other great poets and prose writers. A link or alternate packet of the readings will be provided prior to the sessions.

During each session, you will have the opportunity to explore the natural and restored landscapes of TWR and reflect, observe, and write or sketch. Voluntary sharing of your own work or other writing you have discovered will be encouraged!

Email Registration: If you do not wish to purchase tickets online, you can register by email at, fieldstation@threewatersreserve.com, (subject) ECO-LIT CLASS, list which sessions you plan to attend. Pay by check to LSRWA mailed to Attn: ECO-LIT CLASS, LSRWA, N3941 Golf Course Rd, Brodhead, WI 53520, or pay with cash or check the day of the session.

Session Schedule

  • Session I: The March of Spring

    March 22, 10:00am-12:00pm

    Essential Question: What can human societies learn from geese?

    Readings will include The Geese Return and Marshland Elegy (Aldo Leopold), Wild Geese and Worm Moon (Mary Oliver), and others.

  • Sesson II: April, Come She Will

    April 12, 10:00am-12:00pm

    Essential Question: How are the tools of inquiry and observation useful to both the naturalist and the writer?

    Readings will include: Come High Water; Draba; Bur Oak; Sky Dance (Aldo Leopold), Spring (Edna St. Vincent Millay), A Sleepless Night (Philip Levine), and others.

  • Session III: May-Flower

    May 10, 10:00am-12:00pm

    Essential Question: What makes a species valuable?

    Readings will include: Back from the Argentine and Green Fire (Aldo Leopold), May-Flower (Emily Dickinson), and others.

Eco Lit Series

Meet the Instructor

Tracy Burandt

Teacher, Artist, Mid-Life Adventurer

Tracy Burandt is a retired teacher with a National Board Certification in English Language Arts at the Secondary Level, as well as certifications in Reading instruction and Alternative Education. During her 30 years of teaching, her passion project was developing her course in Eco Lit, which explored the human relationship with nature. Since retirement, she has pursued her interests in camping, hiking, and paddling with her husband and her dogs, as well as her creative interests in art and writing.