By Anita Weier
Friends of Cherokee Marsh

You can support children’s environmental education while enjoying a tasty Italian meal on Monday, Sept. 24.

Anyone who has lunch or dinner at the Northside Benvenuto’s on that day — or orders delivery or take-out or buys a gift card — will help children learn about nature on a trip to the Cherokee Marsh. But this money will flow only if you mention that you want your purchase to benefit the Friends of Cherokee Marsh.

The Friends group donates money every year to the Madison Metropolitan School District to be used to fund student bus trips to the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park for guided, hands-on learning. Last year, thanks in part to fundraisers like this one, the Friends gave $1,200 to the Madison School District — funding visits to the marsh by more than 900 elementary and middle school students.

“Young students appreciate being exposed to nature and learning the names of various plants and animals,” explained MSCR School Naturalist Educator Nelson Eisman. “We turn over dead logs to see the invertebrates sheltering there. We dip onto the marsh water to see tadpoles and insect larva. We listen to the quiet and hear and see cranes, eagles, terns, pelicans and other birds. Sometimes we see a snake, turtle, deer or frog. We take a hike in the fresh air.”

Depending on the guides and the paths taken, students learn about water and land creatures and their habitat, insects, invasive species, bird calls and leaf identification (including poison ivy). They also learn how the marsh protects the Yahara Lakes by filtering out harmful substances.

Benvenuto’s, located at 1849 Northport Dr. in the Northside TownCenter, will donate a generous 20 percent of the purchases on Sept. 24 to the Friends, but only if customers mention that they want the restaurant to do so.

If you can’t make it to Benvenuto’s on that date, just go to Cherokeemarsh.org to donate, and specify that you want your donation to be spent on environmental education.