Wahkeena Blog
2011
Wahkeena Update Submitted by Tom Shisler
Greetings and Happy New Year to
all OAGC members and clubs. At the time of this writing we have just completed
one of the whitest and coldest Decembers in quite some time. In this first
quarterly installment, I’ll bring you up to date on happenings at Wahkeena
nature Preserve.
Even thought it has been cold and
snowy, there is still life in them there hills! The great horned owls have been
very vocal all the month of December and continue into January as courting and
establishing nesting territory occur at this unlikely time of year. But
everything is timed so that the new owlets will hatch early in the spring as the
rodent population and other prey animal awaken from their winter rest. Speaking
of birds, donations from OAGC clubs are keeping the songbirds and woodpeckers
well fed with a daily supply of seed and suet. One of my favorite birds, the
red-breasted nuthatch has been making daily appearances all winter. And we have
had some large flocks of the finch-like pine siskins, a bird that migrates south
from Canada to Ohio in the winter! During my tenure here at Wahkeena, OAGC
donations have supplied close to 30,000 pounds of winter food for the
birds….that’s 15 tons of sunflower, crack corn. white millet and Niger seed!! We
also have a new addition to live non-releasable birds of prey. Joining our
red-tailed hawk and grey phase screech owl is a red phase screech owl. The red
screech owl comes to us via Nancy Owen, a wildlife rehabilitator in Carroll
County Ohio.
Again in 2010, donations from the
Sarah Budnick Fund covered the cost of transportation for several schools that
otherwise would not have been able to come to Wahkeena for our day long
educational programming. Helping with those programs were two outstanding intern
naturalists. These internships are also funded from OAGC donations and/or OAGC
Foundation grants. During the spring, John Hickenbottom, from the New Concord
area brought his special talents to Wahkeena. And in the fall, Samantha
Batchelder, from Lexington, Ohio stepped in and was equally effective. Both John
and Sam are students at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. Their major is in
Natural and Historical Interpretation.
Physical improvements at the
preserve include: completion of the replacement of wood cedar shingles on the
main portion of the nature center roof (funded by OAGC donations) and the
installation of a new custom built exhibit case in the nature center(funded by a
grant from the OAGC Foundation). With a $3000.00 grant from the Green Fund of
the Columbus Foundation, we were able to replace all the existing trail signage,
including number and letter posts for our self-guided trail brochure and add
some new signage as well. The signs are made from recycled plastic and should
last a very long time. The signs were made by the WYSO sign shop which also
makes the large round OAGC logo sign that you may have seen.
That’s the latest news from
Wahkeena. As always, a BIG Thank You to all OAGC member who have contributed to
and supported the preserve and our educational programs….Carmen Warner would be
very pleased.
2004 AND
BEFORE
Visitors to Wahkeena Nature
Preserve will see several new improvements thanks to the continuing support of
OAGC and it’s members. The first project was the creation of a
Hummingbird/Butterfly planting in front of the Nature Center complete with
cypress benches for relaxing. The benches were made possible by a donation from
Region 14 and bear a plaque with the inscription: “Dedicated to the Past and
Present Members of OAGC Region 14”. Another bench is dedicated to past OAGC
President Jo Ann Graham This project was complete in the summer of 2003.
Hummingbird/Butterfly Planting
and New Benches
The second project was the
construction of a new footbridge on the trail leading to the lower frog pond
(which was restored in 1997 as the very first “Improvement “ project.) From this
bridge visitors can view the skunk cabbage, the first blooming wildflower each
year, as well as cinnamon fern, arrow arum, astilbes and hostas.
The third project was the planting
of a wet prairie meadow in an area that was formally lawn and adjacent to the
entrance to the Boardwalk Trail. Approximately 500 native plants including
wildflowers, sedges, rushes and grasses were planted in early June 2004. Despite
some early deer damage the area is coming along nicely and in a couple of years
should fill in as the plant naturally reseed. (Initially plants were planted 18”
on center and annual rye was sown to help present invasive weed species.) This
area will also benefit birds and butterflies. Peak blooming time for this area
will be summer to fall.
Wet Meadow Wildflower Planting
The forth and
continuing project is lawn repairs and foundation plantings around the Nature
Center. Raised beds in front (south) of the building were created using cast
“sandstone” barn stones and planted with native wildflowers. Work continues on
the west and north sides of the building.
“Sandstone” barn stone edging
and native coneflowers
In additions to the above
projects, Wahkeena has continued to host a large number of school groups and
well as other youth and adult groups and garden clubs. Assisting with these
endeavors have been student interns from Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio.
Spring 2003 interns- Victoria Taylor of Toledo and Whit Pennington of West
Virginia, Fall 2003- Victoria Taylor returned and Robyn Wright of Delaware,
Spring 2004- Andy Varsho from Lisbon, Ohio and Heather Roades from Seaman ,
Ohio. In the fall of 2004 Cindy Coss of Laurelville and Cody Sowers from
Londonderry, Ohio were the next pair to help provide quality educational
programs while gaining valuable field experience while pursuing their degree in
Natural Resources-Interpretation.
Cody Sowers and Cindy Coss-
Fall 2004 Interns
A major
project taking place this winter is the dredging of the silt pond, which was
also used for aquatic studies, until it became badly silted in from years of
erosion. The weather has been quite a challenge with flooding rains, severe cold
and snow. But hopefully this project can be competed by spring. A dragline is being used to clean out the pond. The pond was drained in late
October.
Wahkeena updates
for OAGC funded projects
2005
The small “silt” pond on the
west side of the preserve had become silted in from years of erosion. During the
winter of 2005, it was dredged. Prep work was completed on the pond in earlier
months, including having the pond drained. This pond is used primarily for the
Pond Study segment of our school program. Students have the opportunity to
explore animal and plant life in a pond and discover how those living things
interact with each other.
Winged Euonymus,
Euonymus
alatus, is a non-native, invasive species. Non-native/invasive plant species
can be detrimental to native plants species and wildlife. These aliens’ rapid
growth can crowd out native flora. Non-natives can shade out native plants by
leafing out earlier in the spring than that of their native counterparts and
retaining their foliage longer in the season. Also, non-natives in general, do
not provide the same quality of food for wildlife that native plants do. Winged
Euonymus was innocently introduced by Carman Warner as she was rehabbing the old
farm. After more than 50 years of aggressive growth, this shrub had dominated
much of the forest understory at Wahkeena. In the spring of 2005, work began to
remove this unwanted alien. The majority of the work was done the following
fall. However, this is a continuing project due to the undiscovered, isolated
stands that remain, as well as the never ending young shoots and stump sprouts.
Several areas where the Euonymus was removed, a native shrub Spicebush,
Lindera benzoin, was planted in its place.
2006
November and December of 2006 saw a couple of roof
repairs at the preserve. In November, the cedar shingles on the Nature Center’s
entry porch roof were replaced with new, treated cedar shingles. Then, in
December, a new metal standing seam roof was put on the shed portion of the Casa
Burro. This structure originally housed Carman’s pet burros.
Throughout 2006 and 2007, several landscape
improvements were accomplished. Five “tree” Serviceberries,
Amelanchier spp.
and one “bush” Serviceberry were planted. Serviceberries bloom early in the
spring, usually in April, with beautiful, white blossoms. Following the blooms
are reddish colored berries that provide excellent wildlife food, especially for
songbirds. One of the tree-type Serviceberries was planted on the northwest
corner of the Nature Center, and the other four were planted in the Fern
Terrace, near the potting shed. The bush-type Serviceberry was planted just
behind the potting shed. These plantings replaced the Winged Euonymus that had
been removed from these areas.
The north side of the Nature Center saw the
creation of a native wildflower shade garden. Used for the border was the same
cast “sandstone” barn stones used on the beds on the south side of the Nature
Center. Most of the species planted in this new garden make their home in a
woodland setting and bloom in the spring before many of the trees have leafed
out. Included among the species of wildflowers planted here are Wild Ginger
Asarum canadense, Bishop’s Cap
Mitella diphylla, Foam Flower
Tiarella cordifloia, Green Dragon
Arisaema dracontium, Columbine
Aquilegia Canadensis, Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Arisaema atrorubens, and our
state wildflower, Large Flowered Trillium Trillium grandiflorum.
2007
In 2007, a new floating boardwalk was installed in
the wetlands area, replacing the wooden one. Constant beaver activity created
fluctuating water levels in this area, resulting in an often flooded boardwalk.
The new floating boardwalk is made up of plastic floats, with plastic decking
sections connecting everything together. Although there are a few minor things
yet to be completed on the boardwalk, it has been useable since early summer of
2007. This new installment will guarantee that the boardwalk trail will not be
closed due to flooding. The boardwalk trail gives visitors a unique opportunity
to view wetland animal and plant species. This is a prime area to view some of
the many dragonflies and damselflies that inhabit Wahkeena.
Personnel Updates
Tom Shisler will be entering his 29th
year at Wahkeena in June. His tireless efforts ensure that the preserve stays
maintained and improved. Tom’s years of knowledge and experience are invaluable
to the Preserve, its staff, and its visitors.
In 2007, Wahkeena gained a seasonal Assistant
Naturalist. Robyn Wright-Strauss, a former intern, filled the position and has
returned for the 2008 season. One of the projects Robyn worked on was
creating/improving Wahkeena’s sales area. There is now a small area of nature
guides and other nature related items, including the OAGC 75th
Anniversary throw and the Wahkeena Longaberger basket, for sale in the Nature
Center.
Wahkeena will have two new interns for the 2008
season, both from Hocking College. Beckie Lawrence is from Henry County and is a
first year Interpretation student. She will be joining the Wahkeena staff for
the spring internship.
Krista Fairclough is from the Toledo area and has
a retail background from her family’s fine jewelry store. She is also in her
first year as an Interp. student, transferring from Lourdes College in Sylvania,
Ohio. Krista will be joining the Wahkeena staff for the fall internship.
Future Projects
Landscape improvements and
wildlife plantings will continue to be a focus in the future.
The current cedar shingle roof on the Nature
Center is 25 years old and deteriorating. All or parts of the roof need to be
replaced with new treated cedar shingles. These new shingles have a 50 year life
span. This is a big project, and will be done in stages over the course of
several years.
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