Master Naturalists join Ouachita Mountain Hikers at Bell Slough Sunday, February 8, 2009

 

The Ouachita Mountain Hikers  ( http://www.omhikers.net/ ) and four Master Naturalists:  Bruce Walls, Dave Danner, Linda Saylor and Martha Bowden,  met at Bell Slough for a morning hike on Saturday, Feb 7th. 

In this day when you can go anywhere with the aid of a computer, it is good to actually spend time with others and share our world in person.  It did take a few emails to put the hike together and we are grateful for Loretta and her organizational skills.    We didn’t hike the trail, we consciously meandered along the path stopping to see the trees such as the bur oak or winged elm, the birds and the other wildlife (dead raccoon).   

After the hike, we ate at O’Henry’s, a small restaurant just outside of Mayflower on the way to Conway.  With good food, more stories were shared and friendships were made.

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

CAMN using their skills Thursday, October 23, 2008

October 10th – Robinson School group, 150 6th graders, Need CAMN help with the compass course, teaching about the ecology and health of the Little Maumelle, and teaching kids how to paddle a canoe.

Any takers?

Those of us who were free that day showed up. Bill Toland and Bert Turner taught the compass course and nobody got lost.

George Lauster and Martha Bowden helped them scoop up macroinvertebrates when a few kids decided they were going to swim like the fish.

Anne Massey and Ann Owen taught paddling and canoe safety. Ann Owen was dumped into the water and had to rescue a canoe that got too far down stream. Too bad we didn’t get pictures of that. We had a few laughs about our day as we sat down for lunch.

Coming out of the woodwork at Natural State Expo Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Attendees at the Natural State Expo October 11, 2008 were coming out of the woodwork to sample the assortment of insects we provided for their dining pleasure! We had a great crew who enjoyed demonstrating their interpretive skills at this third annual Arkansas Sustainability Network event, which was held again at the Statehouse Convention Center. Many thanks to CAMN members Martha Bowden, Katherine Becker, Vera Bowie, Bill Toland, Brenda O’Reilly, George Lauster and Ann Owen for serving as our interpreters for the day. And a very special thank you to Kristina Root, interpreter from Pinnacle Mountain State Park who stayed for the entire event and engaged our visitors with interesting facts about insects and mammals.

Trash Clean Up Sunday, September 28, 2008

Friday, Anne Massey, Bert Turner and I met at the Big Dam Bridge and led a group of City Year Corps throughout the River Trail. Let me tell you, walking and picking up trash and talking with these kids was a lot of fun. They are a good group of trash finders and made a huge difference in the park area.

Saturday, six Master Naturalists (Anne Massey, Ann Owen, Katherine Becker, Bill Toland, Tom Neale and I) met at PMSP. The people that came were assigned and as Team Leaders we set off with gloves, bags, and water. We were ready for TRASH!

The park was amazingly clean. My group of cub scouts took the Arboratum Trail. Since there wasn’t much trash to pick up, we picked up sticks and showed the kids as much nature as we could find and ID. After hours of walking in the woods, we rounded up the cub scouts and headed back to the picnic area for delicious food. After some short talks about what the park looks like in 1975 and how far it has come, we all received our patches. Thanks to all the volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning to help clean up PMSP.

A Little Bird needs BIG help Thursday, August 21, 2008

Join the Arkansas Wren Survey and help Audubon Arkansas and ASU learn more about the distribution of the rare and declining Bewick’s Wren. It is possible anywhere in the state but we can’t cover the whole state without your help! It’s free, easy, fun, and open to anyone of any experience level who can spend at least 4 hours at least twice a year looking and listening for Bewick’s Wrens in their habitat.

Here’s what you do:

* Sign up at http://ar.audubon.org/wren
* Find suitable Bewick’s Wren habitat using maps and local knowledge
* Count the wrens you see and hear (we’ll provide a CD of wren songs)
* Record a few simple habitat measurements
* Submit your data
* Share your questions and sightings with other participants using the ARWREN e-mail list

Although our focus is the Bewick’s Wren, you’ll also count Carolina and House Wrens. These wrens are much more common than Bewick’s and look similar. It is especially important to differentiate the Bewick’s from the Carolina. The identification problem is similar to that of the Ivory-billed vs. Pileated Woodpecker. If it wasn’t for the look-alike common species, identifying the rare one would be a snap. So learn the field marks.

Voice is the best way to separate them; listen to vocalizations on our web site. Habitat is somewhat of an indicator too. The Carolina Wren is our most common wren and the one most likely to be living in backyards throughout the state. Bewick’s Wrens tend to avoid heavily urbanized areas, instead preferring brushy, weedy, overgrown fields and woodland edges, including unkempt farmyards with fencerows, junk piles, and old buildings for nesting.

So learn the field marks. Both Bewick’s and Carolina Wrens have a wide white eyebrow stripe. Bewick’s is gray below and gray or reddish above. Carolina is a warm buff-brown color below and red-brown above. Bewick’s has white corners on the tip and a distinct pattern on the underside of the tail. See http://www.ar.audubon.org/wren/SpeciesProfiles.html for details.

Sign-up today! If you have questions don’t hestitate to contact Dan Scheiman, Bird Conservation Director for Audubon Arkansas at 501-244-2229

Picture used with permission from Charles Mills

Fundraiser Plant and Treasures Sale Aug 15 and 16th Sunday, August 10, 2008

Central Arkansas Master Naturalists are up to it again. We are up to fund raising. The plants from the greenhouse at PMSP have managed to make it to Maumelle for the big sale. Plus, a few people have donated even more plants so we have some variety. You will find some natives, annuals, tree and shrubs plus some houseplants. Besides the plants, we have gathered items we call treasures from members and donations from people that want to support our work. We have been pricing these goodies for days and the tables are getting fuller.

SUNDAY AFTER SALE UPDATE:  Many thanks for the people who came and bought our treasures and plants.  We were able to raise a lot of money  because we had a huge turn out of people and a big neighborhood traffic jam.  Besides making money from the sale of plants and treasures, we were able to meet quite a few people who were interested in joining our group.  Remember to visit the website to more information on up and coming training.  We hope to have a spring plant sale with a bigger variety to offer everyone.

A typical River Ecology session by Master Naturalist Bill Toland Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The last interesting group was from Abilene, TX. High school seniors looking at colleges in AR. I did a River Ecology session one afternoon for the group of about 35. As soon as they got off the bus they needed to use the restrooms at the picnic area of PMSP. Guess what? The restrooms were closed due to no water! And no toilet paper on the bus (tough luck for the ladies). The guys used the woods and the ladies fended for themselves.

We found lots of macroinvertebrates (everyone got wet) and were able to do four or five of the chemical analysis of the water.

After three hours their day was over.…wet, exhausted, bug bites, nerves frayed from false snake sightings, lots of pictures but much more knowledgeable about how to determine water quality level.

Hopefully a good memory of PMSP also.