Native Roots, July-August 2019
JULY-AUGUST UPDATE: Download the latest Native Roots, including Wednesdays in the Wild
Previously published May 23, 2019:
SAT May 25 10am-noon CDT – Native Field Guide & Native Landscaping Workshop at the Lake Village Library (9444 N 315 W, Lake Village, IN)
Includes an introduction to using field guides to identify native plants, and how to (and not to!) landscape using native plants. Come prepared for indoor study, and outdoor practice of identifying, weeding and planting native plants in the library’s landscaping.
TO REGISTER: contact the Lake Village Library at 219-992-3490.
**PROPHETSTOWN STATE PARK NATURE PROGRAMS — 4112 E. State Road 225, West Lafayette, IN 47906
Enter park via Swisher Rd (off N. 9th St, just south of Battle Ground)
Programs are part of park admission fee unless noted otherwise.
For all programs: Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
NOTE: Campground programs are also open to the public—park at the campground gate and walk in.
**SUN MAY 26th 1:30-3pm Gathering Greens at the Village – Park at the Visitor’s Center and safely cross the road to The Village.
Spring is the time for gathering fresh green plants from the woodlands. Greens can be eaten raw or cooked in a pot over a fire, and some spring leaves make for a delicious tea. Join us at the village and taste what the woodlands have to offer.
**SUN MAY 26th 8pm Sense the Night Hike – Meet at the Campground Shower Building.
Discover the tricks and techniques our nocturnal friends use to be successful at night. Can you hear as well as a bat? See as well as an owl? Find out during this fun night hike. Leave your flashlights behind, we’ll use all our senses to stay safe.
**MON MAY 27th 9:30-11am Memorial Day Wildflower Walk – Meet at the Visitor’s Center.
Beat the heat on this morning stroll through the park while learning about the floral beauties that bloom in the prairie.
**SAT/SUN JUN 1st & 2nd FREE FISHING WEEKEND! (No fishing license needed.)
**SAT JUN 1st 2pm TRAIL 3 HIKE – Meet at the far east end parking lot.
Celebrate National Trails Day by taking a hike with a Naturalist! Enjoy the high side of trail 3. Participants will have the chance to complete the entire 3.5 mile loop, or turn back at the boardwalk.
**SUN JUN 2nd 10am-Noon Fishing Fun – Park at the far east end parking lot and walk down to the Fishing Pond.
Never been fishing? Now is your chance to try it without needing a license. Practice your technique and learn some fishing tips. We’ll have some bait and a few extra poles on hand. Parents must accompany children.
**SUN JUN 2nd 2-3:30pm Village Tour – Meet at the Visitor’s Center.
Join us for a tour of the Native American Village and learn about the Prophetstown settlement. This guided program will include stops in the council house, medicine lodge, chief’s cabin, granary, and an easy walk through the prairie.
MORE PGMS: www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2971.htm
QUESTIONS: Jenna Parks Freeman 765-320-0503, jparks@dnr.in.gov
SAT/SUN JUN 1st & 2nd 7am-7pm CDT Newton County Wild
Weekend of activities includes everything from boating and fishing to hiking and biking**. All events are free and open to the public. Hosted by Willow Slough FWA, LaSalle FWA, The Nature Conservancy, Newton County Park Board, Northwest Indiana Paddlers Association, and Friends of the Sands.
**Detailed SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (times & locations) in ATTACHED FILE: Newton County Wild.pdf
QUESTIONS: 219-285-2704 or 219-992-3019
OUTDOOR EXPLORE VOLUNTEER CALLOUT – SIGN UP by JUNE 1st** for this JUN 8th event!
VOLUNTEER TIMES are SAT JUN 8th: 9:30 – 1:00 and 12:30 – 4:00.
VOLUNTEER DUTIES are varied and take place at both venues: Tippecanoe Co. Amphitheater and Bicentennial Nature Area. Duties can include but are not limited to: greeting visitors, working registration booths, selling water bottles and soft drink fill-ups, selling climbing tower tickets and fitting harnesses for climbers, re-stocking water stations, serving as runners to provide drinks & snacks to booth providers, helping at fishing areas with baiting hooks and untangling lines, and so much more!
** Interested folks can contact Mary Cutler by phone (765)567-2993 or email mcut@msn.com with any questions or to register to work at this event. All volunteers receive a free Outdoor Explore! stainless steel water bottle, which can be filled with free soft drinks at the Amphitheater this year – and in years to come if they bring it back with them! (One of our efforts to reduce disposable items – cup waste.). MORE EVENT INFO in ATTACHED FILE: 2019 OUTDOOR EXPLORE.pdf
MON JUN 3rd 6:30pm “Put Some Mussel In It” in the Skanta Theatre at the Frankfort Public Library
Cassie Hauswald, Freshwater Ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, gives this special presentation on “Freshwater Mussel Diversity in Indiana’s Wildcat Creek.” Also at the library is the Wildcat Creek Art Contest display JUN 3-17 in the Anna and Harland Hubbard Gallery.
MORE INFO in ATTACHED FILE: PUT SOME MUSSEL IN IT.docx
QUESTIONS: Leah Harden 765-659-1223 ext 3 or leah.harden@in.nacdnet.net
PROTECT the NICHES Carroll County 108-acre Frogs’ Glory property forever by making a gift to NICHES Stewardship Endowment.
NOTE: the first 40 contributions at or above $250 made before JUN 7th 2019 will have a chance to sign the back of a fiberglass frog to memorialize their support. This frog (42” x 42” x 45”) is being painted by acclaimed local artist Rena Brouwer and will be installed near the sharing library (“Little Free Library”) on the property at a dedication on JUL 6th.
Your contribution to the Stewardship Endowment provides long-term stable income for NICHES to do the many tasks needed to manage the natural area properly. Regular tasks include controlling the invasive honeysuckle and garlic mustard, maintaining trails, combating abusive use from people, implementing controlled burns, and working to bring back native species into the recovering woodland.
MORE INFO: 765-423-1605, niches@nicheslandtrust.org or Gus Nyberg gnyberg@nicheslandtrust.org
SAT JUN 8th 8am CDT “BREAKFAST WITH THE BISON” followed by VOLUNTEER Workday – Kankakee Sands (Newton Co.)
Bring your favorite breakfast foods/snacks to share with other bison enthusiasts, and a chair or picnic blanket. Spotting scope will be available for some up-close looks at the bison. Meet at the Bison Viewing Area.
Hosted by Mary Kay Emmrich & Denise Wessman (Friends of the Sands).
MORE INFO: Denise Wessman – ww1980@att.net
SAT JUN 8th 1pm CDT “SEASONS OF GRACE” – SPRING: ART on the GRACE TENINGA DISCOVERY TRAIL – Kankakee Sands
Join area artist Marilyn Diller and members of the Jasper County Art League for an afternoon of art on the prairie. This time of year the trail is carpeted in a stunning display of lance-leaf coreopsis and spiderwort. Draw, paint, sketch a flower or the entire magnificent landscape.
Meet at the trail parking lot on CR 600 N, a half-mile east of the intersection of CR 600 N and 200 W, Lake Village, IN.
MORE INFO: Marilyn – MarilynDiller@yahoo.com
TUES JUN 11th 11am – noon WL Tree Friends Meeting at Happy Hollow Complex (1200 N. Salisbury St, West Lafayette)
All are welcome to join West Lafayette Tree Friends—planters, pruners, protectors—who work to make West Lafayette Greener!
According to their May-June 2019 newsletter “Urban Leaves – Tree News You Can Use,” half of the urban forest is in your yard! “When we hear the term “urban forest,” we might picture city streets lined with oaks, elms, and honeylocusts. However, the urban forest is not solely street trees, but all trees in an urban and suburban setting. That’s right! Your tree in the backyard, shading your patio or porch, is also part of the urban forest. Trees on private property help act as mini-reservoirs, slowing and reducing stormwater runoff from entering our storm sewer system.” Much more information on the benefits of our “urban forest” are in their newsletter.
MORE INFO: West Lafayette Tree Friends newsletter@wltreefriends.org
QUESTIONS: Bryce Patz bpatz@westlafayette.in.gov
WED JUN 12th 6-7:30pm Monarch Butterfly Conservation – Clinton Public Library (313 S 4th St, Clinton, IN 47842)
Learn all about monarch butterfly conservation in this family-friendly program led by Purdue Univ Extension Educator Phil Cox in the library’s Upstairs Meeting Room. NOTE: Free Swamp Milkweed plants will be available for participants to adopt, take home, and plant to help conserve these beautiful butterflies! No reservations required.
MORE INFO: Phil Cox 765-492-5335, cox119@purdue.edu
SAT/SUN JUN 29th & 30th BIOBLITZ: IAS 2019 – in Marshall County
The 2019 Indiana Academy of Science bioblitz will be held June 29 — 30 at The Center at Donaldson, just outside Donaldson, north-central Indiana. This is a campus of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. They have some very diverse habitats close together, including a large pond and low-intensity grazing. Jeff Holland (Purdue Professor, Dept of Entomology) has toured the site with their Director of Ecological Relationships, so he knows this is going to be a great event.
If you are interested in joining the bioblitz this year, let Jeff know and send him your name, email, phone number, and taxon team preference.
MORE INFO/SIGN UP: Jeff Holland 765-494-7739, jdhollan@purdue.edu
**SHIRLEY HEINZ Land Trust 2019 Educational Hike Series (hikes take place at outstanding nature preserves)
~ These hikes are a chance to explore the beauty of the Calumet Region and beyond while supporting this land trust in its work to preserve natural lands in northwestern Indiana.
~ The groups are led by expert naturalists and limited in size to fifteen or fewer hikers—they fill up fast so register early!
~ Registration and payment ($25 fee/person) must be made in advance for each hike:
CALL 219-242-8558 or email Sarah Barnes sbarnes@heinzetrust.org
~ MORE INFO: email info@heinzetrust.org or visit www.heinzetrust.org
**SAT JUN 22nd 9am-noon CDT – Clark & Pine Nature Preserve – led by Emily Stork (Regional Ecologist for Indiana DNP)
This very special nature preserve, not open to the public, contains globally rare dune and swale topography and the plants and animals that reside there. Expect to encounter some special and beautiful wildflowers, but be prepared for wet feet by wearing high waterproof boots or shoes you don’t mind getting soaked.
**SAT JUL 13th 9am-noon CDT – Springfield Fen Nature Preserve – led by Derek Nimetz (Indiana DNP)
This nature preserve protects a mesic upland forest natural community and numerous wetland habitats. Of particular interest to this excursion is the high quality example of a calcareous wetland known as a prairie fen contained in this preserve. It also contains many rare plant and animal species. The terrain may be uneven and muddy so you must come prepared for wet feet and hummocky surfaces. Like at Clark and Pine, the best places to see are often the most difficult to walk through!
**SAT AUG 24th 9am-noon CDT – Cowles Bog – led by Dr. Greg Mueller (Chicago Botanic Garden)
There are over 1000 species of mushrooms reported from the greater Chicago region, many of them from Indiana Dunes National Park. Join mycologist Dr. Greg Mueller on a mushroom hunt at Cowles Bog; he has been studying the fungi of the Indiana Dunes for over 30 years!
SEP 30 DEADLINE for INPS (Indiana Native Plant Society) Photo Contest (open to INPS members & immediate household)
Photos may be submitted in two categories: Native Plant Portrait and Native Landscape Scene.
DETAILS: https://indiananativeplants.org/native-plants/inps-photo-contest/