Fall 2012 - Pheasant Branch Conservancy

Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy Newsletter
Friends Receive Over $20,000 in Grants This Year!
By Stefanie Brouwer
homestead, and wetlands) and storytelling
to inspire Conservancy visitors and
volunteers.
FOPB has recently received generous
grants from the John C. Bock Foundation
($15,000), REI ($6,400), and the Dane
County Environmental Council ($900)
for restoration and educational activities
within the Conservancy.
The Dane County award has been used
for the purchase of rakes and chain saws
to remove invasive plants in the Pheasant
Branch Conservancy. This equipment is
used by our summer interns and yearround volunteers.
The Bock Foundation award will be used
to plant seed, maintain already-restored
prairie and oak savanna areas, and control
invasive species such as buckthorn and
honeysuckle.
In 2011, the Bock Foundation awarded
FOPB funds to buy needed prairie and
savanna seed. The Bock Forest is being
restored under a five-year management
program; 2012 is year 4. The program
is developing and maintaining diverse
native plant communities; practicing
and showcasing sustainable forestry;
The REI grant will provide materials
and equipment for volunteers clearing
brush before and after controlled
burns and for planting high-quality
prairie to reduce runoff. Funds will
also support interpretive signage at
several key restoration sites (the springs,
continued on page 4...
Educational Pilot Program
Begins at the Conservancy
A Note from our President...........2
By Colleen Robinson Klug
school environmental studies teacher
Deb Weitzel, now chair of the FOPB
education committee, have developed
lesson plans specifically for these biology
units.
Summer Interns.............................3
In early September, 500 students
were invited to learn about the
scientific method first hand – making
observations and taking measurements
in the prairies of the Conservancy.
Photo Contest Reception.............5
continued on page 5...
Calendar of Events.......................8
The Conservancy is the site for an
exciting new service-learning program
for Middleton High School students.
This pilot project brings together
FOPB staff and board members and
Middleton High School biology teachers
to determine what curricular units can
be enhanced with an outdoor servicelearning component.
Conservancy naturalists and retired high
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Protect. Restore. Enjoy.
FALL 2012
Phenology Calendar.....................3
Naturalist Notebook....................4
Forestry Field Days......................5
New Observation Deck................5
Kids for the Earth.........................6
Restoration Workdays..................7
OUR BOARD
FROM THE PRESIDENT...
Dear Friends,
This summer we participated in two
extraordinary restoration work days, one
sponsored by the Clean Lakes Alliance
and the other by United Way. Both
involved enthusiastic employees from
local companies, many of whom were
visiting the Conservancy for the first
time. In interacting with the volunteers,
I was struck by the realization that
workdays reflect the heart of our mission
- to preserve, restore and promote the
Conservancy and its watershed.
The volunteers reinforced the importance
of protecting this wonderful place. As
each day progressed, so did their obvious
delight in the Conservancy. They admired
the blooming prairie. They played in the
springs by the new belly board. They
were awed by the view from the top of
Frederick’s Hill.
Obviously, the day was all about
restoration. The volunteers discovered
how much work it is to establish and
maintain a “natural” prairie.
They
cleared brush and collected seed. In the
process, they learned about invasive and
native plant species, controlled burns
and wildlife habitat. Observing their
enthusiasm, it occurred to me just how
superior hands-on education through
restoration is to book learning.
This fall the Friends are partnering with
Middleton High School on a new servicelearning program. Hundreds of students
will come to the Conservancy. We are
excited to play a part in educating the
next generation of Friends. We are also
grateful to this generation of Friends for
making it possible.
As we prepare for the coming year, we
invite you to help us carry out our mission.
There are many ways to participate – be
a member, do restoration work, join
a committee, serve on the board, or
help with outreach efforts. Use your
talents, skills and passion to ensure the
Conservancy remains the crown jewel
of our community for the enjoyment of
current and future generations.
Sincerely,
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Dawn Meyer
Bruce Froehlke
Maureen Schwarz Dale Klubertanz
Board Members
Stefanie Brouwer, Jane CummingsCarlson, Martin David, Susan Gruber,
Emil Haney, Hagen Hedfield, Michael
Knapstein, Mollie Rostad, Susan
Vennard, Deb Weitzel, Lyman Wible
Spring Editors
Joleen Stinson and Stefanie Brouwer
Spring Design
Jeffrey Potter
Illustrations/Photos
Susan Gruber, Dawn Meyer, Dean
Plumb, Colleen Robinson Klug, Deb
Weitzel
Send Newsletter Ideas to
[email protected]
Is your Membership Current?
The mailing name block on this newsletter
includes your membership expiration date
Please Visit our Website
Dawn Meyer
www.pheasantbranch.org
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Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
P.O. Box 628242
Middleton, WI 53562-8242
Summer Interns in the Conservancy
By Chris Warneke
This summer, as in the previous 3 years,
the Friends of Pheasant Branch was a
member of The Prairie Partners, which,
along with Madison Audubon, Natural
Heritage Land Trust, and the Friends of
the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, shared
a group of five interns. This year the
interns were: Kristina Barowitz, Nick
Schiltz, Allison Schmidt, Dan Stein, and
Christopher Warneke.
The interns worked at the county portion of the Conservancy every Wednesday for 12 weeks. Even with the extra
heat of the summer, the interns came in
to work every time.
They did a variety of activities such as
weeding, brush clearing, seed collecting,
and deck building. With the early spring
this year, the pulling of the yellow sweet
clover at the top of the hill had to begin
much earlier than normal.
Over the summer, the progression of
weeds transitioned from yellow sweet
of seed and the planting of a cleared and
re-sculpted gully on the east side of the
Conservancy.
From left to right: crew leader Tom
Klein with interns Kristina Barowitz,
Nick Schiltz, Dan Stien, Restoration
Committee Chair Susan Gruber and
Chris Warneke.
clover to white sweet clover and thistles,
and later to multiflora rose and burdock.
On the regularly scheduled Wednesday
workdays with the Friends’ wonderful
volunteers, the interns worked with the
volunteers on the west side of the hill
clearing honeysuckle, buckthorn, and
other woodies.
The summer wrapped up with collection
The long-running project of the summer was the belly board at the spring.
The board was originally built and put
in place in May by thirteen high school
students who participated in a 2011 summer course at the UW Arboretum. The
interns worked on stabilizing the board
and improving access to it.
They also removed some of the fencing
by the pre-existing deck at the spring to
improve the aesthetics of the site. With
this project completed, the springs area
will be more easily accessible to the public and, in particular, to children.
With the well-known consequences of
children spending too much time inside,
it is of increasing importance to create
spaces in the community for them to
enjoy nature. The interns played an important role in creating that at the Conservancy.
2013 Friends’ Phenology Calendar Coming Soon!
By Dale Klubertanz
Aristotle, often considered to be the
“first naturalist in the Western Scientific
tradition” in writings that go back 2,000
years, “stressed the absolute significance
of personal, direct observation in the
study of nature.” Given his philosophy
of observing and writing about nature,
he might have liked the 2013 Friends
of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Phenology Calendar.
Although written in modern English
and not ancient Greek, each month
provides valuable information about the
cycle of events for Conservancy plants
and animals along with scientific facts
concerning the seasonal variations of
climate that affect Conservancy plant and
animal communities. Each month also
provides a designated space to record
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
your daily findings and observations.
It also includes winning Conservancy
photos from this year’s photo contest.
An example of phenology highlights from
the 2012 calendar.
Lyanda Lynn Haupt, the author of Crow
Nation, Essential Wisdom from the Urban
Wilderness writes that amateur naturalists
can be in the “wonderful position of
being both scientifically informed and
unencumbered by restrictive parameters
of traditional scientific reporting.”
Haupt’s phenology tools are a pencil
and notebook, binoculars and a hand
lens. Add to that a Friends’ Phenology
Calendar and you will be ready to go.
This year’s Phenology Calendar for
2013 is scheduled for publishing in
mid-September and will be available
by October 20. It will be available for
$15 on the Friends’ website and at the
following retailers: REI, Prairie Café,
Wild Birds Unlimited, Willy Street Coop,
UW Arboretum, University Bookstore,
Fugal Muse, and Orange Tree Imports.
Buy one for yourself or as a wonderful
holiday gift.
NATURALIST NOTEBOOK:
News of Nature in the Conservancy
Hot Days of Summer in the Conservancy
By Dale Klubertanz
The searing, drought stricken air that
swept over this year’s June and July,
unrelenting and oppressive to even
the most ardent conservancy walker,
came in the wake of seasonal rhythms
already confused by a mild winter and
abbreviated spring. The near whimsical
play of weather throughout these
preceding seasons left some to anticipate
the unfolding cycles of summer to go a
bit awry.
come. They then struggled to sustain
themselves as the summer showers did
not show as typically promised. All that
had blossomed, been born, flew in,
crawled out and burst forth had found
themselves vying for moisture that was
not enough for a full-blown summer,
thirstily reaching to the sky in the dry air
and drawing hard within the depths of
the surface and soil.
extremes of the indigenous climate. The
trustworthy waters of the conservancy
springs, streams and wetlands continued
to flow through their longstanding
processes formed over millennia,
providing for the creatures living within
these communities, whether afoot or inflight.
When the rains finally came and the
cooler winds prevailed, the coming of
the storms was an invitation
to stop and acknowledge
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find
their arrival, wondrous in full
For many of those braving
awareness for what seemed
the heat or choosing cooler
reserves of strength that will endure as long as life
be a lengthy absence. The
hours to stroll through the
lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the to
moisture blew in a collective
conservancy, occasionally
migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides,
sigh of relief for a moment,
during daybreak or as the
sun neared the night’s
the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something as attention was drawn from
the distractions of our daily
horizon, it was sometimes
infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature
lives to the simple experience
difficult to recognize
- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring of rain that held out hope
the stage of summer at
that the rhythms of summer
hand. Sung in unison,
after the winter.” ~Rachel Carson
might right themselves once
the ubiquitous cricket’s
more.
chirp came weeks before
their usual appearance, making for a Surrounded by the parched, brown and
manifestation of later summer. Likewise, wilting urban grasses, trees, plants and Already late in August, there was a hint of
the loud clicking call of cicadas soon the country farm crops of our human autumn moving through the conservancy
followed, their song earlier than ever communities, walkers were heartened in subtle and capricious ways, like the
and presenting a feeling of August in the to view the resiliency of native plant spirit of a summer’s cycles and changes
communities of the conservancy. still full of fancy and surprises. For
sweltering evening air.
Each was thriving regardless of the those finding refuge and guidance in the
After what had been a quickened absence of precipitation, through their “repeated refrains of nature”, there is an
greening of spring into summer, the rich native diversity and deeply rooted abiding comfort in “the assurance that
blooms and plumes arrived to fare for ancient adaptations, well suited to the dawn comes after night, and spring after
the winter.”
future generations, as if their time had
Recent Grants... and providing opportunities for
environmental education and outdoor
recreation. The City of Middleton
is partnering in these efforts and is
budgeting $15,000 toward year 4 activities.
REI has been an important partner for
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
FOPB, supporting and encouraging
our mission, initiatives, and volunteer
activities. They publicize our work
and co-sponsor events with us. We are
exploring co-hosting an REI boot camp
at the Conservancy.
Continued from page 1
Dane County, owner of the Conservancy
land north of Century Avenue, partners
with us on a myriad of different levels
from sharing of staff time and expertise,
to materials, equipment, labor, and
funding . . . a truly exceptional partner!
Forestry Field Day is Saturday
November 3, 2012
The Middleton Public Lands Department will host the annual Forestry Field Day
at the Bock Community Forest in Middleton on Saturday, November 3, from 9:00
AM to 12:00 PM. This event will feature on-site wood milling, a horse logging
demonstration, a tree-climbing demonstration and horse-drawn wagon rides.
Wood from field day activities will be used for projects within city parks. For
further information check the City of Middleton website, the FOPB website, and
the Middleton Times Tribune. The event is free and open to the public.
Photo Contest Winners Reception
Join us for a winner’s reception at Middleton Art and Framing, 6771 University Ave in Middleton, on Friday, November 2, from
5:00 to 8:00 PM. Mingle with the winners and the Friends and enjoy light refreshments. If you can’t make the opening, stop by
Middleton Art and Framing another time, where winning photographs will be on display until November 16.
New Observation Deck
Andrew Plumb recently designed and built an observation deck and bench in
the Conservancy for his Eagle Scout project. Located just north of the Dane
County parking lot, it provides another spot to enjoy the quiet and treasures of
the Conservancy. The bench is attached to the deck with a 10 foot chain and can
be moved around easily on the deck as well as on the ground around it. So come
enjoy the new deck . . . observe the leaves turning color and the fall migrations
of warblers, humming birds, cranes, and red-wing blackbirds.
Susan Gruber, chair of the FOPB Restoration and Management committee,
notes that “Andrew has set a very high standard for other Eagle Scout projects.” And Darren Marsh, Director of Dane County
Parks, writes that “This is an outstanding project! Please pass along my thank you to Andrew and the volunteers that helped
complete this project. This will be a great asset to the Conservancy.”
Service Learning... They learned about seed dispersal
methods, native and invasive plants,
insects and weather conditions that all
play a part in the natural ecosystem.
The learning field trips were followed
by the service activities planned for late
September.
Working with the Conservancy’s
restoration crew, these same 500
students had an opportunity to return
to the Conservancy and prairies of Holy
Wisdom Monastery and engage in prairie
seed collecting and removal of invasive
species. Seeds collected from this effort
are used to plant prairies elsewhere in
Dane County.
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Continued from page 1
weeks and determine how to best
strengthen this partnership with the
high school to increase student learning
and experiences in the Pheasant Branch
Conservancy.
MHS biology students compare compass
plant to prairie dock on a recent field trip.
Biology teachers at the high school
are impressed with how the outdoor
experiences improved and enhanced
their classroom curriculum. FOPB will
evaluate this pilot effort in the coming
FOPB board members are also providing
valuable input in discussions concerning
the future remodeling of Kromrey
Middle School. The proposal includes a
new curriculum with a strong emphasis
on environmental education using the
resources within the Conservancy.
Plans include an environmental center,
amphitheater and the windows facing
out on the Conservancy.
EDUCATION CORNER:
Kids for the Earth Program News
Summer Recap and Autumn Opportunities
By Colleen Robinson Klug
Conservancy Days
Conservancy Day Programs excited and informed over 80
people this summer! Our bat program attracted the most
attention as DNR staff debunked bat myths, taught us how
important bats are to our economy and ecological systems,
described white nose syndrome and introduced us to friendly,
live bats who stole the show!
We also enjoyed walks to learn about invasive species and their
impact on the Conservancy, and an enlightening presentation
and demonstration about bees of Wisconsin. This summer,
the rare “rusty patched bumble bee” or Bombus affinis was
discovered in the Conservancy – one of many success stories
of this important restored area. Universe in the Park left us star
struck from September’s program, after UW Space Place staff
pointed out stellar wonders through high power telescopes set
up in the Conservancy.
FREE Conservancy Day Programs are held every third
Thursday from March – October. RSVPs are appreciated, but
not required. To subscribe for monthly email reminders, email
Colleen at [email protected].
Coming up in October:
Water quality and runoff in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy:
what we’ve done and what we’ve learned
Thursday, October 18, 2012 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Location to be determined
Speaker: Herb Garn, water monitor for the Friends, hydrologist
and lakes researcher
What is non-point source pollution? How do nutrients affect
lakes? Learn about water quality characteristics of agricultural
runoff and its detrimental effects on the marsh and Lake
Mendota. Learn related hydrologic terms and how water quality
monitoring can provide important information.
FOPB and other partners completed a wetland restoration
project in the marsh and installed a series of sedimentation
ponds in 2003. In 2009 the sediment ponds were dredged
and deepened, and additional management and conservation
practices were installed on upstream farmland. Herb will
present the results of the monitoring that was done to evaluate
the effectiveness of these practices.
He will summarize his study: “Water Quality of Agricultural
Runoff in an Ephemeral Stream Flowing into Pheasant Branch
Marsh and Lake Mendota, 2003-06 and 2010-12”.
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Staff Development for Teachers
Teachers were back on the bus in late September to tour
the Conservancy property and discover all of the learning
opportunities available to their students. This was a time to
discuss new ideas for high school student involvement and
improvements to our elementary field trips as well. Thanks to
all teachers who came out to take a look at what is possible. We
look forward to seeing you again soon – with your students on
a Conservancy field trip!
New Committee Members
The education committee is growing. More changes are likely
with our strategic planning process, as we determine our
specific needs on the committee. We welcome:
• Pamela Westby, Director of the Middleton Public Library.
Pamela is excited to explore how the library and Conservancy
education programs can partner to reach out to new audiences
and diversify our programming.
• Suzy
Scudder,
half-time teacher in
the Middleton Cross
Plains Area School
District and long- time
partner in our education
program
curriculum
development.
• Jane CummingsCarlson, retired from the
Department of Natural
Resources and current
Friends board member.
Jane is so enthusiastic
and looks forward to supporting new partnerships and more
collaboration between our education efforts and the work of
other Friends committees.
Participants in May’s Conservancy
Day program discussed turtles and
then took a few to the sand mounds to
imprint there before releasing them.
And, the committee will miss Trel Gimber, also a retired
district teacher and long-time education partner, as she moves
on to support this group and others in new ways. While Trel
was on this committee she worked to design, create and
implement lessons along the Fran Hammerstrom trail in
Middleton Hills, just north of the Prairie Cafe. Hundreds of K
– 2 grade students have enjoyed that trail on field trips where
they’ve learned how to observe nature and learn from those
observations. Thankfully, Trel will continue to be an essential
core naturalist for us!
GET OUT THERE:
Restoration Volunteer Opportunities
Always Hope for the Future!
By Susan Gruber
The best encouragement/donation we
received this summer was from Gracie
and her friend, Charlotte, who set up
a lemonade stand on the bike path to
raise money for the FOPB ($15). Their
sign read, “i hope
Pheasand Brach
Stays Clean.” What
an inspiration for
those of us who
work so hard in the
Conservancy yearround.
Instead
of plugging into
video games and
iPhones, the girls
were connecting
with nature.
We
had
a
wonderful summer
with our interns
and the restoration
of the place is
testimony to their
commitment (see
page 3). We only
had one day under
85° and they never
complained!
parking lot that was built by an Eagle
Scout (see page 4).
Check out our website for a story about
the restoration of the old Frederick
farmstead site: www.pheasantbranch.org/
farm.html.
Volunteers collect seeds during the United
Way Day of Caring.
Check out the belly
board at the springs
where I observe
kids playing at 6:00 AM! As County
Naturalist Wayne Pauly commented one
day with 5 adolescences playing in the
55° springs, “Listen to the music!”
Check out the restored gully on the
east side of the prairies… no more
birds caught in the burdock! Watch for
grassland birds moving through the area
and - if we get rain - to have it soak in vs.
carve ravines.
Fall is here and we are
collecting seeds at a
pace we didn’t know
possible.
Wayne
Pauly coordinates
this effort with
our many loyal
volunteers, school
and adult groups,
and students from
the Environmental
Studies classes and
the Ecology Club
at Middleton High
School.
This
year
the
MCPSD sophomore
Biology
students
participated
for
ser vice-learning
hours (see page 1).
With our Dane
County and REI
grants, we will
install educational
signs about various
aspects of the Conservancy and purchase
equipment to ensure safety when burning
brush piles.
Join us for work parties when you can.
Watch for signs on the trail, add your
email to the “reminder” list, or keep this
newsletter handy for dates.
Most importantly, enjoy the Conservancy
as often as you can!
UPCOMING WORK PARTIES
Join a fun group of hard-working
people to care for this very special
place.
Responsibilities include invasive plant
control, seed collecting & spreading,
etc...
Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - noon
October 3, November 7, December 5
Saturdays, 9:00 AM - noon
September 29*, October 6* & 20*,
November 17, December 15
*with Middleton High School students
Special Workday
Saturday, September 29* 9 AM - noon
REI National Public Lands Day
*with Middleton High School students
Additional work days are periodically
scheduled.
No experience needed, just a desire to
clear invasive plants and give back to a
place you enjoy.
Meet at the Pheasant Branch Dane
County Parking Lot
4864 Pheasant Branch Rd
1.2 miles north of Century Ave
Contact Susan Gruber at office@
pheasantbranch.org or call 836-3848
if you would like to be added to our
email list to receive a reminder of
work sessions. Volunteers are notified
via email and signs along the trail.
These workdays are weather
and project dependent, thus the
importance of being on the email list.
Visit the new deck north of the county
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Get your 2013 phenology calendar, page 3 . . .
To receive a paperless newsletter or be removed
from the mailing list, please contact:
[email protected]. Thank you!
FRIENDS OF PHEASANT BRANCH
CONSERVANCY , INC.
P.O. Box 628242
Middleton, WI 53562-8242
Madison, WI
Permit No. 764
PAID
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage
brought to you by
THE FRIENDS OF PHEASANT BRANCH CONSERVANCY
www.pheasantbranch.org
PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE
5th, 15th - Restoration Work Parties (page 7)
DECEMBER
2nd - Photo Contest Winners Reception (page 5)
3rd - Forestry Field Days (page 5)
7th, 17th - Restoration Work Parties (page 7)
NOVEMBER
18th - Conservancy Day (page 6)
3rd, 6th, 20th - Restoration Work Parties (page 7)
OCTOBER
29th - Restoration Work Party with REI (page 7)
SEPTEMBER
CONNECT WITH NATURE IN YOUR COMMUNITY
PHEASANT BRANCH CONSERVANCY
FALL-WINTER 2012 EVENTS