Earth Day Volunteering at the Schrader Center — April 20, 2013

Like the outdoors? Want to spend a little time helping improve the exterior grounds at the local nature center?

Schrader Center staff will host a volunteer work event in honor of Earth Day on Saturday, April 20 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm at the Schrader Center. We’ll be pulling privet, and other invasive species, planting trees and clearing walkways, cleaning up around the butterfly garden, and more! We encourage volunteers all of ages to participate for any amount of time! Volunteers should wear long sleeves, work pants and boots. Work gloves will be provided, but volunteers may bring their own. Coffee, tea and snacks will be complimentary.

Bird Walk – We’ll start the day out with a morning bird walk hosted by Brooks Bird member and Bethany College Professor of Biology, Jay Buckelew, from 9:00 -10:00 am. Meet in the lower parking lot of the Schrader Center near the trail head a few minutes before 9:00 am.

Astronomy Day Activities — Other activities include Oglebay Astronomy Club’s Astronomy Day program with two sessions. The daytime session will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the Speidel Observatory and includes solar viewing (weather permitting– many sunspots are currently visible), meteorite display, space science demonstrations and activities, and Speidel Observatory tours. The nighttime session will be held from 8:00 to 11:00 pm, also at the Speidel Observatory, and will include telescope astronomy (weather permitting–Jupiter is spectacular now!), night sky tour of the constellations and special Speidel Observatory tours.

Call the Schrader Center at 304-242-6855 for more information.

Cupcakes for Volunteers!

 By Jake Francis, Director of Environmental Education–One thing that sets the Ohio Valley apart from other places I have lived is the intense pride that many of us hold for our natural resources.  It might have something to do with the massive body of water that we use as a reference for almost everything, or perhaps it has something to do with the rich tradition of sportsmanship in this valley. But I believe it has a lot to do with the amazing and unique city parks that are inextricably tied to our city’s identity.

In my two years here, I have met students who are willing to slave in the heat of summer working to conserve our forests, young adults shaping our food landscape and bringing green space to our downtown, and octogenarians who have given their entire life over to the our city parks and Oglebay Institute.  And, as I was trying to write a post about our upcoming volunteer opportunities, all I could think of was how much thanks we owe to you all!

In light of that, I want to share a couple of organized volunteer days we will be having at the Schrader Center which will focus on doing some much-needed maintenance on our trail system and continuing our battle with invasive exotic plant species that are threatening our forests.  We will be holding workdays from 9am-3pm on February 23 and April 20.  We will have all of the tools needed and can provide work gloves, as well as some hot beverages, snacks, and congratulatory cupcakes to thank you all for everything you do.  If you can’t make those days, don’t fret. You can call me at the Schrader Center at 304-242-6855, and I’ll make sure you get a cupcake, but you’ll have to spend some time discussing birding, botany, herpetology, or the like!  I hope you can forgive this departure from my normally scientific blog posts, and that you can come see us in the next couple of months!

What: Volunteer Days at the Schrader Center

When: February 23 & April 20

Where: Schrader Center, Oglebay Park

Time: 9am-3pm

Info: 304-242-6855

 

 

Monarchs Flutter at the Schrader Center

“Flock”, Miller University

Getting to be the greeter of guests, one never knows who’s going to walk in the door at the Schrader Center!  It could be a community member or a visitor from Sarasota, FL.  It could be a child with a question about native animals or a family from Phoenix, AZ visiting Oglebay Park.  It could be someone wanting to walk our trails or a former Junior Nature Camper.  On this particular day, it was aerial artist Erica Loustau and her three- year-old daughter, Zoe.

Someone who finds inspiration from flocks of birds, Erica designs site-specific artistic displays that are suspended in mid-air by geometrically arranged wires.  Her three-dimensional mixed media is a nod to how nature inspires art.  Her suspended art is both magical enough to captivate kids and creatively alluring for adults.

“I have long been fascinated by the movement and organization of flocks of birds,” says Erica. “These birds in flight are like ant colonies or swarms of bees. Not only do they seem to have a distinct form, but also a sense of organization and purpose.”

“Monarch Rabble”, Schrader Center

Erica recently designed a suspended work of monarch butterflies soaring over the exhibit hall of the Schrader Center.   “Monarch Rabble” includes 2,000 butterflies that begin at the door and guide guests into the exhibit hall which overlooks the Corson Butterfly Garden.

Erica’s art brings nature not only inside, but into our imaginations.  Her recent visit to the Schrader Center allowed her to see the panel that was created to honor those who donated “butterflies”.  Accompanied by her daughter, Zoe, the pair enjoyed playing in our puppet room and touring the Center.  It was great to meet the maker of the Monarch Rabble that soars above me while I work! ~Sara Fincham, Customer Service Representative at the Schrader Center 

“Scatter”, West Chester University

Annual Christmas Bird Count at Schrader Center This Saturday

Annual Christmas Bird Count

8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturday, December 22
Schrader Environmental Education Center, Oglebay

Love birds? Want to see how many you can locate around Oglebay Park? Join the Schrader Center staff and participate in the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturday, December 22 at the Schrader Center in Oglebay Park. The longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, the Christmas Bird Count provides critical data on bird health and population trends. We’ll be scouting the area for all types of birds and then submitting our collective data to the Audubon Society’s census.

Help make a difference for science and bird conservation. Participate in the Christmas Bird Count this year. We’ll even provide the snacks and coffee! For more information, contact Greg Park at the Schrader Center, 304-242-6855. You can also visit the National Audubon Society’s website.

Last Trail Maintenance Day for 2012

Last volunteer Trail Maintenance Day for 2012 will be this Saturday, Dec. 15 from 10am-12pm at the Schrader Center. We’re continuing to focus on the removal of invasive exotic species, such as European Privet, and to clean up the trail for visitors. Volunteers should wear long sleeves, work pants and boots. Work gloves will be provided, but volunteers may bring their own. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided. Call the Schrader Center at 304-242-6855 for more information.

Winter Activities for the Whole Family

If you’re in need of something to do over the long months of winter, look no further!

Trek on up to the Schrader Center to participate in many of our fun, family outdoor and indoor activities over the winter! Not only do we have native snakes, turtles and fish that you can see and touch, we have an interactive video game that features a hike in Oglebay’s forest through the eyes of salamander, and even includes a boss fight with a snake! Or, you can fly over the forest on the wings of dragonfly.

On the first Saturday of the month from 12-4pm, families can discover more about the natural world by participating in our Scavenger Hunts that are free to all ages. Our children’s playroom is always open and filled with puppets, books, puzzles and games that are nature-focused. For the littlest naturalists, we offer youth programs like Preschool Days and Budding Naturalists every other Friday that teach children to act in a caring and responsible way towards their environment, themselves and others with hands-on educational activities.

And, for the shoppers in the family the Holiday Art Show & Sale, featuring local artisan’s hand-crafted items in a variety of artistic styles is the best place to find one-of-a-kind holiday gifts.

If you can’t make it to the Schrader Center over the busy holidays, here are some ideas for fun, simple crafts that you can do with kids of all ages. They’re easy to do, require minimal supervision and will help get you and the kids in the holiday spirit. Be creative and remember to utilize recycled items around your house such as old ribbons or ties, twisties from bread bags, pine cones from your yard, old socks or material and metal cans.

Enjoy the winter days!

Trail Maintenance Day this Saturday at the Schrader Center

Like the outdoors? Want to spend some time pulling weeds? We’ve got the job for you!

Trail maintenance days will focus on the removal of invasive exotic species under the guidance of Schrader Center naturalists.  One of the major threats to a healthy ecosystem at Oglebay park is the invasion by non-native plants that were introduced for ornamental or horticultural purposes. In particular, this summer and fall the focus has been on controlling European Privet, a shrub that shades out native species and is given a competitive advantage because it is largely ignored by deer.

Volunteers should wear long sleeves, work pants and boots.  Work gloves will be provided, but volunteers may bring their own. Dates are set for Saturday, Nov 17,  Dec 1, and Dec 15 from 10am-12pm. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided. Call the Schrader Center at 304-242-6855 for more information.

Enviro Book Club to Discuss The Sacred Vision

Join the Environmental Book Club Thursday evening, October 18, 2012 for coffee and a discussion on The Sacred Vision: Native American Religion and Its Practice Today by Michael Steltenkamp.  The Sacred Vision is a personal venture into Native American Religion by the author. It is useful for anyone inquiring to where spirituality may lead them; specifically into Native American culture from an outsider’s perspective and as a useful gauge of the culture as of the 1980′s, in the pre-casino era.

We meet at 7pm at the Schrader Center in Oglebay Park, Wheeling WV, typically on the upper floor. Check out our blog at www.ecobookclub.wordpress.com  for past discussions and future books.   Hope to see you there!

Arrows are Flying at the Schrader Center!

Archery is the art or skill of propelling arrows with a bow toward an intended target. A person who participates in archery is typically referred to as an archer or bowman, and according to Wikipedia, one who is fond of or an expert at archery can be referred to as a “toxophilite”. While archery has traditionally been the sport of  huntsmen, in modern times it has become a recreational activity enjoyed by all age groups. The Schrader Center’s resident toxophilite is none other than our own Greg Park, senior naturalist and birder extraordinaire.

There has been recent rise in the popularity of archery attributed to movies such as The Hunger Games and the success of 2012 Olympic silver medalist and American archer Brady Ellison. According to the Associated Press, NBC ranked archery as the most popular sport of any that it aired on its cable networks during the first few days of the 2012 Olympics– bigger even than basketball.

So what’s really got us going at the Schrader Center these days? You guessed it — archery! With the addition of two youth archery programs, that completely filled within the first two weeks, we’ve set up the targets and are preparing to see the feathers fly (arrow’s feathers, or course!) during the months of September and October. The programs, taught by Greg Park, are targeted to students between the ages of 9-12. Students meet on Tuesday or Wednesday from 4-5pm and are instructed in proper shooting technique, stances, form, range estimation, safety and more.

Several corporate groups visiting Oglebay Park have booked archery programs through the Schrader Center as team-building experiences for employees. Imagine being lined up beside your boss, suited up in archery gear with a bow and arrow?

We hope to be able to add additional archery courses that are available to the public in the spring 2013. Check out OI’s website for updated listings. Give us a call at the Schrader Center at 304-242-6855 for more information.

Monarch Metamorphosis

Here at the Schrader Center we get to see a lot of cycles.  The weather cycles of winter, spring, summer and fall bring with them ever-changing environmental events.  We celebrate the signs of spring with our Maple Sugaring event, seize summer with our collection of camps, say aloha to autumn with our annual R.E.A.P. program, and withstand the winter with pre-school day programming and free Saturday Scavenger Hunts.  Currently we are capturing an up-close view of one particular process – the life cycle of a monarch butterfly.

The evolution of a monarch butterfly takes about 30 days in its entirety.  The four-part process starts with an egg, and the relationship between monarchs and milkweed begins.  Depending on the temperature, it can take the egg 3 to 5 days to hatch into the second stage of the monarch’s cycle:  the caterpillar.  Monarch caterpillars constantly consume food (the milkweed plant) and produce frass (caterpillar solid waste) until they shed their exoskeleton, also called their cuticle, four times.  This shedding is once again individual to environment, and this pre-pupation can take 14-18 days.

The third part of the process is the pupa stage.  Also known as “the hanging J,” the caterpillar will spin a silk button to suspend itself,  fastened upside down.  The chrysalis will form and become firm and this “jade green jewel” dangles for about 10 days before a butterfly begins to break through.   The fourth and final factor then forms.

The butterfly emerges but its wings will not expand.  It must push hemolymph, butterfly blood, into its body for another hour or two before the wings will work.  The butterfly will then depart from its former dwelling and fly away.  You can see this entire process at the Schrader Environmental Education Center, as well as view our Monarch Rabble Butterfly Display and Memorial, and explore on your own in our butterfly garden. – By Sara Fincham, Schrader Center Customer Service Representative