It's been a busy couple of weeks eventhough "In Wisconsin" hasn't been on the air. This week, we return to our regular Thursday at 7:30p time slot.

In Wisconsin Reporter Jo Garrett visits Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center, a downtown oasis for birds migrating north. You will discover how this urban jewel has been reclaimed from drug dealers and criminals by birdwatchers and citizen scientists.

We also have a QUEST report by In Wisconsin Reporter Andy Soth as he looks at Wisconsin's first great scientist. Increase Lapham was a self-taught renaissance man who dabbled in botany, archaeology, forestry and climatology. Discover how his influence is still being felt in the state two hundred years after his birth.

You won't want to miss the teen musicians in the statewide Bolz Young Artist Competition. For several months, they have been auditioning but only four remained standing on the stage of Overture Hall in Madison. This week you'll meet cellist Elliott Yang of New Berlin. With the arrival of spring you can also discover a very urban section of Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Janesville through the camera lens of videographer Mike Eicher.

In Wisconsin airs 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24 on Wisconsin Public Television. The program also will air at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 27 on Milwaukee's MPTV and on WDSE-TV in Duluth at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 27.

This week on In Wisconsin we have several new reports and an oldie but goodie.

We will revisit a report from In Wisconsin's Jo Garrett. The Stormy Kromer is a hat that has been part of Wisconsin's history and culture for more than a century. The hat was invented by Kaukauna native Stormy Kromer. It's a clever combination of a baseball hat with pull-down earflaps and now it's taking on a Green Bay Packers twist.

We'll take you to one of Wisconsin's newest tourist attractions, the Canoe Heritage Museum. In Wisconsin Reporter Liz Koerner spotlights how this museum came to be in the small town of Spooner.

The 38th annual American Birkebeiner is the largest cross-country ski race in North America and this weekend more skiers than ever before will start the race. John Kotar, a Birkebeiner founder, talks about the beauty and tradition of the race, and the impact of climate change. Plus you'll get a humorous essay from Michael Perry about the calendar and that shrinking woodpile. It's all this week on In Wisconsin Thursday night at 7:30p on Wisconsin Public Television.

I looked up the definition of "legacy" and found in The American Heritage Dictionary legacy is described as 1) money or property bequeathed to another by will 2) Something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor.

In the case of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum this pristine piece of property is a legacy. In 1934 it was bequeathed to the people of Wisconsin. A gift from Wisconsin's conservation leaders handed down to generations to come and the lessons learned on this property are still being gifted forward.

When the University of Wisconsin Arboretum was first founded the Arboretum committee introduced a groundbreaking concept known today as "ecological restoration." The focus is on re-establishing historic landscapes, with native plants and animal communities. But the work today is not about returning to the past but rather improving on Aldo Leopold's experiment known as Curtis Prairie.

So I invite you to join us for an all new In Wisconsin special called "Landscape Legacy", airing at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2 (tonight) on Wisconsin Public Television. If you are reading this blog at a later date you have another chance to watch the encore presentation at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30.