Wetland Coffee Break
The Wetland Coffee Break series helps keep our community of wetland lovers connected and learning about wetlands throughout the year, from anywhere! Bring your coffee and learn about wetlands, the plants and animals that call them home, and the many natural benefits they provide to our communities. Sessions are held on Zoom and feature time for audience Q&A.
See below for a list of upcoming presentations and to register. Once you register, you’ll receive an automatic email including the URL link and password you’ll need to access the meeting. We record and post each presentation so you can watch any that you missed live. You’ll find links to these recordings below, and you can also find them on our Facebook page.
We are grateful to all of the presenters for sharing their knowledge and expertise and to everyone interested in learning more about wetlands! If you are interested in giving a Wetland Coffee Break presentation, or if you have a wetland topic you’d like to see covered, please contact Katie.Beilfuss@wisconsinwetlands.org.
We are now able to provide attendance verification to Wetland Coffee Break audience members who attend the live sessions and request this service. We created this mechanism in response to requests from members of the Wetland Coffee Break audience who would like to apply their Wetland Coffee Break learning to their continuing education or certification requirements. Learn more about how to receive attendance verification here.
Register for a Wetland Coffee Break
Introduction to wetland sedges (Carex)
Aaron Feggestad, Stantec
Friday, November 14, 2025
10:30 am CT
Description
Genus Carex, the true sedges, form a fascinating and diverse group of plants. An evolutionary success story, Carex is the most species-rich genus in Wisconsin with more than 150 species. This introductory talk will focus on basic Carex ecology, morphology, and common terminology, and will be useful for anyone looking to expand their understanding and use of identification guides and keys.
Aaron Feggestad has been a practicing wetland professional for the past 20+ years, working in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region as a consulting ecologist, volunteer, and educator. Fascinated by the role of Carex in natural area function and the importance of Carex in the restoration of many types of natural communities, he is working towards a goal of cataloging nearly all the 158 species that occur within the state.
Watch previous presentations
Click “Older Entries” below to see more past presentations, or view our Google Sheet index of past presentations here.
Wetland Coffee Break: Wetlands and Phragmites: Management at a landscape scale
Presenter Matt Puz discusses wetland dynamics as well as Phragmites biology and ecology, and how understanding these two concepts can lead to more effective management.
Wetland Coffee Break: Restoring wetlands in the Mukwonago River watershed
Hear about the the experience of project planning, restoration, and maintenance of the Mukwonago Davis Restoration Project, and the trials and tribulations of implementing a large wetland restoration project through key partnerships.
Wetland Coffee Break: Let’s talk turtles!
Ever wonder what kind of turtle you just found crossing the road, or how to tell one kind of turtle from another, or where to look to find them?
Wetland Coffee Break: What’s the buzz? Drone uses in wetlands
Drones can do a lot more than take pretty pictures. We can now utilize drones for high-resolution imagery, artificial intelligence, spraying invasive species, or seeding native species.
Wetland Coffee Break: Floristic quality benchmarks for rare and unique wetland plant communities
Ryan O’Connor (WDNR) shares what makes rare wetland plant communities like white pine-red maple swamps and interdunal wetlands unique, what threats they are facing, and more.
Wetland Coffee Break: Wild rice with fish: A winning recipe for restoration
Green Bay wetlands serve as important fish habitat and successful wild rice restoration may be an indicator of diverse, healthy wetland ecosystems that provide valuable benefits to fish, wildlife, and people.