Spring Trip to Terra Alta with OI Naturalists

Spotted Salamander

Oglebay Institute naturalists will be taking a weekend in early spring (between Feb. 16-Mar. 16, 2013–depending on weather) to visit our camp at Terra Alta, WV in search of mole salamanders and wood frogs.

Mole Salamanders, including the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and the Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonium), spend most of their lives underground, thus relatively little is known about their life histories. These are large-lunged salamanders (4.5-7.5 inches), much larger than the Allegheny dusky salamander common in Oglebay Park. If timed right, you can catch them traveling to temporary seasonal ponds (vernal pools) where they lay their eggs. They make this trip on nights the temperature rises above 50 degrees and rain melts the snow. They emerge from the ground and migrate en mass to the vernal pools. They are especially intolerant of changes in forest cover and only bury themselves in mature forests with vernal pools nearby. Luckily, we have two pools like this in close vicinity to OI’s mountain camp.

Wood frogs, on the other hand, are more visible throughout the year, and they are the first frogs to breed. They use the same pools as the mole salamanders, and are a good indicator of mole salamanders about to emerge. To find the two amphibians, one must hike along in the woods until hearing a sound similar to a duck quacking. That “quack” is actually a wood frog in a vernal pool. If you return at night, and are lucky, you may find many mole salamanders and frogs breeding.

Jefferson Salamander

The public is welcome to participate in this migration. But be warned — participants must be flexible in scheduling and  “hard core” campers and hikers! It is likely to be snowy, rainy and cold, and the camp will not be opened for the season yet. That means no running water, heat or prepared food. The Lodge at the camp will be open for sleeping, but participants will need to haul in their own water and bring their own food (which can be cooked using our propane range). Necessities for the trip include decent rain gear (jacket, pants, boots); multiple layers; a headlamp; a good sleeping bag; and good spirits!

The dates for this trip are EXTREMELY weather dependent. As such, any interested participants can be added to our email list and will be notified of the trip on the Monday before we leave. The trip is free except for organizing your own transportation and food, and is an uncommon adventure for even the most experienced naturalists. To RSVP, contact Jake Francis (jfrancis@oionline.com) or Greg Park at the Schrader Center at 304-242-6855.

Family Nature Camp Offers Something for Everyone

Bring your family and join in the fun with the opportunity to camp together at Oglebay Institute’s Mountain Nature Camp on the weekend of Aug. 24-26, 2012.  As a mother and nature educator, I am looking forward to this opportunity to join other families at OI’s Mountain Nature Camp near Terra Alta, Preston County, WV for a weekend of camping and outdoor play.

Schrader Environmental Education Center naturalist, Greg Park, will be on hand as well as nature educators and other families for a weekend of outdoor fun in a comfortable, safe environment. The Family Camp weekend will offer programming suitable for beginner outdoors people and seasoned naturalists alike.

Facilities include a bathhouse and a small lodge with a dining room and lounge. Campers arrive Friday evening for check-in, set-up, dinner and campfire. Saturday will include a wide range of activities for beginners and experienced outdoors people including nature instruction, hiking, fishing, canoeing, camping gear demonstration, outdoor creative play and campfire. One additional activity will be provided Sunday morning before check-out. Each family will leave with a small gift to help them play outside!

Cost is $75 for each parent with a child and $25 for each additional child. Oglebay Institute members pay $65 for parent with a child and $20 each additional child. Call the Schrader Center at  304-242-6855 to register.

This camp rounds out the host of the Schrader Environmental Center’s camping and nature education programs including Nature Day Camp (https://sites.google.com/site/seecndc/), Junior Nature Camp (www.juniornaturecamp.org ) and Mountain Nature Camp (www.mountainnaturecamp.org ).

Natasha Diamond has a B.S. in Wildlife Resources and a Master’s in Public Administration. Her love for wildlife, the outdoors and for helping children and families experience them, has led her to her most recent projects; program director for Oglebay Institute’s Junior Nature Camp and Mudpie Magic, an outdoor play and learning group for children and families in the Morgantown area. She also serves as full-time adventure guide for her two children, ages 6 and 3. www.wildplacesopenspaces.wordpress.com

For Those Who Follow the Nature Trails…

New Trailhead Sign for Oglebay Park's Trails

A.B. Brooks began his morning nature walks with a quote from Charles Dickens, “The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily with a purpose.”

“Once in while, everyone accepts an invitation, or responds to an urge, to break away from the daily round of duties–if only for a brief hour in new surroundings.  Most appealing of such calls usually come from the open country,” said Nat T. Frame, former Director, Oglebay Institute.

Maybe it’s time for you to break away from the daily grind and enjoy some time in nature! The trails at Oglebay are open year-round and are perfect for individuals on a quiet lunch break, busy families who want to introduce their children to nature, or animal lovers looking for a place to run and frolic in the wild.

With our recently installed sign at the trailhead behind the Schrader Center, we’ve included a large-scale map of our trails and a literature holder that includes a printed trail map and information about programs happening at the Schrader Center. Staff naturalists will be posting bird and wildlife sightings, as well as foliage reports,  next to the trail map on a regular basis.

Circa 1938 Oglebay Park Trail Map

The making of the Oglebay Park trails was begun in the fall of 1927, about six months prior to the opening of the general nature program, and was continued from year to year until the ten-mile trail system was completed.  At Oglebay, Brooks was legendary for his Sunday morning bird walks which began in the morning at 7:00am and featured an outdoor breakfast cooked over an open fire. Brooks would recite poetry, scripture, and teach of the various birds, trees, flowers, insects, and mammals that called Oglebay Park home. The first guided trip was made to the Falls on April 14, 1928. Three persons in addition to Mr. Brooks made the trip, two from Wheeling and the third from Cleveland. The attendance grew until figures were routinely around 250 persons. According to Brooks’ records, during the ten year period 1928-1938, he led 1,200 nature walks with a total attendance of 51,500.

“As long as the beauty and grandeur of primitive forest scenery is preserved, it will have a powerful influence in shaping the character of people. The great forest, which surrounded the homes of the pioneers, left an indelible mark on their characters. It affected every act of their lives. Its influence was manifested in their manners and customs and conversation. It made men more thoughtful and less talkative and superficial; it furnished the inspiration for many of their great works of prose and poetry; and it breathed into them a spirit of freedom and independence.” ~A.B. Brooks

Come Hike the Trails to see the Spring Beauties in Bloom!

By Jake Francis, Director of Education, Schrader Center — The first Spring Beauties “Claytonia virginica” bloomed this week along the Falls Vista Trail.  This quintessential spring wildflower is the first showy NATIVE plant seen blooming  along our trails at the Schrader Center, opening when the temperature raises above 11 C (~52 F).  The really interesting story about this plant lies in the difference in flower color from individual.  The majority of flowers (including the individuals observed this week) are white with variable pink lines on the petals.  If you search many plants though, you will find that a large portion of plants produce deep pink/purplish flowers.  Interestingly, the deep colored flowers are pollinated more often by flies and bees, so one might think they would be more common, but a study found that a certain species of slug also prefer to eat the leaves of pink-flowered plants (making them less successful!)

These interesting little ephemeral will bloom as long as the temperature is warm enough and the canopy is open.  If you chance across a pink individual while hiking our trails, snap a photo and we will add it to this blog post.