Study here.
Change the world.
We’re confronting environmental challenges through transformative research, by bridging classrooms and communities, and forging partnerships locally and globally.
Training Tomorrow's Environmental Leaders
The Nelson Institute values and is committed to a liberal arts and professional education, built on the premise that complex environmental issues can best be understood through familiarity with diverse perspectives, and integration of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Research for a Better Future
Research drives the social and technological innovation needed to confront the challenges of a rapidly changing global environment. The Nelson Institute is a catalyst of imaginative research that combines skills and knowledge from the humanities, engineering, business, and law to the biological, physical, health, and social sciences.
Nelson News and Events
Latest News
RISE-EARTH Lead and Headquarters Announced
February 18, 2026
Guardian of the Green
November 4, 2025Science Hall: A History
October 9, 2025- Read More News
Upcoming Events
- February
- February 21Ecological Restoration Work PartyArboretum Grady Tract9:00 AM, Meet at Grady Tract parking lot (SE corner Seminole Hwy & W Beltline Frontage Rd), UW–Madison Arboretum
- February 22
- February 22Winter BirdsNature Walk with the Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve1:30 PM, Picnic Point entrance kiosk, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000 University Bay Drive, Madison WI 53705
- February 25Forestry and Wildlife Ecology SeminarDr. Michael Joyce — Prey, poison, and people: Risk-reward trade-offs of carnivores in dynamic landscapes. 1:30 PM, 216 Russell Laboratories
- February 26State Parks: Valuing the Invaluable in a Time of AusterityArboretum Winter Enrichment Lecture10:00 AM, Meet at Visitor Center, UW–Madison Arboretum
Support the Nelson Institute
The Nelson Institute welcomes and is grateful for various forms of support – discretionary funds for our many programs, internships and mentoring opportunities for students, and introductions to new networks that can help advance our reach and build partnerships around Wisconsin and the world.