Prairie Nature Center

Prescribed burn at the Prairie

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Last Thursday we held a prescribed burn of the prairie with the help of Mike Broecker of Muskingum Valley Woodland Services and a crew of seven wildfire experts.  The burn will help us to manage invasive species and reinvigorate the native plants as well.  Enjoy pictures of the burn below!

2011 Highlights: Prairie Projects

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This year we worked on a number of unique projects including repairing the windmill, delivering plants, installing a nest for mallard ducks, installing signage boxes and preparing for our annual native plant sale.

Our windmill has aged significantly and in the spring it developed a horrible screechy sound when the fins turned in the breeze.  The sound was so loud and unbearable that it made it difficult to carry on a conversation near the windmill.  We had even heard from other around campus that they heard the creaking sound from the front of the campus!  Luckily for us the maintenance department had scheduled a large lift to replace lightbulbs in the spring months.  They were kind enough to share the lift so the windmill could be repaired at the same time.  Before the repairs began I took a ride in the lift to take pictures of the prairie and the surrounding area.  That seemed like such a good idea before the lift started moving higher and higher.  By the top the lift topped out around 80 feet I was really uninterested in taking pictures.  I was more focused on how long it would be until I was on the ground again.  Thankfully, I was able to hold it together enough to take some really nice pictures!

After the native plant sale we were glad to share some of our plants with the folks over at the Marion Tallgrass Trail.  This site is part of the Marion County Park District.  It’s located on the west side of Marion and includes a 12 mile corridor with Marion County’s first multi-use recreational trail.

In the spring a mallard nest box was installed in the prairie pond in hopes that mallards would come to build a nest.  While looking through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources nest box plan booklet we learned that mallards could use some help in nest-building.  “Mallards, although not near extinction, are in need of help. Drought, habitat destruction, and predators take their toll as mallards try to nest in fragmented habitat. This is where you can come in- by providing safe nesting sites for more mallards in Ohio” (Ohio Department of Natural Resources Nest Box Plan).

During the summer months we were able to install several signage boxes around the prairie.  The boxes will feature informational and educational displays for visitors to enjoy while they explore the prairie.

Enjoy some pictures of these projects and stayed tuned for all the projects and adventures that 2012 will bring!

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2011 Highlights: Raising Praying Mantis

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While collecting seeds in fall 2010 my student employees, Jon and Jessica, thought it would be fun to collect a few praying mantis egg cases and raise the offspring in the greenhouse.  So we collected 4 egg cases, called ootheca, and stored them in our office until we began working in the greenhouse in the winter.  In January we placed the egg cases in the warm greenhouse and waited and waited and waited.  We had just started to think that the mantids would never arrive when all of the sudden they arrived in droves!  Once one mantid starts to exit the egg case they all come out.  Between 100 and 200 mantids can be contained in each egg case so you can imagine we had quite a lot of mantids in the greenhouse.  We were really excited to have them around and they turned out to be really helpful at managing the little insects that live in the greenhouse.  By early spring we released the remaining mantids.  In fall 2011 we again collected egg cases in hopes of again raising them in our greenhouse.  I’ll be sure to share pictures of that adventure as well!

Interested in seeing the coolest video we took during all of 2011? Praying Mantis Attack!

2011 Highlights: Life in the greenhouse

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Each winter we head into the greenhouse to plant the seeds we’ve collected and stratified in the refrigerator.  Without fail as the plants begin to sprout the energy and excitement grows as well.  Every day it seems we’re giddy while discussing the progress of a particular plant or pointing out a new sprout.  This year was a particularly successful year in the greenhouse, thanks in part to the newly installed watering system.  Enjoy these photos of the seeds sprouting and turning the greenhouse into a lush indoor prairie!  I only wish I could invite you all into the greenhouse to experience it in person!

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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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