WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly
Connecting People
To Nature Through
Education November 5,
2007
Official
Publication of WindStar Wildlife
Institute
|
|
THIS IS a special time for
WindStar. For the last three years, we worked on
creating the National Master Naturalist homestudy course. We
completed it in January and today Jack Lewnes is the first
person certified.
In 1999 we created the Master
Wildlife Habitat Naturalist training workshop and Jack was in
the first group trained. This course later evolved into the
current Wildlife Habitat Naturalist certification program. Our
advisory group included individuals from the U.S. Forest
Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cooperative
Extension, Department of Natural Resources and education
consultants.
The
Wildlife Habitat Naturalist e-learning course is taken first
and, for those who want to learn more, they can take the
sequel--the National Master Naturalist homestudy course.
If
you want to learn more about nature and how your property can
become a haven for wildlife, sign-up today and you can begin
tomorrow.
.
Tom
Patrick
Founder &
President
| |
|
| Quick Links
|
|
to
the
Knowledge Center
|
| Our Sponsors |
|
| Become A
Member |
Support
WindStar's
Environmental
Education
Programs With Your
"I am taking your online Wildlife Habitat Naturalist
Course and am enjoying the materials. It will help me with my
own "Wildlife Habitat" and help me in my job at a Nature
Center." --Vicki
Capps
"The Master
program has opened up a whole new dimension in my life which I
had never considered. I have been challenged to learn about
habitat planning, species food preferences, garden design and
ecology concepts. It has given me the resources and confidence
to be able to share what I have learned with both children and
adults. This outreach has been a source of personal
growth and inspiration for me." --Pat,
MD
"The
(course) far exceeded all expectations. An even greater
enjoyment has been sharing what I learned with others-my
neighbors and co-workers. It has been rewarding to help
individuals increase their appreciation of nature-starting in
their own backyards." --Paulette,
MD
"The WindStar course will
have a far-reaching and long-lasting influence on the way that
people look at wildlife and the ways that we can more
effectively share our mutual space. I'm proud to be part
of it." --Cathy, MD
"I want to
commend you on the Master Naturalist program. I particularly
like your approach of training wildlife habitat advocates and
sending them back to their communities to be messengers for
the cause." --Joshua, MD DNR
"The Master Naturalist
program is generating a great deal of interest from community
decision makers in replacing wildlife habitat lost to
residential and commercial development. We are glad to
partner with WindStar Wildlife Institute in this environmental
education and outreach endeavor. You can count on us to
provide technical assistance, publications, planning
assistance and speakers for future programs."
--Michael, USDA Forest Service
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is pleased to be a
partner with WindStar Wildlife Institute in creating and
implementing the Master Naturalist
program." --Kathleen, USFWS
In the Nature
Shop...
New...Exclusive
for WindStar
Readers
Mad
Bluebird
Men's and
Women's
Watches
Only
$29.95
Give the
Gift
Of Nature--
Visit WindStar's
"WindStar Wildlife
Institute's web
site
offers a wealth of information on birds, other wildlife and
backyard habitat issues." -Connie,
NC
| |
First
WindStar National Master Naturalist Becomes
Certified
Jack
Lewnes, (front row left) the first WindStar Certified
National Master Naturalist, with the first
group of Master Wildlife Habitat
Naturalists
PORT
REPUBLIC, MD--Jack Lewnes, a retiree who works
on
weekends at the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp
Sanctuary, earned WindStar Wildlife Institute's highest
certification--National Master
Naturalist.
In addition
to his innovative habitat improvement projects on his
own acreage, Jack was cited for his work with youth and
graduate students at the sanctuary. He is a supporter of
the "No Child Left Inside" movement that is rapidly
growing across America after Richard Louv published his
book two years ago entitled Last Child in the
Woods--Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit
Disorder.
Jack was certified
as a WindStar Master Wildlife Habitat Naturalist in
1997. He is a veteran birdwatcher, boater and
outdoorsman. Currently he writes for WindStar's
Wildlife Garden Weekly e-magazine and the
American Wildlife Blog. And, he often can be
found in his new kayak with his binoculars exploring
wildlife habitat in eastern
Maryland.
If you love to
feed, photograph or observe wildlife and want to know
more about them, you, too, can register for WindStar's
naturalist homestudy courses.
"The overall
mission of these programs is to develop a corps of
well-informed volunteers to provide... Read On
|
|
Nature
Quotes
"We do not see nature with our eyes,
but with our understandings
and our
hearts." --William
Hazlett
|
Bumble Bees
Indicate Seasons
Bumble Bee on flower by Arlene
Ripley
By Scott Shalaway
EVERYONE
notices that autumn brings shorter days, cooler
temperatures and bright fall colors.
But there are other, equally reliable
indicators of the transition from summer to
winter--rusty and black-banded Wooly Caterpillars
crossing country roads, yellow-and-black garden spiders
roosting inside aging Queen Anne's lace umbels, and seas
of brilliant goldenrod fading from the late summer
stage.
It was in a field of goldenrod where
just a few plants retained their bright color that I
recently came upon another sure sign of fall. On an
evening walk, something caught my eye about one
particular still bright goldenrod.
I looked closer and found a Bumble Bee
hugging the underside of the leaning inflorescence. I
moved the stem, and the bee responded lethargically. The
chill of the evening air had already moved the Bumble
Bee to retire for the evening. Upon the first hard
frost, this bee, like most Bumble Bees, will die. The
fate of the species resides with recently impregnated
queens that winter underground.
Unlike Honey Bees, which
overwinter in enclosed hives well stocked with honey,
Bumble Bees rely on... Read
On | |
Wildlife Photo
of the Week
Bela Nsfay of
Hungary says the school of Mackerel, was a
"surreal sight, hundreds of mouths agape, moving in
synchrony as though one. If they felt disturbed they'd
close their mouths and change direction in a flash."
Nsfay is a runner-up in the Shell
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest sponsored
by London's Natural History Museum
|
|
Are Rattlesnakes Entering
Suburbia?
Timber Rattlesnakes are turning up in
subdivision yards
and brush thanks to developers who
are invading the snakes' turf.
Timber Rattlesnake
ST. LOUIS, MO--A researcher for
Washington University in St. Louis, along with
colleagues at the Saint Louis Zoo and Saint Louis
University are tracking Timber Rattlesnakes in west St.
Louis County and neighboring Jefferson County. They are
investigating how developing subdivisions invade the
snakes' turf and affect the
reptiles.
The
researchers are studying Timber Rattlesnakes and
Copperheads in their Pitviper Research Project. They
hope their efforts will educate the public and convince
people that they can live with the species without
destroying them. Wayne Drda is the Washington University
researcher. Jeff Ettling, reptile curator at the Saint
Louis Zoo, is another member of the research team. The
third member is Ryan Turnquist, a biology major at Saint
Louis University.
"I am the field
manager, organizer, and I oversee the equipment," Drda
said. "Jeff will be doing the DNA analysis work, and
Ryan helps with the field work and is our GPS/GIS
computer whiz."
Most people detest
snakes, so the first instinct is to... Read
On
|
|
Praying Mantis having a snack by Jon Brierley
Couple Has Difficult Time Leaving
Wildlife
By Karla S.
I HAVE
LIVED in the same house now for about 15 years,
and my husband and I are getting ready to move away next
year.
We'll be accomplishing a
long-anticipated dream of moving to Maine, but there are
quite a few things I'll miss about this place, and most
of them have four legs or wear feathers.
As we've told our prospective house
buyers, nearly everything here has a name, and many of
them have a story to go with it.
When we first moved here, we
didn't see any birds or wildlife at all.
I started gardening our second
year here, and I began to notice a few birds, a lizard,
and the occasional preying mantis. I decided to
work my garden as naturally as possible hoping not to
kill the few bits of wildlife I'd manage to
find.
After a couple years had passed, they
began to come around. I saw woodpeckers of all
shapes and sizes, flocks of goldfinches bathing in the
waterfall and small pond I'd created, and my
favorite--the titmice who insisted on building their
nest in the "L" of a downspout, even though the wind
rushed through there and blew all the babies out.
All of a sudden, there were
more... Read On
| |
|
|
Be sure and sign up for the American Wildlife Blog to
receive the latest wildlife news, plus feel free to add
comments of your
own.
Have An EXCELLENT Day
in your WILDLIFE HABITAT!
Tom
Patrick
|
|
10072 Vista
Ct.
Myersville, MD
21773
301-293-3351
| | | |
