Bert Turner is awarded 2008 Trail Worker of the Year for AR Thursday, November 20, 2008

Bert Turner was selected by the American Trails board as the 2008 State Trail Worker of the Year for the State of Arkansas. The nomination came from the City of North Little Rock for the work CAMN did at Burns Park and Pfeifer Loop, with a reference to the work we have done at Pinnacle Mountain State Park and Allsopp Park. Congratulations Bert!

When Bert took the stage to accept the award, he said “I accepted this award on behalf of all the CAMN volunteers who have put in so much time and effort on the trails in central Arkansas. This award represents the analogy from the sports world that the coach is the guy who gets the credit for all the home runs someone else hits. Even though my name is on the certificate, this was really a team award!”

We all know that we worked as a team, but every team has to have a leader. And that leader for us is Bert. Thanks for showing us how to do it and then helping us accomplish so much this past year. Bert, not every man can move mountains, or at least parts of them! You have and now many will follow the paths you have created. Congratulations again.

Written by Martha Bowden Picture taken at NTS Nov 2008

AGFC and MN team up to clean up Arkansas River Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Master Naturalists spent the morning of November 1, 2008 removing trash from the banks of the Arkansas River and along the River Trail. The clean up was planned so that central Arkansas’s trail systems looked their best for the visitor’s to the National Trails Symposium.
Thanks to Colton Dennis of AGFC for providing the boats and trash bags. Written by Anne Massey

Picture taken of everyone that helped is in the Flicker Photo Album

CAMN volunteers at National Trails Symposium Monday, November 17, 2008

Many Master Naturalists worked long hours at the National Trails Symposium this weekend, and again on Monday and Tuesday. Our booth looked great with our new trifold display that the class of 2008 donated! All in all from what I have heard, the symposium was a success. A few problems and panic times but for the most part things went smoothly.

Over 250 volunteers helped with the event and I was proud that we were a part of those. CAMNers that I saw almost daily out there were Bert Turner, Bill Toland and Ann Owen and Tom Neale. Others who gave their time were Jonelle Doughty, George Lauster, Brenda O’Reilly, Katherine Becker, Vera Bowie, Linda Saylor and Jay Justice. Hopefully I haven’t missed anybody but if I did I have an edit button and will add you to the mix.

If you didn’t attend any classes or events, you really missed an opportunity to meet people from all over the world that have common interest in building good trails for all types of enjoyment. I met people from Korea, Canada, and all over the US and grew from their sharing. It was a fantastic event worth every moment of my time.

Written by Martha Bowden Pictures by Martha Bowden

Simpler East Indian Holly Fern found in Arkansas Friday, November 14, 2008

Several CAMN alumni—Martha Bowden, Brenda O’Reilly and Cathy Porter joined walk leader Eric Sundell for an Arkansas Native Plant Society-sponsored botanical walk through Allsopp Park in the Hillcrest area of Little Rock. Off the beaten path, the wooded slope from Kavanaugh to Cantrell supports a mixed pine-oak-hickory forest, dominated by shortleaf pine, mockernut and black hickories, and post, white, southern red, and northern red oaks. Lovely late asters and goldenrods were still in bloom. Allsopp Park is also Ground Zero for alien invasives, especially along the paved pedestrian/bicycle path that links the Kavanaugh Promenade to the recreation area off Cantrell. Was there even one alien invasive species missing? We saw tree-of-heaven, chinaberry, Chinese parasol tree, Chinese privet, Taiwan privet, winter honeysuckle, nandina, Chinese wisteria, Japanese honeysuckle, kudzu, white mulberry, and several more, including a European contribution, English ivy. One participant, Bill Shepherd, thanked the group for an informative botanical tour of China.

A mysterious fern—nobody recognized it—was spotted growing beside a small creek at the bottom of the slope. Martha’s digital photo was sent to Don Crank of Hot Springs, probably Arkansas’ most knowledgeable amateur pteridologists (fern man). He tentatively identified it as “Simpler East Indian Holly Fern” [sic] (I am not making this up), Arachniodes simplicior. Eric returned with Theo Witsell, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission botanist, to collect a few fronds for identification, and Don Crank’s ID was confirmed. The single plant represented a new species record for Arkansas—though widely cultivated, it had never been found growing spontaneously in the wild in our state. And in fact, the plant represented only the second “population” of SEIHF recorded in North America—the only other wild plants occurring in South Carolina. A neat find—and unlike a lot of exotics, seems to pose no threat to native populations.

Written by Eric Sundell  Picture by Martha Bowden