Project FeederWatch 2009-2010!

It's on!

Project FeederWatch has begun for the 2009-2010 season and after just one day of counting, Darke County Parks has already logged 18 species and more than 60 individuals at our feeders!

Project FeederWatch is a citizen science program managed by Cornell University in which they study the winter populations of feeder-birds across the US. This is a great program that allows anyone who is interested in birds to spend a few minutes a day watching birds and helping scientists!

Feel free to join us each and every Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30-11:30am at the Nature Center as we sharpen your birding skills while enjoying some fresh coffee, snacks and plenty of birds!

Fall Colors are Popping!

The autumn colors are at peak at Shawnee Prairie Preserve. With the rain today, many have fallen, but many more are still providing simply stunning displays of colors.

NOW is the time to take a quick hike and see this in person. So, without further delay, grab your camera, grab friends/family and head on out to your favorite Darke County Park!

Golden-red Sugar Maple Leaves

Blazing red-orange Oak Leaves

Views of the Log House

Come on now... shut down that computer and get to a Park. =)

Just a few upcoming programs to remind you about:

Habitat Healing with the Junior Naturalists

Saturday, Oct. 24th, 1-3:30pm

Do you know a 10-12 year old that loves the outdoors? Does he or she spend time wandering your woods or exploring your backyard? If you know a little nature lover, then Darke County Parks has a great opportunity available. Junior Naturalists is a series of monthly programs designed to give children a hands-on introduction to natural resource management.

Pre-register your child today for October’s Junior Naturalist program. Join us, Saturday October 24 from 1-3:30pm. The focus this month is “Habitat Healers”. The participants will learn about invasive plants and then head outside to do some habitat healing. Under Naturalist direction and supervision, the children will be removing plants that are not native to Ohio and clear a path for native plants to thrive. A materials fee of $4 is charged for each program and pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Darke County Parks at 937-548-0165.

Park Explorations

Saturday, Nov. 7th 10a-4p

Grab a seat in the ‘great white van’ and let’s hit the trails. Darke County Parks invites you to join Naturalists for an Exploration of the Parks on Saturday November 7 from 10am-4pm. We’ll start at Shawnee Prairie Preserve and tour the county stopping at every Darke County Park along the way. Wear comfortable hiking shoes, bring a sack lunch, your camera and water; it’s going to be a busy and exciting day spent in the out of doors! Pre-registration is required as seating is limited. For more information or to register contact Darke County Parks at 937-548-0165

The Fungus Among Us

Feel like a fall walk in the woods? Look forward to joining Darke County Parks Naturalists for a Fungus Hike at Routzong Preserve on Thursday October 8 at 5:30pm. We will scour the trails at Routzong in search of fall mushrooms dotting the woodland floor. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungus and can be colorful and quite beautiful to identify. From sponges to gills, mushrooms are as fascinating as their names imply! Routzong Preserve is located on Routzong Road east of Greenville. For more information, please contact Darke County Parks at 937-548-0165.

Prairie Days 2009!

PRAIRIE DAYS 2009

IS THIS

WEEKEND!!!

Prairie Days, held on September 26 & 27 is the BIGGEST event of the year for Darke County Parks! In years past we've had over 3,000 people visit this FREE family fun event held at Shawnee Prairie Preserve. There will be foods, crafts, games for the kids, vendors and demonstrations scattered around the Log House all which will give you and your family a glimpse of Pioneer Life in the 1790's!

Hours will be Saturday 10am-4pm and Sunday 12pm-4pm. A schedule of events will be online at our website. The current updated forecast from weather.com is showing highs in the low 70's and only a 20% chance of precipitation! PERFECT weather for a festival!

Start the fall season off with a bang and head on out to Shawnee Prairie Preserve, located just outside of Greenville on OH-502 for this fun-filled event! Did we mention that Parking and Admission are FREE?!

For more info on Prairie Days 2009,

check out our Facebook (here).

9/15/09 Early Morning Discovery Hike 'Report'

Good morning!

September 15th's Early Morning Discovery Hike was a wonderful morning for a hike! The weather was nice and cool, the sun was shining, fall colors were abundant and the birds were singing. Ah, what a day for a hike!

As usual, we started off the hike with binoculars turned to the sky in search of feathered-friends. Without trying too hard, we had several species on our list even before we left the parking lot! The Red-tailed Hawk was perched in the dead branches of the maple at the top of the hill. This perch has apparently become a favorite, as he has been seen here 3 of the past 4 hikes, much to the smaller bird population's dis-pleasure! We also spotted lots of movement in the cedar trees and discovered a large flock of Cedar Waxwings! This flock was around 35 individuals and provided many good looks prior to their departure. Mixed in with the waxwings, we also spotted several House Finches and a lone female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female picture). This grosbeak provided several glimpses of the yellowish underwings as she flitted from branch to branch and finally as she departed overhead.

As we made our way up the hill, our attention turned from the pair of Eastern Bluebirds to the autumn colors that are creeping into the landscape. A few of the "early changer" trees are beginning to show their fall colors with splashes of yellows and golds. Several species of Asters are blooming throughout the landscape. The Ohio Buckeye has dropped nearly all of it's leaves, and the rest are mostly brown. All around us nature is progressing towards the upcoming season! Check out some fall pictures from Shawnee Prairie Preserve HERE.

Don't be fooled by the chilly mornings... there are still plenty of opportunities for wonderful hikes providing plenty of autumn colors and sounds. We hope to see you at the next Early Morning Discovery Hike, Tuesdays at 8am at Shawnee Prairie Nature Center!

Also, don't forget...

PRAIRIE DAYS

September 26: 10a-4p

September 27: 12p-4p

The biggest event of Darke County Parks' year is right around the corner! If you've never been before, you've been missing out and if you have, come on back! We have been growing this event each year and once again we hope to grow with new games for the children, new crafts, new vendors and plenty of apple butter, Farmer Brown's and Downing Fruit Farm! For an idea at what else goes on and to get a brief "feel" for this wonderful weekend on the Prairie, check out our pics from last year's Prairie Days on Flickr HERE. We hope to see you there and remember...

Parking and Admission are FREE!

Apple Butter cooking over the fire; Pioneers in and around the Log House; Vendors displaying their wares; Tall-tales being told; Crafts to make; and the wonderful smell of Farmer Browns' and Downing Fruit Farm wafting through the air... must be time for Prairie Days 2009!
Stirring the Apple Butter kettle...

Bringing over 3,000 people to the park, this is THE EVENT of the year with Darke County Parks. Not only will there something for everyone in your party to enjoy, but admission and parking is FREE! Held the last weekend in September, this event focuses on the prairie way of life in the 1790's and will feature many crafts, games, vendors and trades of the time period.

Observing the Pioneer Garden

Be sure to join us Saturday, September 26th from 10am-4p and Sunday, September 27th from 12p-4p for the festivities!

For more information, please call the Nature Center at 937.548.0165 Also: We're still recruiting volunteers... give Laura a call at the number above and sign up today!

Monarch Display 2009

The annual favorite is back! Our summer Monarch Butterfly Display is up and running with several monarch caterpillars, an egg or two and even a near completion chrysalis!

Swing by the Nature Center today and check out this fun display. Be sure to check back often, as the time from egg until adult butterfly is only 30 days of which only 18 are spent as a caterpillar. During those 18 days, each caterpillar increases its mass by 2,000 times!

We'll try to post a picture of our first monarch soon!

Chris Rowlands Summer Concert

Chris Rowlands Summer Concert
Originally uploaded by Darke County Parks on Flickr

Check out the photos from the last Summer Concert of 2009! Children of all ages had a blast during the Nature Rocks! concert by Chris Rowlands. Check Chris out at www.chrisrowlands.org

Nature Rocks!

On Saturday, August 15, at 7:00 PM, Darke County Parks is pleased to announce nationally recognized singer/songwriter Chris Rowlands! Chris has delighted crowds in years past and will join us once again for our summer concert series. Chris is an Aullwood Audubon Naturalist who enjoys teaching children about nature through innovative programs. Chris creatively blends music, art, comedy, and education to create high energy, fast paced shows, which teach and inspire young and old alike.

Remember to bring a blanket or chair and bug repellant. If the weather or mosquitoes do not cooperate, the concerts will be held inside the Nature Center. For more information contact Darke County Parks at 548-0165 or info@darkecountyparks.org.

We're on Facebook

Darke County Parks is now on Facebook! Pop on over and become a Fan to make sure you stay up to date with all of the upcoming events. See you there!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenville-OH/Darke-County-Parks/128403169416

An Evening on the Lake

An Evening on the Lake
Originally uploaded by Darke County Parks on Flickr

Starting at 6:30pm, DCParks and friends headed to Lake Loramie State Park with kayaks and canoes in tow! We got on the water around 7:30 and paddled for an hour and a half returning to the docks just after sunset. Everyone had a great time and saw some wildlife as we paddled softly through the narrow channels. Many Great Blue Herons were seen; also a group of baby ducks, one colorful Prothonotary Warbler and several trees that had beaver chew marks! It was a great night! If you were, post a comment below!

Thanks to sreineke for taking these photos of all of those on the water! Be sure to check out the Flickr Group page to see the rest of sreineke's photos!

Darke County Parks hosted an Extreme Adventure Summer Camp for 13-15 year olds. The week consisted of Team Building and Leadership Development, Rock Climbing, River Float, and an overnight at John Bryan State Park.

The Team Building and Leadership Development activities took place at Camp Yale, which included several different challenging courses such as:

^Building a bridge across the “grand canyon”

^And use an arch to walk along two cables spread 10 feet apart! ^

The campers also were able to experience the 450 foot long, 50 foot high zip line at Camp Yale.

Rock Climbing took place at Vandalia’s Rec Center where the 12 individuals had competition of who could complete the hardest climb and several raced one another to see who could climb the quickest to the top.

Our River Float on the Stillwater was also a challenge due to the constant rainfall and the low amounts of water in some places along the river. However, the campers enjoyed the rapids and the others tasks which we were faced with on the float. Even though it rained the ENTIRE time, we had a great float!

The Extreme Adventure Camp wrapped up the week by pitching tents at John Bryan State Park. While at John Bryan we enjoyed cooking over the campfire.

We also enjoyed several hikes through Glen Helen and Clifton Gorge, both of which offer amazing scenery and feel as though you’ve left Ohio.

Exploring a cave

The last adventure of the week was to “survive” the raccoon invasion of the camp site! Up to 10 raccoons were spotted, with up to 5 spotted at the campfire at one time! Talk about Up Close and Personal wildlife experiences!

Two campers enjoy their comfy "home-away-from-home" tent

Be sure to mark your summer for 2010’s summer camps!

New Pictures on Flickr!

mimic
Originally uploaded by Darke County Parks on Flickr

Check out the new pictures on Darke County Parks' Flickr page! If you have pics of any of the DCParks, this is the place to upload them! Show the world how great your photography skills are and show off YOUR Parks!

PLUS, with the ongoing Photo Competition (look for a Blog posting on this in the future), why not enter at the same time?!

Check out the rest of the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/dcparks/

10-12 year olds have a BLAST at Camp!

Twelve 10-12 year olds became experts at padding and surviving the outdoors during the 2009 Kayaks, Canoes and Camping Summer Camp.

We started the week off with Canoe and Kayak Training at a local pond. The campers learned different ways to paddle which includes forward power stroke, forward sweep, backward stoke, and backward sweep. Also, they learned the proper way to board the canoe or kayak using three points of contact such as both hands and a foot. The campers also enjoyed playing games with rubber ducks and sponges during training on the pond.

On Wednesday we enjoyed a scenic canoe float down Greenville Creek. The water was a bit low during our creek float which made some sections of the creek very challenging, however after much scraping, heaving and grunting, we were able to manage!

To wrap up the end of the camp week we pitched our tents at Lake Loraine State Park. While at the state park we enjoyed taking a hike, swimming, and an evening canoe float around the lake and connecting channels. The canoe float provided many glimpses of local wildlife, including gulls, Great Blue Herons and blooming buttonbush shrubs.

Campers learned to prepare meals over a campfire during this camp. Dinner consisted of beef, green peppers, potatoes, carrots all wrapped in foil and placed in the fire to cook.Mmmm, good stuff! Dessert included Apple Pies made on camping pie-irons and smores (of, course!)!

If your 10-12 year old missed out this year, be sure to check out our camps for next summer.

8 & 9 Summer Camp 2009

Woodland Survival Camp at the Darke County Parks’ was another week of success for the Parks. We had fifteen 8-9 year olds who enjoined learning about how an individual would survive in the wildness. The week consisted of Shelter Building 101, Fire Starting, Compass and Water, Medicine, Food Gathering and Archery.

Monday morning introduced campers to the theme of the week... survival when lost! During Shelter Building 101 the campers worked in small groups to construct a single person shelter.

Campers met a "200 year-old Longhunter" who has been living in Shawnee Prairie Preserve since the 1790's looking for Fort Greenville...

On Tuesday, we determined numerous different ways to make a primitive fire, which consisted of Fire Trough, Hand-Drill, Bow-Drill, Flint and Steel, and an Air Force designed Blast Match. We also began building our group shelters, which were finish by Friday.

Compasses were used on Wednesday to locate their team’s bucket of water, which is the most important item for life. Jewel-weed Tincture is a medicine that we made this week after we gathered the top 1/3 portion of the Jewel-weed plant. Jewel-weed Tincture is used to take the itch/sting out of poison ivy; mosquitoes; wasps/bee; etc.

To wrap up the week we gathered several food items such as mulberries, Danelien flowers, Red Clover Flowers, which were added into cornbread. Other ‘wild foods’ were tried throughout the week including Mint Tea and Mealworm Chocolate Cookies! The Woodland Survival Campers also enjoyed the archery range on Friday to simulate food gathering tools.

The children were excited each and everyday to explore what else they could use to survive if they were lost in the wilderness.

Can you find the shelter in this picture?

Team 1's Shelter

Team 2's Shelter

8 & 9 Year old camp is over... see you next year!

Wet ‘n Wild Camp at the Darke County Parks’ was another week of success for the Parks. We had fifteen 6-7 year olds who collected critters throughout the week.

The week consisted of taking a Wetlands Hike, Creek Hike, Frog Hunt, and going Fishing.

During our creek hike at Worth Persevere in the Greenville Creek the children collected fish and a seemingly endless supply of crawdads. Before going to the pond to catch some frogs, the children were shown different amphibians and reptiles who call the Nature Center home. We saw several frogs during our hunt, but were not lucky enough to catch any of them. Fishing on Friday was also a huge success; we even caught one bass which was about 1.5 feet long. The children were excited each and everyday to get wet again and to find different critters from the day before!

If your 6 and 7 year old missed out this year, be sure to check out our camps for next summer!

Seasonal Naturalist

Hello, I am Laura Pohlman, and I am a graduate from Wright State University with a Bachelor in Earth and Environmental Science. I grew up in Yorkshire, Darke County, Ohio on a small dairy farm. I have six sisters and three brothers and I am the second oldest. Currently, I am keeping busy making the final touches for my wedding, which is on August 29, 2009. I enjoy being outside and exploring new things each and every day. In the past I have gone camping as a Girl Scout, hiking, and canoeing. I also enjoy sewing, painting ceramics, and cooking.

I recently started with the Darke County Parks as a Seasonal Naturalist. I hope to see you soon out at the Parks taking advantage of the beautiful weather and at one of my many upcoming programs!

Monarchs are Back

Just a quick note to mention that the 1st Monarch of 2009 has been spotted at Shawnee Prairie Preserve! This individual must have made use of recent weather patterns to get here in time for June 1st.

(Not the best of photos, but only had my cellphone on me at the time...)

Be sure to stop in the Nature Center later this summer to check out our Monarch rearing work-station. Here we'll raise young monarchs from egg to caterpillar to adult.

Once they complete their metamorphosis, changing from caterpillar into their adult form, we'll carefully apply a sticker 'tag' to them for study through Monarch Watch's website. Stay tuned for more info on this neat project!