{"id":12542,"date":"2025-07-31T08:59:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T13:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12542"},"modified":"2025-07-31T08:59:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T13:59:47","slug":"a-love-of-the-land-john-kellys-volunteer-work-serves-driftless-region-enriches-classroom-learning","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/a-love-of-the-land-john-kellys-volunteer-work-serves-driftless-region-enriches-classroom-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"A love of the land: John Kelly\u2019s volunteer work serves Driftless Region, enriches classroom learning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Photo<\/a>
John Kelly, associate professor of geography and environmental science, volunteers as a conservation easement monitor with the Mississippi Valley Conservancy. His work not only helps protect the Driftless Region but also enriches his students\u2019 education \u2014 bringing lessons to life far beyond the classroom. (Jen Towner, UWL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Volunteering is a powerful way to make a difference in the community, and the most fulfilling opportunities often align with a person\u2019s passions and interests.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For\u00a0John Kelly<\/a>, an associate professor of\u00a0geography and environmental science<\/a>\u00a0at UW-La Crosse, the ideal opportunity came through the\u00a0Mississippi Valley Conservancy (MVC)<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelly volunteers as a conservation easement monitor, a role that merges his academic expertise with his love for the Driftless Region. By law, MVC must inspect each of its roughly 130 conservation easements each year \u2014 a large undertaking that\u2019s made possible thanks to committed volunteers like Kelly.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each season, Kelly is assigned to visit between five and seven properties, helping ensure these protected lands are stewarded with care.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Kelly visits five to seven sites a year, hiking the property and taking GPS-located photos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLike many geographers and environmental scientists, my research and professional activities \u2014 and fun \u2014 have always involved fieldwork,\u201d Kelly says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before joining MVC, Kelly worked with conservation nonprofits in Mexico, using land-use planning and mapping to promote sustainable practices.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe GPS and GIS (geographic information software) technologies have evolved over my time in this work,\u201d Kelly explains. \u201cBut the basic skills are the same: learning by talking to landowners, walking up and down challenging terrain and vegetation, and developing an eye for how each landscape is an evolving product of nature-human interactions.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each site visit begins days in advance, as Kelly coordinates with the landowner and reviews documents related to the easement \u2014 legal restrictions, past reports and notes about the land\u2019s environmental significance. On the day of the visit, he packs water, puts on sturdy boots and prepares for ticks, mosquitoes and long hikes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the hike, I\u2019ll try to visit each corner of the property,\u201d Kelly says. \u201cFor larger properties, I\u2019ll concentrate on places that haven\u2019t been visited for several years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, Kelly documents his observations using GPS-located photos, especially in areas where concerns may need to be addressed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over his four years of volunteering with MVC, the work has deepened Kelly\u2019s appreciation not only for the region\u2019s natural diversity, but for its people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Photo<\/a>
Each semester, Kelly weaves lessons from his volunteer work into his teaching, illustrating how the Driftless Region is both ecologically unique and shaped by global challenges such as habitat loss and water quality.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned how the varied residents of the Driftless Region often share a devotion to nature,\u201d Kelly says. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve learned new examples of how nature needn\u2019t be opposed to production for human needs.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s work benefits not only the Driftless Region, but also his students at UWL, who gain something far richer than a textbook can offer \u2014 firsthand stories and insights shaped by real experiences in the landscapes they study.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery semester, I bring these examples into my classes,\u201d Kelly shares. \u201cStudents learn how this region is unique, and yet shares global challenges like habitat loss, clean water, and sustainable production.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the physical demands, Kelly finds the work continually rewarding.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great for both body and mind, and I love the adventure,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like Frodo in \u2018<\/span>The Lord of the Rings,\u2019 making my way up valleys, down cliff faces, over hilltops and through forests.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI usually come home sweaty, dirty, and tired, with burrs and twigs clinging to my clothes \u2014 but after a nice bath, I can just savor the privilege of intimately getting to know someone else\u2019s exquisite domain.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To Kelly, conservation easements are a vital piece of the larger environmental puzzle. MVC and landowners currently protect 26,000 acres across nine counties \u2014 a great achievement, he says, though still just a small portion of the total land.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the impact ripples outward. In the classroom, with each semester\u2019s new group of students, Kelly helps cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards, rooted in real-world experience and a deep respect for the land.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/a-love-of-the-land\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volunteering is a powerful way to make a difference in the community, and the most fulfilling opportunities often align with a person\u2019s passions and interests.\u00a0\u00a0 For\u00a0John Kelly, an associate professor of\u00a0geography and environmental science\u00a0at UW-La Crosse, the ideal opportunity came through the\u00a0Mississippi Valley Conservancy (MVC).\u00a0 Kelly volunteers as a conservation easement monitor, a role that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12542","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12542"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}