WNS staff & docents, with the assistance of SWIMNA & SWIMGA members, are organizing a new community-wide certified backyard habitat initiative, an established program of the National Wildlife Federation. WNS will offer quarterly backyard habitat seminars for individuals desiring to apply the concepts to their home, school, business, organization, or other properties. WNS hopes to encourage individuals to take an interest in fostering community outreach efforts.
Both basic introduction classes and advanced topic classes will be offered one Saturday a season. The basic class will run on a Saturday morning, and cover basics of wildlife habitat requirements and backyard solutions. The advanced topics class will run the same afternoon, and will cover three topics that vary each time, such as composting, rain gardens, rain barrels, lawn reduction, reduced chemical use and alternatives, attracting various flora and fauna, and many more.
The cost for each class is $15/person. Registration is required. Class size is limited to 50. The following is the class schedule for the rest of 2009:
March 21, 9am-noon Basic Backyard Wildlife Habitat Seminar
May 30, 9am-noon Basic Backyard Wildlife Habitat Seminar
May 30, 1-4pm Backyard Wildlife Habitat Advanced Topics Seminar
Sept 12, 9am-noon Basic Backyard Wildlife Habitat Seminar
Sept 12, 1-4pm Backyard Wildlife Habitat Advanced Topics Seminar
Call Lauren Preske at 479-0771 ext. 102 for more information.
2/12/09
Recycle Saturdays
Volunteers are always needed at WNS's Recycle Saturday events. The next two are on February 21st (Evansville Day School) and March 7th (Old Wal-Mart West), from 8:00 am to Noon. Email Susan at shaislip@wesselmannaturesociety.org if you can lend a hand.
Great American Bird Count
The annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held February 13 through 16. Count in your own yard, at Wesselman Woods or any other location. It takes as little as 15 minutes! Tally sheets are available at the Nature Center, or online at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.
2/11/09
Reptile Docents Needed
Lauren is searching for a few SIMNA members who would have an interest in receiving training to safely handle and tend to day-to-day care of the reptiles in the nature preserve's collection.
Ideally, she would like to train docents who would have a desire to spend some time at WWNP on the weekends especially, but also some during the week when visitors might be in the nature center. Docents would be trained to handle the animals and do impromptu talks with visitors in the lobby area at various times throughout the day. Visitor interest in the reptiles is high, and they are more than appreciative to actually get to safely touch or hold a snake while visiting.
Additionally, docents would help with the reptiles' day-to-day care, making sure each has fresh water, clean cages, and gets fed on schedule (for turtles that may mean checking the care log for daily feeding or picking up minnows from the bait store, for snakes it would mean thawing mice for feeding every 1-2 weeks).
The WWNP reptile collection currently includes a bull snake, a black rat snake, two red-eared sliders, and a Alligator snapping turtle. Six box turtles will be joining the menagerie soon!
Interested prospective docents should contact Lauren at (812-479-0771, ext 102 or lpreske@wesselmannaturesociety.org).
Ideally, she would like to train docents who would have a desire to spend some time at WWNP on the weekends especially, but also some during the week when visitors might be in the nature center. Docents would be trained to handle the animals and do impromptu talks with visitors in the lobby area at various times throughout the day. Visitor interest in the reptiles is high, and they are more than appreciative to actually get to safely touch or hold a snake while visiting.
Additionally, docents would help with the reptiles' day-to-day care, making sure each has fresh water, clean cages, and gets fed on schedule (for turtles that may mean checking the care log for daily feeding or picking up minnows from the bait store, for snakes it would mean thawing mice for feeding every 1-2 weeks).
The WWNP reptile collection currently includes a bull snake, a black rat snake, two red-eared sliders, and a Alligator snapping turtle. Six box turtles will be joining the menagerie soon!
Interested prospective docents should contact Lauren at (812-479-0771, ext 102 or lpreske@wesselmannaturesociety.org).
Maple Sugarbush Festival
March 7 & 8
A breakfast of pancakes with real maple syrup, sausage, and the choice of orange juice, milk, or coffee will be served inside the Nature Center. Ongoing programs throughout each day teach those who attend about the natural processes taking place inside of trees, the history and process of maple syrup production, and why the end result is worth the effort. These programs includes guided walking tours through the Sugarbush, allowing firsthand observation of trees tapped and readily producing sap and further explanation of the evaporation process that condenses sap to the consistency of maple syrup.
The Maple Sugarbush Festival and Pancake Breakfast is a two-day event that is made possible through the participation of Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve staff and over 80 volunteers. Trees in the Preserve have been tapped since the early 70’s, and the Sugarbush festival has been an annual celebration for over thirty years.
Trees are already being tapped for sap, and preparation for the festival has begun! To help with pre-event prep or to volunteer at the festival itself, contact Lauren Preske at (812) 479-0771 ext. 102 or lpreske@wesselmannaturesociety.org
A breakfast of pancakes with real maple syrup, sausage, and the choice of orange juice, milk, or coffee will be served inside the Nature Center. Ongoing programs throughout each day teach those who attend about the natural processes taking place inside of trees, the history and process of maple syrup production, and why the end result is worth the effort. These programs includes guided walking tours through the Sugarbush, allowing firsthand observation of trees tapped and readily producing sap and further explanation of the evaporation process that condenses sap to the consistency of maple syrup.
The Maple Sugarbush Festival and Pancake Breakfast is a two-day event that is made possible through the participation of Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve staff and over 80 volunteers. Trees in the Preserve have been tapped since the early 70’s, and the Sugarbush festival has been an annual celebration for over thirty years.
Trees are already being tapped for sap, and preparation for the festival has begun! To help with pre-event prep or to volunteer at the festival itself, contact Lauren Preske at (812) 479-0771 ext. 102 or lpreske@wesselmannaturesociety.org
Lost River karst field trips
(green text taken from LRCA flier)
Tours of Indiana's Lost River karst system are being offered by the Lost River Conservation Association (LRCA). These tours are free, open to the public, and will be done in your own vehicle. All tours are a GO - especially if it rains. Tours will involve moderate hiking at some stops, which are optional. We recommend sturdy footwear, long sleeve shirts, long pants (even in hot weather), camera, sunscreen, bug repellent, binoculars, etc. Reservations are not necessary.
These field trips will feature an orientation to the "classic portion" of Indiana's Lost River karst system. The tours will depart at 8 AM from the southeast corner of the town square in Orleans, Indiana (junction of SR 37 and SR 337). An orientation presentation begins at 7:40 AM. The tour will end at approximately 4:40 PM at the Orangeville Rise Nature Preserve. The stops en-route will include numerous roadside interpretive sites and opportunities to visit some significant features (i.e. the First Sink, the Terminus Zone, a major swallow hole, and the Elrod / Wesley Chapel Gulf). The route will provide views overlooking the valley of the Lost River in the Mitchell Plain and of the Springville Escarpment.
We believe that Indiana's Lost River karst system is so unique that it must be viewed in the context of the total river system to be fully appreciated. We also include samplings of the area's historic heritage to broaden your horizons. The goal is to promote the idea that the entire drainage basin of Indiana's Lost River is so unique and so rich in overall heritage resources that it is worthy of being designated a Wild & Scenic River and a World Heritage Site.
You may also choose to do the tour in two half-day increments. We return to Herle's Diner in Orleans for our lunch stop between noon and 1 PM, and present a special demonstration of karst groundwater flow."
This year's field trips are scheduled for April 4, June 6, and September 19. We can also schedule our own tour if we get together a group of six or more people.
If you are interested in a Lost River trip with the group, please email Gena at masternaturalists@gmail.com ASAP!
Tours of Indiana's Lost River karst system are being offered by the Lost River Conservation Association (LRCA). These tours are free, open to the public, and will be done in your own vehicle. All tours are a GO - especially if it rains. Tours will involve moderate hiking at some stops, which are optional. We recommend sturdy footwear, long sleeve shirts, long pants (even in hot weather), camera, sunscreen, bug repellent, binoculars, etc. Reservations are not necessary.
These field trips will feature an orientation to the "classic portion" of Indiana's Lost River karst system. The tours will depart at 8 AM from the southeast corner of the town square in Orleans, Indiana (junction of SR 37 and SR 337). An orientation presentation begins at 7:40 AM. The tour will end at approximately 4:40 PM at the Orangeville Rise Nature Preserve. The stops en-route will include numerous roadside interpretive sites and opportunities to visit some significant features (i.e. the First Sink, the Terminus Zone, a major swallow hole, and the Elrod / Wesley Chapel Gulf). The route will provide views overlooking the valley of the Lost River in the Mitchell Plain and of the Springville Escarpment.
We believe that Indiana's Lost River karst system is so unique that it must be viewed in the context of the total river system to be fully appreciated. We also include samplings of the area's historic heritage to broaden your horizons. The goal is to promote the idea that the entire drainage basin of Indiana's Lost River is so unique and so rich in overall heritage resources that it is worthy of being designated a Wild & Scenic River and a World Heritage Site.
You may also choose to do the tour in two half-day increments. We return to Herle's Diner in Orleans for our lunch stop between noon and 1 PM, and present a special demonstration of karst groundwater flow."
This year's field trips are scheduled for April 4, June 6, and September 19. We can also schedule our own tour if we get together a group of six or more people.
If you are interested in a Lost River trip with the group, please email Gena at masternaturalists@gmail.com ASAP!
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