|
|
 The
Meadowlark Messenger
May 2008- Volume 25, No. 4
This page contains the following major articles commonly included
in the newsletter:
President's Corner | Education Corner
| Membership Corner | Conservation Corner
From Parker’s Perch
Helen Parker, President
Spring has sprung! It is a beautiful time of year. Flowers of many sorts
are blooming--the earliest are mostly Eurasian imports, such as crocuses,
daffodils, some early tulips. But our native woodland flowers are also
beginning--bloodroot, snow trillium, and hepatica among the earliest,
with trilliums, spring beauty, Dutchman's britches, coming on and bluebells,
wild phlox, and many others about to join them. As the poet Swinbourne
described it, "...in green underwood and cover, blossom by blossom
the spring begins." Here in my part of Urbana, almost every house
has some sort of flowering tree as well. The woodland flowers must get
their season's growth and flowering in before the leaf canopy comes out
and shades them from their vital sunlight. The prairie plants will reach
their glory much later in the season, since they are not competing with
trees for the light--but green-up has begun.
The animal world also shows the coming of spring--migrating birds are
on their way, summer residents are courting and seeking nest sites and
some beginning to build nests. Some "winter" birds are still
here--or perhaps passing through from further south; I had a junco in
the yard this morning and there were many white-throated sparrows under
the feeder. Insects, fascinating creatures in their own right and also
vital food for growing birds, are emerging from whatever stage they spent
winter. The ponds at Busey woods yielded fairy shrimp for the nature center
display; salamander and toad tadpoles are found in ponds.
Spring weather is often "unsettled"--also described as, "It's
the Midwest. If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes."
We were very fortunate to have wonderful weather for the prairie chicken
trip at the end of March -- we saw the birds dance in the sunlight instead
of in mist or rain.
Spring rains are necessary, of course--although sometimes they are a bit
over the necessary. In some areas, spring flooding is a major problem--especially
where people have paved over so much of a watershed that the rain can't
soak into the ground; or in areas where we have forgotten that the flood
plain is in fact a part of the river. But whatever the weather--take some
time to enjoy the season!
To top
Education Corner
Pam Leiter, Education Chair
New Curriculum Coming to Illinois!
We are thrilled to announce that CCAS is helping to bring the Flying WILD
curriculum to Illinois. Flying WILD is an exciting new educational program
that introduces middle school students to bird conservation through hands-on
classroom activities, school bird festivals and community service projects.
It will be administered by Illinois Audubon, the Environmental Education
Association of Illinois (EEAI) and Lincoln Park Zoo. CCAS has agreed to
sponsor having the activity guide aligned to Illinois Learning Goals and
Standards, an important step to getting this curriculum into the hands
of teachers.
CCAS may also sponsor a workshop in the future. For more
information about Flying WILD, please visit
www.flyingwild.org.
You may also contact your EEAI east central region directors:
Kate Lubchansky (kzlubchansky@urbanaparks.org) or Stacey Clementz at (sclementz@ccfpd.org).
To top
Membership Corner
To top
Conservation Corner
New Conservation Committee Chair needed!
To top
The Meadowlark Messenger is the official newsletter
of the Champaign County Audubon Society. It is published nine times a
year. |
