Marion

2011 Highlights: New Prairie Shelter House

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This summer the Prairie staff had a front row seat to a very exciting event.  We were able to watch with anticipation as the new prairie shelter house was constructed.  Each day while we weeded, collected seeds or mowed the grass we were able to see tiny changes and bits of progress made on the shelter.

The nearly complete shelter was dedicated on September 23rd, 2011.  The days before and the morning of were filled with final preparation of the luncheon, displays and the site.  Unfortunately, those days were also filled with lots and lots of rain.  So much precipitation, in fact, that the newly seeded lawn had been turned into an impassable mud pit.  Thanks to the ingenuity of the campus Maintenance department we were able to enter the shelter house safely on a carpet covered plywood ramp.  I liked to think that the campus rolled out the (scarlet) carpet for all the luncheon attendees.

The entire campus is proud to have the new Trella Romine Shelter House complete and we invite you to visit the shelter house anytime! Learn more about Trella.

Enjoy these pictures of the construction from start to finish, including the dedication to Trella on that oh so rainy day in September.

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Native Plant Sale- Saturday May 7th

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For all of you wondering what we’re planning with our greenhouse full of magnificent native plants- you’re in luck!!  We’ll be holding our annual Native Plant Sale on Saturday May 7th from 10 am until 1 pm.  The sale will take place on the Ohio State Marion campus on the first floor of Morrill Hall. 

If you’d like to see descriptions of the plants we’ll be featuring at the sale click here: Plant Sale 2011

Ducks- please nest here!

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During one of our winter brainstorming sessions, we came up with the idea to install a mallard nest at the Prairie pond.  After some research it seemed construction would be fairly simple.  We followed the instructions provided by ODNR in their Nest Box Plans pamphlet.  

The directions for the mallard nest cylinder explain that while mallards aren’t at risk of extinction their nesting habitat has been disturbed by drought, development and predation.  We found that we had all the necessary materials to easily construct the nest stored in our Prairie shed.  It came together in an hour or so and was installed last week.  Enjoy the pictures of Jon installing the nest at the Prairie pond. 

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Restricted access to the Prairie

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Repairs are currently being made to several of the parking lots adjacent to the Prairie driveway.  Due to the construction much of the area is blocked off by cones.  The cones are set up just past the entrance to Student Lot 1.  During this time, visitors may park in Student Lot 1 and walk back to the prairie, but access to the prairie via vehicle is unlikely while construction is underway.  We hope the project wraps up quickly so normal visitation access can be restored.  Thanks for you understanding and patience with this situation. 

Marion Campus Map.  Please click the map for a larger view. 

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Don’t fence us in!

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OSU Marion and the Marion Technical College (MTC) share the Marion campus.  Both institutions have new buildings planned for construction.  OSU Marion is beginning the fundraising phase for a green science building.  MTC is planning to break ground on their nursing building towards the end of August.  In preparation for construction to begin, the contractors have installed chain link fencing around the site.  It just so happens that the new buildling will be next to the prairie, which means the fencing runs right along our border. 

Don’t be afraid- the prairie will remain open during construction!  The fencing should also help us out by ensuring equipment doesn’t get parked in our plantings.  Below you can see a few pictures of the fencing from earlier today.

Ride along with me- new video!

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I’ve added the first video to the blog!  This video was taken about 2 weeks ago while riding around the prairie on the back of the tractor.  I thought it would give readers a new view of the prairie.  The camera is a little shaky on the back of the tractor so be sure to take some Dramamine if motion sickness is a problem for you!  Enjoy!

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