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
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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Here are two praying mantises that I was able to find while walking through the greenhouse. They’re about an inch and a half long now and a lot more active than they were when they were smaller. Enjoy!
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Photos of what’s blooming this week in the greenhouse including Blue Vervain which has been blooming for at least 3 weeks straight! [slideshow]
The dock by the prairie pond has been enjoyed by many a child. Often times kids like to sit or lay at the end of the dock to get a better view of the frogs, fish and turtles living in the pond. But as the years have passed, the dock has become less stable and I’ve become less comfortable seeing youngsters on the dock.
Well, its been decided, the old dock is out and a newer larger dock is going to be arriving soon. Here are some pictures of the old dock. I apologize for the poor quality- I forgot my camera!
I’ll keep adding pictures as the construction begins! I hope the new dock is finished by the end of this week! So exciting!
The construction that had been blocking the entrance to the Prairie has been completed. If you’re planning a visit, you’ll be pleased to find easy access to the Prairie driveway and parking lot has been restored. Come on out and enjoy the late summer colors of the Prairie Nature Center!
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.
A 10 foot tall section of white PVC has been installed near the entrance to the prairie. The PVC has foot and ½ foot markings so you can see just how tall the plants are growing. I know it can be hard to estimate how tall the plants are so I think this extra large measuring stick will be helpful.
A newly mowed path has been established at the Prairie. The new throughway explores the oldest portion of the prairie and ventures through areas that weren’t easily accessible prior to the path. The trail goes through a low lying area that often fills with water and is frequented by water loving species like cord grass and swamp milkweed. I hope you enjoy exploring this area of the prairie on the newly developed path.
Here is a short video of the beginning of the trail just to give you a taste of the area. Enjoy!
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I’m in the process of redesigning the sign and information center at the Prairie and I’d like to announce one of the new additions. The area is called Have Your Say and it will provide an area for our visitors to share their thoughts. The posting (seen on the left) on the sign encourages visitors to contact me via email or phone with comments, questions or concerns. I’ve already received one comment and I hope to have more come in from our visitors soon. I plan to share visitor comments and my response on the small cork board that’s been added to the redesigned sign.
Work is continuing on redesigning the rest of the sign and I hope to have it all wrapped up by the end of the month.