Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
A Prairie Rendezvous
WINTER VOL. 14, NO. 1, 2012
GPF BUYS LAND TO PROTECT HIGH-QUALITY FOREST by Gail Snowdon
O n January 6, 2012 Grand Prairie Friends (GPF) pur-
chased a 140-acre property in Coles County—our biggest pro-ject ever! The purchase of Dolan Woods (Dolan is the name of the seller. We invite you to suggest a more fitting name for the proper-ty; see photos) is an important and exciting conservation acquisition for the region and GPF. Adjacent to Warbler Woods Nature Pre-serve, acquisition of this property will expand protected forest habi-tat vital to hundreds of species of plants, birds, mammals, and other wildlife.
This acquisition protects a large expanse of dry-mesic and mesic upland forest. The new property lies adjacent to the 202-acre War-bler Woods Nature Preserve, about two miles north of Fox Ridge State Park, about a mile east of a por-tion of the Embar-rass River, and only four miles south of Charleston. Taken together, Dolan Woods and War-bler Woods contain approximately 339 acres of forest and
re-planted forest. Dolan Woods harbors over 100 different types of plants including many species that typically occur in high-quality woods. The state-threatened fi-brous-rooted sedge (Carex com-munis) occurs in at least 4 loca-tions along slopes in the woods and the regionally uncommon rattlesnake plantain orchid (Goodyera pu-bescens) occurs here also.
Notable ani-mal species of conservation concern inhabit Dolan Woods or occur in ad-jacent forest habitat. Breed-ing bird surveys conducted during
the spring of 2011 indicated 42 spe-cies, including 7 identified as Species in Greatest Need of Conservation—Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Worm Eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Ken-tucky Warbler, and
Field Sparrow. The relatively rare Wood Frog also occurs here.
This new property qualifies for registration as a Land and Water Reserve, and GPF will petition the Illinois Nature Preserves Commis-sion to dedicate and permanently protect the property as Land and Water Reserve. GPF plans to hold, protect, and steward this property
in perpetuity.
Funding Acquisition of the Dolan prop-erty was possi-ble due to gen-erous gifts from members and friends and grants from
three organizations. GPF secured grants from the Illinois Clean En-ergy Community Foundation ($176,692), the Grand Victoria Foundation ($169,840), and the Lumpkin Family Foundation ($44,000). GPF members and friends donated $58,000! The gifts of members and friends were a key indicator to the granting organizations of our commitment to the project. We are grateful for each gift (see donor list).
(Continued on page 6)
2 A Prairie Rendezvous
WINTER 2012
Volunteer Stewardship Activities 2012 Urbana Park District Workdays Stewardship Saturdays: Volunteering is a great way to learn more about lo-cal natural areas while providing some much needed assistance in their care. Remove invasive plants, improve trails, plant native trees and flowers, and assist with general clean-up. Please dress accordingly. Tools, gloves, ins-truction, and refreshments provided. Let us know you'll be attending by calling 384-4062 in advance. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Groups welcome.
workdays
For Meadowbrook Park: meet at the parking lot just south of Windsor and Race Streets. For Busey Woods: meet at the Anita Purves Nature Center - 1505 N. Broadway. For Perkins Prairie: meet at the Dog Park on Perkins Road - ½ mile east of Cunningham Ave. For Weaver Park: meet at the intersection of Main Street and Smith Road.
Monday April 2: Brush cutting at Buffalo Trace Prairie in Mahomet Illinois, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Join Buffalo Trace Site Steward Phil Hult to help control woody vegetation in the prairie. No experience ne-cessary. We will provide all tools and training. Meet at the Buffalo Trace Parking lot at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve in Mahomet, IL. Parking lot is located on the west side of Route 47 approximately ½ mile north of I-74. Appropriate for ages 15 and up. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent.
Grand Prairie Friends
Activity Calendar
APNC (Anita Purves Nature Center) is located at 1505 N. Broadway Ave. in Urbana.
N A T U R A L R E S O U R C E S STUDIES ANNEX: 1910 Griffith Drive, Champaign. Griffith Drive runs south from St. Mary's Road just east of the Illinois Central railroad viaduct (next to St. Mary's Cemetery).
Workday reminders and updates will be posted on the ecostewards email list.
Please leave your pets at home. Pets are not allowed on Nature Preserves. Activities such as pre-scribed burnings may endanger pets, even if they are on leashes or otherwise supervised.
Please wear clean clothes and boots as a general precaution. After a workday wire brush or scrape lug soles clean. Also, do not wear the same clothes that were used to visit a site with mature exotic seed into another site before laundering them. This is to avoid becoming unwitting carriers of the very invasive species that we are trying to control!
February 11 9-11:00 a.m. - Busey Woods 1-3:00 p.m. - Weaver Park February 25 9-11:00 a.m. - Meadowbrook Park 1-3:00 p.m. - Perkins Road Wet Prairie March 10 9-11:00 a.m. - Busey Woods 1-3:00 p.m. - Weaver Park
March 24 9-11:00 a.m. - Meadowbrook Park 1-3:00 p.m. - Perkins Road Wet Prairie April 14 9-11:00 a.m. - Busey Woods April 28 9-11:00 a.m. - Meadowbrook Park 1-3:00 p.m. - Perkins Road Wet Prairie
3 A Prairie Rendezvous
Oh, what a book this could have been! Encyclopedic coverage of more than 100 non-native plants and 450 native alternatives for Midwestern gardens. Descrip-tions of over a hundred insects, plus birds and other wildlife at-tracted by these native plants. More than 400 drawings and photographs illustrating the plants and animals. What garden-er or naturalist interested in gar-dens would not want a copy of this book? How about anyone who wants a
book that is actually inviting to use? There is no question that the in-formation in this volume is use-ful. After a “how to use this book” chapter, the book is orga-nized into four sections, one for each season of the year. Each sec-tion introduces the non-native plants (sometimes whole genera or families) that flourish during that season: 57 entries for spring, 75 for summer, and seven for fall. (The section for winter con-sists of a brief essay on the virtues of using the winter to plan spring plantings). Following each entry is a list of native plants that have qualities of appearance, hardi-ness, or growth pattern that make them attractive alternatives to the non-native species. This organization, which makes the book cumbersome to use, is where the trouble starts. It is all very well to assume that an expe-rienced gardener will know that non-native foxglove is a spring plant and hostas are summer plants and go to the appropriate section. But those who don’t know are forced to use the index to find anything. Furthermore, entries within each section are organized alphabetically. No problem, except that several plants are usually grouped to-gether but alphabetized according to the plant mentioned first. Along with hosta, for example, are listed plantain lily, funkai, and narrowleaf plantain lily. None of these plants has separate
entries, so readers must know (or guess) that they will be in the listing under hosta or be forced to the index to see if they are listed at all. Forcing readers to use the index to find a specific entry is certainly not fatal, but one would hope that in compensation, the book would invite readers to page through it just to see the con-tents. Unfortunately, the pages hold little visual appeal. You would think that in this digital age, with the availability of thou-sands of stunning photos of plants and animals, the authors (or edi-tors) could do better than serving up photographs that are out of focus (on the cover, no less!), too dark, or poorly composed. The drawings accompanying the pho-tographs are often no better. It is common to see a small 1.5” x 1.25” drawing in which is a but-terfly that itself is no more than ½” x ¼”. Add to that the unap-pealing and confusing layout in which three to four illustrations plus text are crammed on to each 9” x 6” page, and you have an object lesson in how not to de-sign a book. If you really need detailed infor-mation about native plant alterna-tives to non-native species often used in Midwestern gardens, get this book. But if you’re looking for inspiration for planning a na-tive-plant garden, look else-where. There are plenty of more appealing alternatives.
A GUIDE TO NATIVE PLANTS FOR THE GARDEN by Fred Delcomyn
C. Adelman and B.L. Schwartz 2011 The Midwest-ern Native Garden. Native alternatives to nonnative flowers and plants. An illus-trated guide. Athens, OH. Ohio University Press. $26.95. xvii + 268 pp; ill; in-dex. ISBN-13 978-0-8214-1937-3.
W hat a ride 2011! Last year was a busy one for me at work, at
home, and for GPF. Quite a year as well for politics, economics, disasters, and other world news, but that discus-sion is for another time. Honestly, I’m glad 2011 is over.
The big news for GPF—140 acres of land to be purchased! Why? This pro-perty harbors a high-quality oak and hickory forest with amazing botanical and bird diversity, and there’s more to be found when we look. This parcel is also part of a larger tract of protected forest to the north—Warbler Woods Nature Preserve.
How did we do it? GPF was able to accomplish its biggest project ever with the dedication from people who care about natural area conservation. Much of my GPF time the last few months was consumed with fundra-ising for this project. Reading a list of people who made this land purchase possible might be boring, but I think it’s important for me to thank many folks. Thank You I want to start out by thanking the three foundations that are funding about 90% of the project: the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, the Grand Victoria Foundation Vital Lands Illinois, and the Lumpkin Family Foundation. More specifically, I want to thank Jolie Krasinski at Clean Energy, Raquel Garcia-Alvarez at Grand Victoria, and Bruce Karmazin at Lumpkin who worked with me and Grand Prairie Friends to make sure this was the right project at the right time to fund. The Illinois Audubon
(Continued on page 7)
4 A Prairie Rendezvous
A Prairie Rendezvous
P.O. Box 36 • Urbana, IL 61803-0036 Editor: Brenda Molano-Flores Assistant Editors: Jamie Ellis, Mary Ann Feist, and Jean Mengelkoch Production Designer: Ray Meredith A Prairie Rendezvous is a publication of Grand Prairie Friends for the restora-tion community of East Central Illinois. In February 2004, the membership of GPF voted to broaden the group’s Constitution and By-laws, bringing the missions of GPF and Prairie Grove Volunteers together through a merger of two groups. A Prairie Rendezvous is published quarterly. Article submissions should be sent electronically to the editor at [email protected] or by mail to the GPF P.O. Box (above). Member submissions are gladly welcomed. Grand Prairie Friends is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to natural community preservation, restoration, and education in East Central Illinois. Our stewards help coordinate volunteer workdays at native prairie, savanna, wetland, and woodland remnants. Inquiries and tax-deductible donations should be sent to the GPF P.O. Box (above).
www.prairienet.org/gpf GPF Board of Directors (term ends) Jamie Ellis, President (2012) Fred Delcomyn, Treasurer (2012) Ansel Anderson (2014) Terry Rathgeber (2014) Jim Payne (2012) Derek Liebert (2012) VACANT (2013) Gail Snowdon (2013) VACANT (2014)
Board meetings are not regularly scheduled. The next meeting is Tuesday, April 14. Meeting times and directions can be obtained by contacting the President, Jamie Ellis ([email protected]). GPF Committees For information on volunteering and getting involved with any committees, please contact the following: Membership & Volunteerism: Brenda Molano-Flores Stewardship: VACANT Education: VACANT Publicity: Derek Liebert Land Acquisition: Dan Olson and Jim Payne Fund Raising: Derek Liebert, Terry Rathgeber, and Jamie Ellis Submission Deadlines
Spring Issue (Mar., Apr., May): Feb. 1
Summer Issue (June, July, Aug.): May 1
Fall Issue (Sept., Oct. , Nov.): Aug. 1
Printed on Recycled Paper
From The President by Jamie Ellis, President, GPF
5 A Prairie Rendezvous
T he University of Illinois is gradually increas-ing its use of native plants. In November the
University purchased over 200 woodland wildflow-ers that were installed on the South side of Burrill Hall between the building entranc-es. Additional plants will be added in the spring.
Volunteers from the Entomology Department, SECS, Red Bison, Master Naturalists, Grand Prairie Friends and several other faculty members did the planting (see photos). The plant locations were marked with colored straws so that they can be avoid-ed during the spring planting, when many will still be dormant. Campus Facilities & Services (F&S) placed wood chips on a path through the area to facilitate maintenance and planting.
The initial planting consisted of primarily wild geranium, celandine poppy, wild ginger, and true Solomon’s seal along with smaller numbers of spring beauty, bellwort, columbine and Jacob’s lad-der. The location is heavily shaded and windy and will present a challenge to the plants.
The Student Sustainability Committee provided funding for students to grow prairie plants and ob-
tain wood-land species for several locations during the coming spring. Permission is being sought to
put woodland plants in five small plots between trees on the north side of the Natural Resources
Building (NRB) on Peabody. Each plot will be about 120 square feet.
Prairie plants will be grown from seeds in greenhouses. A small plot is planned behind the NRB along the sidewalk paralleling Penn-
sylvania Ave. Other plants will be placed at other University locations including the new prai-rie at Florida and Orchard and Allerton Park Prairie. Some of the 30 species may be available for other locations if requested. The Allerton Allies will help with the Allerton planting and the Park’s greenhouse will be
used to grow the seedlings. People wishing to help with planting or propa-
gating the plants for these projects should contact John C. Marlin ([email protected]) who is
coordinating the pro-ject. Help will likely be needed in late April and May when students are preparing for finals. Gary Miller at the Prairie Research
Institute is the project principal investigator. Lastly, Earthskin nursery donated many of the prairie seeds and others were purchased from Prairie Moon Nursery. Wood-land plants were obtained by F&S from John E. Marlin.
MORE U OF I CAMPUS PLANTINGS ON THE WAY by John Marlin
Restoration and stewardship The acquisition of Dolan Woods is the largest pro-ject Grand Prairie Friends has tackled and is just a first step. The job of steward-ship is ahead of us. GPF will draw upon ecological restora-tion expertise and the ability to carry out tasks from our members and friends. A local Charleston group, Embarrass Volunteer Stewards, has members willing to put in volunteer time. A neighbor, valuable partner, and steward of Warbler Woods, David Mott, will also help steward this property.
Grand Prairie Friends will call upon the expertise of local IDNR personnel to draft and carry out conservation objectives and management strategies. Mary Kay Solecki with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission has already drafted a management plan. Roger Jansen with IDNR will lead ecological restoration work as well as biological monitoring activities. Removal of invasive plant species and prescribed fire are the main strategies that will be employed to maintain biodi-versity and forest structure. GPF has many members who are bi-ologists and ecologists with the Illinois Natural History Survey, and their expertise can be called upon to assist with restoration and biotic inventories and moni-toring. Open to the Public A dedication event is being planned for the spring with guided walks by knowledgeable biologists and naturalists—more details to come later.
To facilitate access, GPF will build a small parking area and erect signage with information about the
property. As long as visitors respect the property, respect the biodiversity it contains, and respect adja-cent property boundaries, they are free to wander.
We will coordinate stewardship events with Em-barras Volunteer Stewards, and we will coordinate educa-tional field trips with Illinois Audubon Society. With East-ern Illinois University only a few miles away, GPF will con-nect with faculty and staff in the biology department to engage in service learning op-portunities. We plan to create an informational brochure available on the website and on-site. As an engaged member of the conservation community you
will benefit from this acquisition. The property is a place where you can go to bird watch, hike, photo-graph, and enjoy the beauty of a central-Illinois for-est. Instructors at Eastern Illinois University will
gain another place where they can teach ecology, botany, orni-thology, and other biological sciences. Local teachers and en-vironmental educators will also be able to take interested citi-zens and students to engage them in nature education. Get involved As a GPF member or friend please join us and be part of this exciting acquisition in a number of ways. Be part of the site dedi-cation event on June 2 (details TBA); help name the property (send your suggestions to
[email protected]); lend a hand with stew-ardship efforts; or take a personal tour and enjoy a beautiful piece of central Illinois that you have helped to preserve. Updates on upcoming events will be posted to the GPF website (grandprairiefriends.org) and facebook!
(Continued from page 1)
6 A Prairie Rendezvous
7 A Prairie Rendezvous
Grand Prairie Friends thanks these donors who made the purchase and protection of 140 acres of high-quality forest in Coles County possible:
Illinois Clean Energy
Community Foundation
Grand Victoria Foundation
Vital Lands Illinois Lumpkin Family Foundation Champaign County Audubon Society Embarras Volunteer Stewards
Illinois Audubon Society Anonymous (13) Charlene Anchor Roger and Rebecca Anderson David and Karen Andsager Barbara Badger George and Sandra Batzli Carolyn Baxley Drew and Melissa Becker Alice Berkson Christopher Berti Virginia Bradford
Clark Bullard Craig Milling and Carla Caceres Marilyn Campbell Angelo Capparella Clara Castelo Judi Chase Elizabeth Chato Douglas Chien Heather Collins Janice Coons Nancy Coutant Earl and Lynda Creutzburg Connie Cunningham Duane and Connie Dassow Fred and Nancy Delcomyn Charles Delman Patrick Dill John Dimit Stuart Martin and Sally Duncan
Betty Earle Frank DiNovo and
Carol Emmerling-DiNovo Robert and Mary Ann Espeset Brenda Molano-Flores and
Mary Ann Feist Karen Flesher Michael and Karen Folk Beverly Foote
Donation made in Memory of Brenda Dreisow
Rich Raspet and Wendy Garrison Stephen Glosser Ed and Virginiana Gordon Charlotte Green Beckie Green Michael Walker and Kristina Gunsalus William and Elaine Hall Glennadene Hamel Susan Hargreaves
Donation made in Honor of Sheryl and David Krohne
Ted Harris Wendy and Chris Harris Jim and Paula Herget
Stanley Herrin Susan and Lew Hopkins James Hoyt Sarah Hurley Gary and Dixie Jackson Doug Jackson Susan Post and Michael Jeffords Rachel Kasianowicz Ellen Keiter Todd Kinney James Kleinhans Linda Klepinger Keith Kohanzo
Peter and Betsy Kuchinke Jessica Kurylo Marilyn Morris and Larry LaPre Geoffrey Levin Derek Liebert Jason Koontz and Todd Linscott Laura Lyon David Main John and Diane Marlin Jana Mason and Dick Anderson Vicki May David Meller Alan Metcalf Allen Plocher and Renie Miles Andrew and Jennifer Miller Mike and Scottie Miller Georgia Morgan
Donation made in Memory of Raymond Czarnecki
David Mott James Nardi John and Cheryl Nimz Charles Nixon Daniel Olson Dean and Nancy Olson
Milton and Elizabeth Otto Helen M. Parker Anne Phillips Paula and James Pogue Stephen and Esther Portnoy Kirby and Cindy Pringle Terry and Judy Rathgeber Tom and Beverly Rauchfuss James Riley Lynn D. Riley George Rose Richard Schicht Doug Jones and
Catherine Schmidt-Jones Lynne Scott Dennis Sears Eric L. Smith Philip Hult Mary Kay Solecki
Donation made in Honor of Dr. and Mrs. Barry Hunt
Mary Kay Solecki Donation made in Honor of the marriage of Jack Paxton and Sharon Monday
Gail Snowdon Timothy Staber Robert Stanton Mary Stech David Sutherland Cynthia Swanson Bob and Diane Szafoni David Thomas Larry Thorsen David and Justine Trout Robert Vaiden Alexander and Joan Ware Loren and Diane Wasson
James Ellis and Melinda Watts-Ellis Harriet Weatherford Joseph and Patricia Wenzel Doris Westfall Diane and Ed Wilhite Jason Willand Linda Wilson Ramona Wise Kam and Betsy Wong Jacqui Worden Mary Ellen Wuellner Kristin Yager Frank Zimmerman
Society and executive director, Tom Clay, played an important role by paying for the land ap-praisal and providing technical guidance during the grant wri-ting process.
I thank long-time GPF mem-ber Jim Payne for his land tran-saction skills and due diligence in keeping this land purchase on track. Dan Olson came through in the clutch for me a couple of times by meeting grant deadli-nes. Fred Delcomyn has done a stellar job as treasurer keeping track incoming funds. Terry Rathgeber’s fundraising skills were evident as we sought to
raise the important last 10% from members and friends. I thank Gail Snowdon and Ansel Anderson for making trips to the property meet with staff from the Grand Victoria Foundation and the local newspaper. Rob Kanter’s Environmental Almanac article came at the right time to garner local support. I dearly thank GPF Board members Derek Liebert and Eliana Brown who supported this project.
Local resident and Embarras Volunteer Stewards leader Larry Thorsen helped drum up support in Coles County and alerted local reporter, Dave Fopay, about the project. I thank neighbor and
environment steward David Mott who took the time to meet with multiple people to give them a tour of the property.
A BIG thanks goes to IDNR biologists Mary Kay Solecki and Roger Jansen who provided much of the biological informa-tion needed to build our case that this property is very worthy of protection. INAI biologist Connie Cunningham also provided im-portant vegetation data on the quality of the forest. I can’t leave out a special thanks to our attor-ney, John McMahon, who made sure that all the legal aspects of the transaction went smoothly.
(Continued from page 4)
(Continued on page 11)
8 A Prairie Rendezvous
O n Nov 6th of 2011, Grand
Prairie Friends held the annual Rattlesnake Mas-ter “Run for the Prairie” race at Meadowbrook Park. That morning, 45 volunteers and 221 par-ticipants braved blustery conditions that had prai-rie grasses, runner’s jerseys, and race signs all whipping with fervor in wind gusts approach-ing 40 miles per hour! Both participants and volunteers had an excit-ing morning, cheering one another on over the whip-ping winds (see photos).
Afterwards, the participants gathered over post race snacks and hot cocoa while awards and
prizes were handed out. Michael Jeffords again provided wonder-ful photos to overall winners, and place finishers were sent
home with certificates and native prairie plants--including rattle-snake master and prairie blazing star. All participants and volun-teers received the ever popular race t-shirt. Fi-nal race results and course maps can be found at the Grand Prai-rie Friends web-site: http://g r a n d p r a i -riefriends.org/rattlesnakemas-terresults.html
The race would not have been a success without the help of our many dedicated volun-teers. Key among these were the race planning team that included Jesse Kurylo, Brenda Molano-Flores, Connie Cunningham-
Carol, Jean Mengelkoch, Paul Marcum, Nancy Snellen, and Tara Beveroth. Grand Prairie Friends and Master Naturalists
m e m b e r s made up the core of the events volunteers and Body n Sole again a s s i s t e d with tim-ing. The race also bene-fited enor-m o u s l y from the support of 16 different
sponsors: Body ‘n Sole, Broeren Russo Construction Inc., Cam-pus Sportswear, Dandelion, East Central Illinois Master Natural-
(Continued on page 9)
14TH ANNUAL RATTLESNAKE MASTER RACE by Derek Liebert
ists, Esquire, Great Harvest, Illi-nois Portable Toilets, the Illinois Native Plant Society, the Law Offices of Evans, Froehlich, Beth, and Chamley, Mack’s Re-cycling, Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Strawberry Fields, Taylor Studi-os, WildCountry, and Wolfe Orchard.
Many, many thanks to all who helped out! Thanks to our many participants, volunteers, and sponsors, the race is expected to gross just over $2,000. These funds will help allow Grand Prai-rie Friends continue to preserve and restore the natural commu-nities of east-central Illinois.
(Continued from page 8)
9 A Prairie Rendezvous
10 A Prairie Rendezvous
THINKING OF SPRING - 2012 NATIVE PLANT SALE by GPF Board
W inter still grips central Illinois, but that
doesn’t stop us from thinking of spring. We’ll be gardening soon, and that means it’s time for the Grand Prairie Friends Annual Native Plant Sale. The sale will once again take place at Lincoln Square in downtown Urbana on Saturday May 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
But before GPF can sell plants, we need to grow plants. Volun-teers helped to collect and thresh seed, and now we need volun-teers to plant, transplant, label, haul and sell. We’ll put seeds in the soil on Thursday February 16 at 6:30. We’re at a new loca-tion this year—NRSA Green-
house, 1910 S. Griffith Dr., Champaign. This building is south of St. Mary’s Road and west of First Street.
Once seedlings are growing, we transplant them to pots. We’ll gather on Thursday eve-nings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. through April for this task—April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3 and 10—in the NRB greenhouse. On Friday May 11 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. we’ll move plants from the greenhouse to Lincoln Square to get ready for the big sale on Sat-urday morning.
GPF needs all the help it can muster. If you like to get your hands dirty, come out and help transplant in the greenhouse.
We’ll need strong hands and backs as well as a few people with trucks on May 11 to move plants. Volunteers are vital on the day of the sale to help cus-tomers, to answer questions about native plants, to promote GPF, and to serve as cashiers.
The Native Plant Sale is GPF’s biggest fundraiser of the year. This event provides money to carry out our conservation mis-sion and to hire summer interns. Tell your friends.
If you have any questions please contact Jamie Ellis (244-5695 or [email protected]). If you’re ready to sign up and help, let us know.
FEATURE BOARD MEMBER—ANSEL ANDERSON By Jamie Ellis and Ansel Anderson
A nsel joined the GPF Board in the fall of
2011, but he’s no stranger to conservation or environmen-tal issues. He’s been active locally with the Izaak Walton League, East Central Illinois Master Naturalists, as well as Grand Prairie Friends. A brief sketch in the last newsletter introduced him to you, but here’s a lit-tle more information to get to know him better.
“I spent my youth in the hills and forests of western Pennsylvania where I learned to appreciate nature through the seasons. This interest was set aside when I undertook a career in physics, except for occasional camping, backpacking, and canoe trips. When I retired in 1992 I wanted to become involved in the few natural areas remaining in east central Illinois, but this was not easy. For example,
Allerton Park would not let me volunteer even as a trail steward. Eventually I found a welcome at the Champaign County Forest Preserve District where I learned much, and, I believe, I made a useful con-tribution. This history explains my interest in help-ing to establish the Master Naturalists program as a means not only to teach individuals about our natu-ral environment but also to help each individual get plugged into an appropriate local organization.
“I am honored to serve on the GPF Board and to have the opportunity to interact with a group of dedicated and knowledgeable conservationists. I agreed to serve because GPF is such an important player in the regional preservation and restoration effort. Several goals have been outlined in the GPF strategic plan. Although I would like to help achieve all these goals, I believe that attaining land trust accreditation is essential to the long-term via-bility of the organization.”
11 A Prairie Rendezvous
And the biggest thank you goes to all of our members and friends who donated money and believed that protection of this land is important. My hat is off to you.
Other Stuff What are we looking forward to in 2012? Soon it will be time to hire summer interns, grow plants for the spring sale, and make plans for stewardship at our new property. I hope that
you will be part of GPF this year as a volunteer.
We still have two vacant posi-tions on the GPF Board. Is it time that you stepped up to that lea-dership role?
(Continued from page 7)
SUMMER 2012 INTERNSHIP
Sponsored by GRAND PRAIRIE FRIENDS Position: Grand Prairie Friends (GPF) seeks interested applicants for two full-time summer internship positions for summer 2012 in ecological stewardship and management of natural areas in east-central Illinois. Interns will work inde-pendently and as a team to control and remove exotic, invasive plant species from prairie and woodland natural areas using mechanical and chemical tech-niques. Educational opportunities include outings in the field with natural re-source professionals, scientists, and volunteers. Interns might also assist with planting native plant seedlings and collecting native plant seed. A truck is provid-ed for transportation to and from sites. Qualifications: Applicants should be highly self-motivated and able to work with little or no direct su-pervision. Applicants must be willing and able to work in the field under a variety of environmental condi-tions. Completed college level course work in the biological and ecological sciences is preferred. Ability or willingness to operate hand and power tools including bow saws, clippers, power brushcutter, chain-saw, etc. is also preferred. A pesticide applicator license will be required at the start of the internship. A valid automobile driver’s license is required. Rate: $9.00/hr including up to $300.00 in mileage reimbursement expenses for personal vehicle use. Time Period: Position begins on or about May 15 and will continue to approximately August 31 (start and end times are flexible). To ensure full consideration for the internship, applications should be received by March 30, 2012. Please send letter of application, resume, and contact information for three references to:
James Ellis ([email protected]) re: Grand Prairie Friends-Summer Internship
Specific questions regarding the summer internship can be directed to James Ellis ([email protected] or 217.244.5695). GPF is an all-volunteer not-for-profit conservation organization with a mission to preserve and restore nat-ural communities in east-central Illinois and promote an understanding and appreciation of natural re-sources. More information about GPF can be found at grandprairiefriends.org.
12 A Prairie Rendezvous
2012 GRAND PRAIRIE FRIENDS EVENTS
Steward’s Luncheon Saturday February 18, 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. — Lake of the Woods Golf Course Clubhouse, Mahomet This annual winter gathering of natural area stewards is chance to share stories and ask questions. You’ll not want to miss this event if you take care of a local natural area or would like to learn more about management from your peers. It’s also a chance for Grand Prairie Friends to say thank you with lunch provided. Winter Membership Meeting Friday March 9, 7:00 P.M. — Anita Purves Nature Center, Urbana Special Guest Speaker: Dr. May Beren-baum, UI entomologist Native Plant Sale Saturday May 12, 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. — Lincoln Square, downtown Urbana
Your once a year chance to browse and buy a great selection of native prairie and woodland plants for your yard or natural area restoration. This events helps fund our summer internship program.
New Property Open “Woods” Event Saturday June 2, time TBA — Coles County south
of Charleston Come celebrate with Grand Prairie Friends and explore our newest land acquisition—140 acres of oak hickory forest with plenty of ridges, ravines, wildflowers, and birds to keep you busy. Fall Membership Meeting Friday September 28, time TBA — Anita Purves Nature Center, Urbana Annual Board Member elections as well
as a guest speaker TBA. Rattlesnake Master Run for the Prairie Sunday November 4, 9:00 A.M. — Meadowbrook Park, Urbana Come out and support Grand Prairie Friends by participating in this 5 and 10 K fun run and walk around the restored prairie at Meadowbrook Park. Board Meetings are held the fourth Monday of each month (except August and December) at 5:30 P.M. usually in the Forbes Building (1816 S. Oak St., Champaign). Contact Jamie Ellis to
Environmental education (EE) has ebbed and flowed over the course of the past 40 years. Join us April 26 through 28 to celebrate the confluence of progress in EE at the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, where the Des Plaines, DuPage, and Kankakee Rivers merge to create the Illinois River. Formal and non-formal educators and EE en-thusiasts from across Illinois will share their knowledge during workshops, concurrent sessions, and field trips focusing on the progress of the envi-ronmental education movement.
Field trips will include kayaking the I&M Canal, fossil hunting (fossils found are yours to keep!), wit-nessing restoration in action at Hadley Valley Pre-serve, touring the historic Midewin National Tall-
grass Prairie, and much more! On Friday, a silent auction will raise money for
the EEAI mini-grants program, designed to support, enhance and expand environmental education throughout the state.
A Project Learning Tree educator workshop is on Saturday. Networking opportunities will be availa-ble during the conference, offering something for every educator.
We sincerely hope you will join us to commemo-rate this 40th anniversary of EEAI! Registration forms will be available mid-January at www.eeai.net. If you would like to assist in any way during the con-ference, please contact Suzanne Lintzenich via e-mail at [email protected].
2012 EEAI ANNUAL MEETING AND CONFERENCE
13 A Prairie Rendezvous
14 A Prairie Rendezvous
15 A Prairie Rendezvous
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY—NEWSLETTER EDITOR by GPF Board
G rand Prairie Friends needs some-
one to compile and edit this quar-
terly newsletter—A Prairie Rendez-
vous. Are you organized? Do you have
good communication skills? Can you
take some time four times a year to put
together a source of information for
Grand Prairie Friends’ members? If
yes, then please get in touch with Ja-
mie Ellis ([email protected],
244-5695).
Why now? GPF sincerely thanks the
work and effort of Brenda Molano-
Flores who has been compiling and ed-
iting A Prairie Rendezvous for many
years, but now she needs to retire from
this position.
What is the job? Four times a year,
the newsletter editor sends out the call
(via email) to Board and committee
members as well as the general mem-
bership for submission of articles, vol-
unteer events, and other items of inter-
est to GPF members. The editor needs
to have access to a computer and the
internet. Once items (articles, images,
dates) are compiled in a timely man-
ner, the editor then sends out these
items for layout to volunteer Ray Mer-
edith. Once Ray lays out the newslet-
ter, it should be proofread and correct-
ed if needed. Now that GPF is relying
on electronic delivery, we’re past the
days when the editor is needed to
print, label, and mail. Once the news-
letter is done, it can be sent to the GPF
webmaster and distributed via email
and facebook.
