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Executive Director Corner
It has been a
busy time for the Trust the last few weeks.
After all of the events last month, the hectic schedule continues this
month. Sheila and Allison had a booth at
the Children's Groundwater Festival in Grand Island.
Sheila and I hosted a booth at Lauritzen Gardens on May 13th
and 14th. Marilyn and I
attended a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18th at Pyrtle Elementary
School (see article below). Seeing
several hundred elementary kids sitting quietly on the playground and then
thanking the Trust was pretty special. I
had the honor of attending the Lake Helen dedication in Gothenburg on May 20th. Sheila and I will have a booth at the City of
Lincoln’s Waterfest on June 4th.
I hope
everyone has gotten their crops in and you didn’t get too much rain or the
large hail that recently hit Lincoln and Omaha. I saw photos of softball sized hail that went through a roof, the
insulation, the inside ceiling and land on the floor of a Lincoln house. The insurance, roofing and auto body folks
are plenty busy in our part of the state.
Safe travels.
Mark Brohman
Executive Director
Volunteer Opportunities at the Ferguson House
Our team of volunteer docents at the Ferguson House work during
rental events on the first floor of the House. They are responsible for
answering questions about the House, giving tours of the four-floor historic
home, and being the representative of the House during events, when renters
need assistance.
If you are interested in volunteering please contact Event Coordinator Allison La
Duke at allison.laduke@nebraska.gov If you have questions about volunteering, you may contact Allison via
email or phone (402-471-5417).
Thank you!
Photo below shows some of the docents that volunteer at the Ferguson House. We are so appreciative of their service to us and the community.
Outdoor Enhancement Project at Pyrtle Elementary School in Lincoln by Kari Hoeft
Pyrtle has "broken ground" for their Outdoor
Enhancement Project. The new recycling and trash cans have been
installed. Every kid helped plant over 1300 buffalo grass plugs and
perennials in the new berms. This summer a shade structure will go up and
rain barrels will be installed. Six raised garden beds will
go in waiting to teach the children all about growing and harvesting fruits and
vegetables. There will be a "Little Nebraska Prairie" for the
kids to see first hand the changes over the seasons with the grasses and
habitat. To help with water, a rain garden will also be planted over the
summer. This will bring to life a variety of plants that children can
enjoy learning about, seeing pollinators and appreciating the beauty these
plants bring to our every day life.
Pyrtle is excited to incorporate this outdoor learning area
into it's every day learning. Planting the berms over this last week they
were able to see first hand how excited the children are to learn about nature,
get their hands dirty and watch the fruits of their labor grow.
Mark Brohman and Marilyn Tabor spent the afternoon with a couple hundred special kids at Pyrtle
Elementary School in Lincoln on May 18th. The kids thanked the Trust for funding their
playground project that included rain barrels, berms, low water plants
like buffalo grass, and erosion protection.
Fontenelle Forest's land stewardship department: It's not just about trails! - Jeanine Lackey, Director of Research and Stewardship
A year of “firsts” happened at Fontenelle Forest during the
fall of 2015 and spring of 2016. Four
oak woodland restorations-focused town hall meetings were held during which over
200 community members were briefed about the benefits of prescribed fire and
restoring oak woodlands; their questions were answered and concerns were addressed.
Prescribed fire and burn cache equipment was obtained by way
of grant funds from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, including burn skids
(water tanks that slide into the back of a 4-wheeler), drip torches, Personal
Protective Equipment (PPEs), hoses, GPS units, chainsaws, two-way radios and
other safety supplies.
The burn crew has grown bigger than ever….They now have 6 land stewardship staff trained in wildland
firefighting, three FF education staff,
and several FF volunteers who are trained and certified to help with prescribed fires. The land stewardship
staff also attends conferences and workshops, as well as trainings, to stay
current in the field of restoration and wildland fire.
In total, 240 acres were successfully and safely burned in
order to begin the restoration process and return our oak woodlands to a
healthier, more sustainable state (172 acres Neale Woods and 68 acres at
Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue). In many
areas, this was the first time these woods had seen fire in 150 years!
Previously, about 10 acres were burned inside Hawthorn Trail and
inside the third loop of the boardwalk.
Several burn units contained more fuel than other units, and
by fuel we mean oak leaf litter. Oak
leaves contain a waxy substance that is a bit more volatile than other
deciduous leaves, making it the perfect fuel to carry slow-moving,
low-intensity fire through the oak woodlands.
The low-intensity fire creates a patchwork of fuel on the
forest floor of burned and unburned fuel, creating refugia for overwintering
insects and other critters. Heterogeneity (differences within a group) is the goal. The land should not look all similar.
While the team try to plan fire breaks and burn units using
mainly locations of trails, they often have to create a fire break in a separate
location. This sometimes causes
confusion with hikers who may wonder onto a fire break that appears to be
trail, so signs have been posted on some of the fire breaks demarcating the fire
breaks from the trails.
The team are anxiously waiting to see how the oak woods and
openings respond to the management efforts. Other techniques used in restoration efforts included thinning over
story trees, removing invasive species and inter-seeding high diversity seed
mixes into our native prairies.
The future of their oak woodlands is looking brighter, now
that the team completed the first year of the 100 year restoration plan. The stewardship department will continue to
maintain trails at Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods for hikers, students and
naturalists. Their hope is that the
positive ecological changes that happen along the way this year, and for many
years to come, will be noticed and enjoyed.
Master Naturalist Program - University of Nebraska, Lincoln - Submitted by Shawna Richter-Ryerson, Communications Associate, UNL”
The Nebraska Master Naturalist program recently received $91,947
as the third installment of a three-year Nebraska Environmental Trust grant to continue
helping to protect and preserve the state’s natural resources.
Conservation agencies and organizations preserve, restore
and manage tens of thousands of acres of land across Nebraska, creating a need
for specialized, dedicated volunteers to help manage the natural resources. The
Master Naturalist Program, a science-based, nonprofit, adult-volunteer
education program, does just that.
Since its inception in 2010, the program has trained 308
people, 279 of which have maintained their membership and receive regular
notices of volunteer and continuing education opportunities. Members contribute
at least 20 hours a year to volunteer conservation efforts with partnering
agencies and organizations.
Over the last six years, Master Naturalists have invested more
than 34,000 hours of conservation service, an estimated value of about
$799,000.
The grant will help fund the Master Naturalist general
program efforts and expenses. Training sessions are scheduled for May 19 to 21
at Nebraska 4-H Camp in Halsey; June 5 to 11 at The Nature Conservancy's
Niobrara Valley Preserve, Valentine-Ainsworth-Bassett area; July 7 to 9 at
Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff, Gering area; and Sept. 30
to Oct. 1 and Oct. 7 to 8, AkSarBen Aquarium at Schramm Park,
Lincoln-Omaha-Gretna area. For more information or to register, visit
naturalist.unl.edu.
The funding also makes possible the annual Master Naturalist
calendar, available at the Nebraska Maps and More store.
The Master Naturalist Program benefits from matching support
through the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the UNL School of Natural
Resources and Nebraska Extension.
This photo shows (L-R) Master
Naturalists Bill Smith, Tim Olin and Tim Tharp who pose in front of Joel
Sartore’s blow-up photo of the endangered Salt Creek Tiger Beetle (SCTB) (Cicindela
nevadica lincolniana) at the lower floor of Morrill Hall, ready to demo how
the SCTB larvae are reintroduced into their burrows in the wild, saline
wetland, after being reared in labs at Henry Doorly and the Lincoln Children’s
Zoos.
Upcoming Events
- June 4, 2016 (Saturday) - Waterfest and Public
Works Day, Lincoln, NE
- August 8-9, 2016 (Monday/ Tuesday) - 3rd Quarter Board Meeting, Fort Robinson, Crawford, NE
- August 26-September 5, 2016 - Nebraska State Fair, Grand Island
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