|
Two more Prairie Foster Parents are happily digging weeds: Mike Duren, at Walking Iron, and Daniel Wood, in the Cross Country Rd. section of the Ice Age Trail Junction Area. Mike is also one of the teachers at Middleton High School whose students are involved with the work at Belfontaine (Pheasant Branch).
The Lakeview Woods Neighborhood Association has formed a steering committee, known as the Friends of Lakeview Woods, and appointed Nelson Eisman as the volunteer “Lakeview Woods Manager”. Together they will evaluate and conduct projects benefiting the woods. The committee is not a formal friends group but may consider going in that direction in the future.
The Friends of Pheasant Branch dug burdock and other weeds at Belfontaine (Pheasant Branch) over the summer, and have a full schedule planned for the fall.
Campground Hosts finished the season when Don & Ellie Ushman leave Babcock at the end of September. They were joined this year by Paul & Grace Bernhard, Joe & Carol Abernathy, Sherman & Joanne Dammen, Bob & Natalie Aikins, Frank & Faith Rice, Reuben & Johnnie Bertschy, Dick & Doris Davies, Alan & Phyllis Thedens, Lou & Sherri Molnar, and John & Bonnie Schuemann. The Wisconsin State Journal featured the host program on its front page on July 12. They interviewed the Bertschy’s and Bernhard’s, veteran hosts who were in residence at that time.
This year’s National Trails Day project involved field work along the Ice Age Trail Junction Area in the area north of Cross Country Rd. and Badger Prairie Park. Thirty seven volunteers, including many recruited by sponsor REI and from the WMMM Green Team, joined members of the Dane County Chapter of the Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation. This crew was described as being “the hardest working group we’ve ever seen”, by a number of regulars. Given how hard most of you work, that’s saying something! Wayne Pauly commented that they accomplished a “stunning” amount.
Prairie Foster Parents
Kathy Myhre & Marcia Wagner
With winter snow cover only a memory and a warm April day ahead, two new volunteers began their first on-site survey of Lake Farm Park’s prairie. Dry, bent prairie grasses rustled and an occasional sparrow kept close watch on our location as we wandered the prairie. As novice Prairie Foster Parents we quickly realized we would have much to look forward to out on our ten acre site. Back in March we were warmly welcomed into a community of Dane County Park volunteers by Louise Goldstein and began our tutelage under Wayne Pauly’s watchful eye and invaluable guidance. We found ourselves looking forward each week to working under sunny skies, surrounded by tall yellow daisies, lavender bergamot and any number of white and pink blooms we were learning to name.
|
We dug out offending burdock, parsnip and white and yellow clovers amongst a changing group of residents. Birds, bugs (yes, mosquitoes) butterflies, and reptiles would flitter, hop or slither away from our shovels and voices. We’ve observed the prairie emerge into a full pallet of summer color and activity. As we move into late summer and fall, we’ll begin seed collecting and look forward to another change of season on the prairie. Lake Farm Park’s prairie sits between Lake Waubesa and the Nine-Springs E-Way marsh.
Service Learning in Cambridge
Nicolet Middle School students in Cambridge did a cleanup at Cam-Rock County Park in April. This article describes the project and their conclusions.
The Dream of a Good Environment
It started with an idea. That idea turned into a reality. Throughout last week and the beginning of this week, 8th grade students from Nicolet Middle School went out and cleaned Camrocks (sic) 2 & 3, and the streets around Rockdale. Afterward, they analyzed the garbage they picked up and made some conclusions about how the trash got there. Their conclusions are:
- People were eating and drinking in the car and instead of waiting to get home to throw their garbage away, they chucked it out the window.
- People were drinking alcohol in the car, saw a police officer and threw their drinks out the window, along with their unopened cans.
- People were in a hurry so they ate in the car and disposed of it on the ground.
- People were smoking along the road and didn’t have an ash tray so they littered their butts all over the ground.
Along with these conclusions they have come up with some solutions to keep these things from happening.
- Keep waste in the car door and when you arrive home empty it out.
- Don’t drink and drive.
- Keep a plastic bag in your car for garbage.
- Use an ash tray if you’re in a car and if you’re walking throw it in a garbage can.
Our group consisted of 13 young energetic people: Shaun Cunningham, Matt Batta, Nathan Lee, Willy Steven, Brian Carlson, Karen Ehrke, Garry Petty, Bethany Keleher, Ivor Conrad, Ashlie Kollmansberger, Cailea Showers, Becky Dunn and Holly Jones.
 |
|
Volunteers for National Trails Day, sponsored by REI. |
|
