Owl Night in Review

As is almost always the case when things happen on short notice, our first Summer Community Program (which was officially announced 3 days before the opening night…) had us running around like chickens with our heads cut off up until the point people arrived.  Then as if someone turned a switch all the chaos and energy that goes into putting a program together last minute merged and synced into a pleasant hum.  We have lift off.

The purpose of our first community program was to introduce people to owls and their amazing adaptations that allow them to be successful nocturnal creatures.  To our delight, we had a fantastic turnout with 42 people in attendance.  To our amazement, some members of the audience had come from as far away as Missouri, Colorado, and even Texas!  When asked if they had come all the way up just for our presentation, they said no.  They were up visiting family members on the lake, but I still like to think that we had a little bit to do with them coming all this way…

 

It was a great night.  Audience members were introduced to why owls are so alluring whether it be for their sage Tootsie Pop wisdom, their silly peculiar nature as in James T. Fields poem The Owl, or their sometimes spooky association with scary stories and the dark; owls are culturally ubiquitous. 

Before long we were outside enjoying the soft evening light illuminate smiles on the children’s faces as they tried their best to be sneaky like an owl in a game called “Sneaky Owls Need to Trick Jake to Eat the Baby Opossum in the Middle of the Circle” (other popular names for the same game include a much simpler, “Owl/Opossum”)

With all our trickster owl children stuffed on Opossum, we headed out on the trail to try our luck at rounding up some owls on Au Sable’s campus.  Having hid taxidermied Snowy, Barred, and Great Horned Owls at various spots along the trail beforehand, participants had to use their owl eyes to locate the inconspicuous (with the exception of the snowy owl, it’s frustratingly difficult to hide a white owl in the summer…) raptors during the hike.  Alas, participants did a great job and with each sighting we were able to look at the owl up close and talk about the adaptations and habits of each individual bird.

As the evening wound down, we retired to the dining hall to fill our bellies with cookies, coffee, and lemonade.  It was the end of a great night and the beginning of a fun stretch of Thursday evening community programs we will be hosting most of the month.  Next up at 7pm on Thursday, July 14^th we will be learning how to read the landscape.  Join us again for an exciting time out on the trails learning how to decipher the story being told by the plants and animals all around us.  We hope to see you there!

Summer Community Programs: Owls!

What:  Owls and other nocturnal creatures presentation
When:  Thursday, July 7th, at 7pm
Where: Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies
Why:  To raise awareness for the environmental education program, and because it is nice to be outside...

Hey folks Paul Wiemerslage here, I am back at Au Sable! (at least for a bit…)  Trish and I have been busy working on the Environmental Education Program, tweaking this and reinstituting that.  I guess in a way we are in the process of baking an environmental ed cake.  We are compiling the necessary ingredients and getting set to stick it in the oven for a school year of baking.  One of the ingredients for our recipe is to bring back some community nights for the good folks around the lake and the general public to attend.  Every Thursday night at 7pm (unless otherwise noted) for the month of July we will be serving up a delicious slice of natural history.  Most events will be 1-1.5 hours in length (again, unless otherwise noted) and will include activities that will work to introduce people of all ages to the ingredients of this place.  Generally each night will consist of introductions, a brief talk on the subject of interest, perhaps a game or two for the kiddos and young at heart, and a walk to explore Au Sable’s woods or pond.

We encourage everyone to come on out, bring your family and friends, learn (or perhaps even teach us) something wonderful about northern Michigan’s natural history, and grab yourself a mildly cool glass of lemonade at the end of each night.  There is no cost for attendance, but as always donations are very welcome and will go to support students who attend Au Sable’s Environmental Education Program during the school year.

First up, on July 7^th we will be exploring Owls and some of Michigan’s other nocturnal critters,  Some of the things to be discussed and answered are:

-       Why are Owls so cool?

-       Why do Owls have such interesting faces?  (the answer may surprise you!)

-       How are Owls able to see at night?

-       What do different Northern Michigan owls look and sound like?

-       What Owls call northern Michigan home?

-       Where can I purchase a northern Michigan Owl?  (Just kidding…)

 

Check back often to see what events are being offered at Au Sable and to indulge in the ramblings, wanderings, and adventures that emerge from Trish and Paul’s adventures in Environmental Education. We hope to see you soon!

oops!

A set back on spring... 4 inches of snow on Sunday and 8 inches yesterday.

It's Official - spring has arrived

Sunrise 6:58  13 hours 28 minutes of daylight  Sunset 8:27
Air temperature this morning 25 degree F

Wednesday, April 13 Bob Barr biked to work.  Trish put away the snowshoes and her winter boots.  The last of the ice went out on Louie's Pond.  So... It's official spring has arrived. 

We have been talking in staccato clips.  Sandhill cranes!  Red-wing blackbirds!  Grackles!  Phoebes!Yellow-rumped warbler!  Brown creeper!  Two geese on Louie's Pond!  Two mallards!

For those teachers and their students coming this spring for the pond study, be assured frogs and insects have been spotted swimming in Louie's Pond.

First Robin!

Air temperature 38 degrees F and the ice on Big Twin Lake is booming.

I saw my first robin Tuesday, March 29. 
There is a hypothesis that when the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees F the earth worms can migrate up toward the soil surface.  This conincides with the return of the robins.

This week the southern slope of Louie's Pond is free of snow.  I measured the soil temperature today....50 degrees F!

A walk to Big Twin Lake

Sunrise 7:29  12 hours and 36 minutes of daylight Sunset 8:05
6 degrees F this morning
Au Sable Institute is located on Big Twin Lake in the north east corner of Kalkaska County, Michigan.

Could this be the beginning of the ice melting on Big Twin Lake?

Turkey tracks around the beaver lodge

Hmmm... turkey and fox tracks on Louie's Pond

Are you a member of Oryana Food Co-op?

Are you a member of Traverse City's Oryana Natural Food Co-op?  We could use your vote.  Members of the co-op are asked to vote for the non-profit they would like to receive the co-op's grant money.  Au Sable Institute's environmental education program is being considered for these funds.  The non-profit with the most votes will receive the grant.
The last day to vote is Friday, April 1.  To vote, go to the service desk and ask for a ballot. 

Pictures from Au Sable today

Yesterday we received 10 inches of snow.  All our schools were closed.  Here are pictures from today. 

I cannot help thinking of the e.e. cummings poem...

"i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes."

Teachers coming this spring:  Good News!  We needed to raise $15,250 to meet all our expenses for this school year.  We have $284. to go!!!!!

Ash Wednesday storm

Sun rise 7:04  11 hours and 37 minutes of daylight Sunset 6:41

Ash Wednesday Storm

More Good News!!

-2 degrees F this morning
But... sky true dream of blue.


We needed to raise $15,250 to cover all the expenses of the environmental education program for this school year.  As of this morning we have we have only $700. more to go!!!!!

A Tour of Campus

11 hours and 7 minutes of daylight today
So far we have had 10.5 feet of snow this winter.  (We average 15 feet.)

Let me take you on a tour of our campus today.

Here is Au Sable Institute's Lodge today.  It contains an auditorium that will seat 70.  Also on campus are two classroom buildings, the Environmental Learning Center and Earth Hall.

This is Bracken House, one of our dorms.  It will house 12 students.  Two other dorms allow us to house a total of 40 students here on our wooded campus.

Au Sable has enough snowshoes to outfit two classes.  Our snowshoe trails meander through beautiful terrain.

This is part of our ski shop.  We can outfit fourth graders through adults.  We groom 9 miles of cross country ski trails. 
The recreation building houses our snowshoes and skis plus a lighted ice rink.  A favorite of winter guests is broom ball!

Good News!!

Sunrise 7:27 AM  Sunset 6:24 PM  10 hours and 57 minutes of daylight

We needed to raise $15,250 to cover all the environmental education program costs.  We have $3,000 yet to go!!

Teachers waiting to schedule for the spring:  We will begin scheduling nest week.

Making it happen... It takes a lot of us banding together

Even though our budget is modest, the student fee we charge does not cover all our expenses.  We must raise the money needed in order to offer our environmental education program.

For the 2010 / 2011 school year we must raise $15, 250 to cover all our expenses.

To date we are over half way to meet our goal.  We need $6,695 more in order to offer our spring session.

On the bar graph below, the red section represents the amount being supplied by           Au Sable’s environmental education endowment with the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.  A big thank you to those who gave to establish this fund.  We take $1,250 of the available interest from this fund each year to support the environmental education program.  Your gifts continue to give each year!

If you are one of our Michigan supporters you may wish to give to this endowment fund for its tax advantages.  Michigan residents can take half their gift as a tax credit on their Michigan income tax return. (up to $100 for single filers and up to $200 for married filers).

The blue section of the bar graph represents the amount given by individual donors.  Thank you for your commitment to Au Sable and the environmental education program!  Included in this category are those who have joined the 100 Club. The 100 Club is comprised of those who have committed to give $100 each year for five years.

In 2008 Au Sable’s endowment was severely impacted.  It could no longer support our programs.  The 100 Club was established by our founder, Dr. Harold Snyder, to help us through the transition from a program heavily dependent on Au Sable’s endowment to a program that is self sustaining.

If you wish to support our environmental education program, checks can be sent to:

Au Sable Institute, 7526 Sunset Trail, NE, Mancelona, Michigan 49659.  Please make checks out to       “Au Sable Institute”.  Please put “EE program” in the memo line of your check.

Grandfather Tree

There is a large white pine tree at Au Sable called the Grandfather Tree.  This tree is greatly loved by the children that visit Au Sable.  The tree sprouted in the year 1880.  In the year 1900 Louie Sands bought the land that is now Au Sable.  He sent his loggers to harvest all the white pines from the property.  The Grandfather Tree was only 20 years old and deemed too small to take.  After the logging the land looked very different.  The sun was able to reach the forest floor for the first time in hundreds of years.  The white pine branches that were left behind baked in the sun.

In 1923 a spark from a train traveling on the track that is now Sunset Trail ignited the dried branches.  A forest fire began and raged for two days.  After the fire only one tree was left standing.  The Grandfather Tree. 

Since the beginning of the environmental education program in 1977, children have visited the Grandfather Tree and judged its size by linking arms to see how big around it was.  Peering up to its top it was easy to see that it was the tallest tree at Au Sable.  Its height spelled its doom.  In 1992 this much-loved tree was struck by lightening.  The bark exploded off.  Without its cambium, xylem, and phloem the tree died.  The children were sad but soon became interested in investigating claw marks and other wildlife signs.  Who was using the Grandfather Tree as a home?

Another chapter has begun for the Grandfather Tree.  This past October we had a violent wind storm.  The Grandfather Tree cracked in half and fell.  The Grandfather Tree is no longer a wildlife hotel but has turned into a wildlife motel.  What animals will we discover using this new habitat?

January 17, 2011

Sunrise 8:14 AM  9 hours and 15 minutes of daylight  Sunset 5:30 PM

Teachers waiting to sign up for the spring environmental education session:
We cannot register anyone until we have raised all the funds needed to cover all the expenses.  We are over half way.  We still need to raise $6,870.