Habitat
Restoration & Stewardship
.
Be a Stewardship Friend for
Habitat
Feb
11’ 2010, four volunteers tested and passed to obtain their herbicide
operators' licenses.
Congratulations
to Dave Albright, Tina Johnson, Holly Richter & Ann Shanks.
These four join Bob Vetter, Myrna Nelson and Mike Iwanicki in being licensed to apply herbicide at our favorite sites of Volo Bog, Moraine Hills & McHenry Dam.
We are going to reinstate work days once per month beginning in March. However, due to changes in my schedule, they will not always be on the 4th Saturday of each month.
Below is a preliminary schedule. Please let me know if you are available for one or more of each of the dates (which ones) then I will follow up with particulars as the time approaches. I will also send out a fresh call for volunteers each month.
With my added duties, we will be relying even more heavily on our capable volunteers to help get 'er done each time. The habitat needs us!
Meanwhile, you may learn more about invasive species at
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/invasives/plants.asp
and
http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/education/factsheets.cfm
The Dates (all Saturday afternoons from 12:30 - 3:00 p.m.):
March 20
April 17
May 15
June 26
July 24
August (no date)
September 18
October 30
November 13
IF you think you will not be helping out in 2010, please let me know so I can remove you from the list and recruit more volunteers to the team as needed. Right now you are among 47 volunteers on board. If everyone is available for just a quarter of the days (2 per year), that would give us 12 or so to split up between the two projects each day. 6 people is a good minimum number. Of course, some of you will be available most of the days and we especially appreciate that level of devotion. However, even those available only a couple times of year help to make our work possible. We do have fun and learn a little along the way too.
Sincerely,
Stacy Iwanicki
Friend’s members now have a monthly opportunity to help with habitat restoration and stewardship at both Volo Bog Natural Area and Moraine Hills State Park! These monthly workdays have been set up with our "Friends" support and sponsorship at both locations. We meet at varying locations on the forth Saturday of each month (except December) from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. All volunteers are welcome - kids 10 & up too! (Minors under 15 must be accompanied by an adult).
What is involved in this program? In the fall, as the sap is drawn back into the roots, we cut Buckthorn, Honeysuckle, Black Locusts, Multiflora Rose, Box Elder and other invasive species and haul it away to a location for burning. A critical part of this invasive species removal is herbiciding. As the shrubs are being cut volunteers with an Illinois State pesticide license herbicide the stumps to kill their root systems. At other times of year we will pull Garlic Mustard, Japanese Hedge Parsley and other herbaceous invasives, plant native wildflowers, trees and shrubs, gather seed heads (both native desirable plants for propagation and invasives for control) and other types of stewardship projects.
After each session, we will gather to share refreshments, camaraderie and good conversation.
If you'd like to help out, please register through Natural Recourses Education Coordinator Stacy Iwanicki at her main office at Volo Bog: dnr.volobog@illinois.gov or 815-344-1294. New volunteers will need to come early to fill out IDNR volunteer paperwork.
In September we had volunteers at both Volo Bog & Moraine Hills, but I at this time I don’t have photos or names of the Volo Bog Group. In October &
November we only worked at the Volo Bog Sites. We didn’t take a group shot in October, but the following volunteers were there: Stacy Iwanicki & Bob Vetter handled the Herbicide, and keeping them on their toes we had from Moraine Hills Phil & Pat Cobb, Neil Whitman, plus Volo Bog volunteers Aryliss Lisner, Kim Flynn, Jackie Jahnke, Kira Funk, and Sandy Stoner. We got a couple of group shots of the November group, and keeping ahead of Bob & Stacy we have four volunteers from Moraine Hills Neil Whitman, David Albright, Myrna Nelson, and Ann Shanks and from Volo Bog five volunteers, Nancy Bodinet, Jim & Melissa Pierson, Tina Johnson, Mark Ginger, and his girl friend Sara. The Friends of Volo Bog provided refreshments back in the Visitors Center.
October 24, 2009
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November 28, 2009 |
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October 30, 2010 |
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Photos by Bob Vetter |
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