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~ The Dragonflyer ~ Vo l . 5 N o .2 B o o ne ’s L ick C ha pte r Fe br ua ry , 20 10

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F E B R U A R Y M E E T I N G

Thursday, February 11; 6:30pm

Extension Office

―Fundamentals of medico-legal entomology—how insects can be used as biological yardsticks of time-since-death in criminal cases.‖

Robert D. Hall, Ph.D., J.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Director of Compliance, Office of Research, MU.

This program has been approved as advanced training.

Refreshments: Dessert: Gail White, Non-dessert: Phil Knocke; Beverages: Gail White.

P R E S I D E N T I A L P O N D E R I N G S

Meredith Donaldson

Snowflakes, Frost Flowers and Snow Fleas We are a lucky species – at least most of us Master Naturalists are. In this time of winter we can be warm and secure in our houses enjoying a good book with a view of the bird feeder outside and the odor of baking bread or cookies wafting from the kitchen. (Oh, come on, forget the taxes!) But, this is the season to take a closer look at nature outdoors. My favorite reference for this is The Stokes Guide to Nature in Winter by Donald and Lillian Stokes and my motivation to get out and look has been Winter World by Bernd Heinrich.

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Look up into the night sky. In addition to meteor showers that occur in this season, you can easily find two big stellar attractions, Orion, the great hunter (with three stars in his belt) and Sirius the Dog Star, the night sky's most brilliant star. You might want to check out http://www.stellarium.org/ for a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. Look for the natural wonders the freezing and thawing of winter provides. Snowflakes are truly beautiful creations that can be viewed closely with a hand lens after falling on black paper. You can even read about way of preserving snowflakes at

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/preserve/preserve.htm. Frost flowers can be seen on plants when the stem has pulled water up from the damp ground. The water freezes to create “petals” that are pushed out and grow larger as more moisture travels up the stem and freezes. (Photo left by Peter Callaway.) Look at plants in winter in new ways. Winter plants not only make interesting subjects for photography, they also can provide another way for viewing them. Observe the differences

in tree shapes and try keying out trees in their winter condition using shape, bark, branching and buds. Don’t forget the forbs and grasses – this is where you see the true artistry of nature in shape and color, particularly on the prairies. Look for animal activity. Winter is the time of sleep for many animals such as turtles, wood frogs and spotted salamanders that burrow deep into the mud to hibernate. Woodchucks and voles sleep the winter away snug in their burrows. And the same is true for earthworms and insects such as cecropia moths, woolly caterpillars and bumble bees. You can track many animals to learn about their winter activities. A friend who hunts is a good companion to help look for signs of muskrat, otter, beaver, weasel, rabbit, skunks, raccoons, fox, squirrel and mice. While you are tracking watch the top of a snow covered area for what appears to be a sprinkling of ground pepper. If the “pepper” begins to move you are probably observing snow springtails, small insects from the Hypogastruridae family and Collembola order known as the Hypogastrura nivicola species. Unlike other fleas, the diet of the snow fleas consist mainly of the mold and fungus found on decaying leaf matter. One of the best places to find the snow flea is close to any bare spot at the base of a tree that is surrounded by snow. Look for the birds that are active in winter. It is a good time to sharpen identification skills when the birds are less timid than later in the spring. They are so much easier to observe without the leaves on the trees in the forest and with the firmer frozen ground of winter in the wetlands. Of course, it is a great time to observe raptors. A snow patch I noted recently had an owl pellet that led me to look more carefully to find the great horned owl nearby. Record. Consider keeping a nature journal to help you remember what you have observed and to remind of you of good times. I like to write and draw in a field book. A friend of mine transcribes his field notes on a computer adding his downloaded photographs. In years to come, you too could be in that cozy chair by the fire reading your field journals comparing the winters you have known.

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M E E T I N G M I N U T E S Angela Belden, Secretary

Missouri Master Naturalists

Boone’s Lick Chapter Minutes of Meeting, January 14, 2010

The Boone’s Lick Chapter of MMN met at 6:30pm on January 14, 2010 , at the University of Missouri Extension office, Highway UU, Columbia, MO. Present were: Angela Belden, Janet Bourbeau, Meredith Donaldson, Billy Dooling, Carolyn Doyle, Chris Egbert, Jane Fore, Hugh Harrison, Susan Hazelwood, Phil Knocke, Janie McArthur, Robert McArthur, Anna Nowack, Rachel Pia, Sharon Reed, Shelly Reimer, David Silvey, Nicole Stanton, Sally Swanson, Gail White, and Suzanne Wright. The meeting began at 6:30 with President Meredith Donaldson announcing that the night’s scheduled speaker, Jim Harlan, was in a car accident today and was unable to attend and present. We will reschedule his presentation. The business meeting began directly afterward.

I. Old Business: A. The 2010 chapter officers were introduced. President- Meredith Donaldson (2nd term) Vice President- Shelly Reimer Secretary- Angela Belden Treasurer- Jane Fore State Advisory Committee member (2 year term): Cheryl Hardy Advanced Training Committee: Sally Swanson and Shelly Reimer, co-chairs; Carolyn

Doyle and any other member who would like to participate. Volunteer Opportunities Committee: TBD. Please contact Meredith to participate.

B. Report on 2010 Training Suzanne Wright announced that signup for the new training class opened on January 4th, and will close on February 8th. There are fliers, training schedule, and a signup packet on the chapter’s website. She encouraged chapter members to sign up to host a session, which involves telling the new members what you do for MMN. Chris Egbert will be doing a radio spot on KFRU at 7am on January 23rd to promote the training course. Peckham and Wright Architects has the MMN window display up now through the rest of January, at 15 S. 10th St.

C. Member Manual

Meredith Donaldson, Chris Egbert, and Rachel Pia are almost finished with the member manual. The goal is to pass it out to the new training class as well as the current chapter members.

D. Online Calendar

Rachel Pia showed the chapter how the new online calendar on the chapter website works. The idea is that the calendar will be updated frequently, lessening the reliance on the Dragonflyer. The calendar can only be updated by the advanced training and the

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volunteer opportunities committees. A caveat was given that everything posted on the calendar can be viewed by anyone in the world. The possibility of listing ongoing volunteer opportunities on the website was mentioned. The calendar is located at: http://extension.missouri.edu/masternaturalist/columbia/boones_lick_chapter_calendar.htm

E. Annual Report

Meredith informed the chapter that she was gathering stats and stories about our accomplishments as a chapter for the year 2009. She mentioned some highlights, and said the final report will be posted on our chapter website, as well as passed on to the state program coordinators. The state program coordinators use the information to support program funding. It was proposed that the annual report will be passed out the new training class by David Silvey. The motion was seconded. The chapter voted in favor.

II. New Business A. Plans for the new year

-Hours will new be submitted quarterly. Therefore, hours for 2010 are first due in March. -New 3-letter codes will be used for each volunteer service project, before the description, to aid in sorting and in reporting to our partner organizations. -It was proposed to make one of the several existing Stream Teams that our chapter works with an “official” Boone’s Lick chapter stream. Suzanne Wright moves to have someone write an article for the Dragonflyer discussing this idea. The motion was seconded. Motion passed, Shelly Reimer and Meredith Donaldson will write an article. -This year, maintenance days will be scheduled for the entire chapter to work on one of our project areas, such as the Adopt-A-Spot. .Suzanne Wright will put a call for convenient dates in the Dragonflyer. -Susan Hazelwood proposed an informal naturalist “stroll” around the Extension Center at 6pm before the meetings. Members can show off their knowledge! -The AT Committee will formally add Missouri Prairie Foundation as a chapter partner organization.

B. Awards

Pins were presented to the following people for recertification in 2009: Anna Nowack, Dan Reeves, Cheryl Hardy, Mary Williamson, Meredith Donaldson, David Silvey. The following people received their 500 hour milestone pins: Meredith Donaldson, David Silvey.

C. Reports from Standing Committees

A. Treasurer- Jane Fore: Balance is $671.52. Jane would like to create a list of known expenses for the chapter to budget for. She encourages everyone to send any that you know of to her. She will also write a note for the Dragonflyer. B. Program- Vice President Shelly Reimer: Shelly is working on getting Dr. Hall, a Forensic Entomologist from MU, for February. C. Advanced Training Committee: Last week’s Big Muddy program with Mike Leahy (MDC) is retroactively approved due to special circumstance, as this was the same presentation that had been previously approved last year.

D. Project Approval / Volunteer Opportunities- Melissa Bedford: Nothing to report. E. Communication- Rachel Pia: Nothing further to report.

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F. Refreshments- Janie and Robert McArthur: Meetings in 2010 are still without people signed up to bring snacks. Please sign up to bring refreshments.

G. Historian- Bev Boyd: Nothing to report. III. Announcements:

A. Janine Gordon donated hummingbird feeders to the chapter. Members present were encouraged to take one if they would like. The leftovers were to go to Audubon.

B. Turn in your articles for the Dragonflyer in to Rachel Pia by January 25. C. Remember to log your hours / Check the MMN website. We will be compiling hours on a quarterly basis. That means your earliest opportunity to receive your recertification pin for 2010 is April.

IV. Upcoming Events and other news: Columbia’s Storm Water Educator, Michael Heimos, will speak on local stream cleanups and stormwater outreach programs, including a contest for the best film on stormwater issues to be shown in 4 local cinemas and on the Columbia Channel; Show Me Yards & Neighborhoods, which will teach homeowners safe lawn care practices; and Clean-Up Columbia, which will highlight Columbia’s stream this year. Volunteers, groups and organizations are needed to help. The public is invited, Tuesday, January 19th, 7:30pm at Hillel Center. Sponsored by Osage Group, Sierra Club.

O N L I N E C A L E N D A R Rachel Pia

Check out the (trial) online calendar for Chapter meetings, volunteer opportunities, and advanced training opportunities at: http://extension.missouri.edu/masternaturalist/columbia/boones_lick_chapter_calendar.htm. Please check it out, and send any comments about the calendar to me at MMNDragonflyer@gmail.com.. Note that we do not yet have a means to list ongoing projects which don’t have specific dates, eg Raptor Rehab Project service. While we test this calendar, we will continue to list everything as usual in the Dragonflyer. There are some glitches we are working out; please let me know what you find.

B O O K R E V I E W : W E S L E Y T H E O W L Sally Swanson

I just finished reading a wonderful book. Wesley the Owl, by Stacey O’Brien, grabbed me from the first chapter, and just wouldn’t let go until the end. It chronicles the life of a barn owl named Wesley from his adoption before his eyes were open, through his 19 years with his adopted mom, Stacey

O’Brien. Barn owls are very sensitive, serious, intelligent raptors who eat only mice, mate for life, and survive in the wild despite the fact that they have many predators and natural impediments to overcome. Wesley was injured badly enough that he would never survive on his own, so Stacey, a biologist at Cal Tech, had to be his mom, his mate, and his provider for nearly 20 years. I learned many interesting things about barn owls, and thoroughly enjoyed their story. This is a book that is on the New York Times bestseller list and was named Editor’s Choice by Audubon Magazine. Check it out.

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B U D G E T : Y O U R H E L P I S N E E D E D Jane Fore

The executive board has asked for a budget to guide us through the next few years. As the new treasurer, I am asking all members to consider any income or expenses our chapter might incur during 2010. Please think about ongoing chapter projects, such as the Adopt-a-Spot and the Audubon hummingbird garden, or new projects that might have a financial need. Due to budget cuts, the extension office is now asking regular users of their building to help offset costs. Other organizations have begun paying a usage fee, and we will be doing so as well. Our only source of past income has been through clothing sales. As we grow as a chapter, we may find that we need additional income. The executive committee has briefly discussed fundraisers or membership fees. Your input is important. If you have ideas for fundraising, please call me at 875-5966 or email at jfore@centurytel.net.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

If you would like to earn service or advanced training hours for any listed events, please see the instructions for submitting projects for approval under the “Volunteer Opportunities” or “Advanced Training” sections. Saturday Morning Science, Saturdays at 10:30, during the semester, Monsanto Auditorium, MU. These free talks are open to the public, and last about an hour. Bagels and coffee are available in the lobby beginning at 10. 6 February - Zac Ernst: How game theory explains stupid behavior. When markets collapse and people who should cooperate turn on each other instead, rational people are acting stupidly. This talk will explain how game theorists study some of our most irrational and stupid behavior. 13 February - Carlos Wexler: A brief history of energy. What is energy? Where does it come from? How does society use energy, and what are the consequences? Wexler will describe how energy and society coevolved, and how new energy sources solved old problems but created new ones. 20 February - Jim Keller: Help! Where am I? People are really good at giving and interpreting sometimes vague and incomplete descriptions of spatial and temporal events. Can robots/computers join in that type of conversation? Fuzzy logic and image processing can get us talking. 27 February - Mahesh Thakkar: Do we really need to sleep? Do we really need to spend a third of our time sleeping? Why do we dream? These and many other questions about sleep can keep you awake. So let us get together to talk about sleep. 6 March - Rainer Glaser: CO2 capture & global warming. This talk will describe atmospheric CO2 levels and ways that are being discussed to stem the increase. Plants have been grabbing CO2 from the air for millennia. Can we borrow their approach to bring down atmospheric CO2 levels? This presentation has been approved as advanced training. Life Sciences and Society weekend 20 March - Stephen Pallardy: Forests & greenhouse gases: A science primer. How do earth’s forests both add to and remove greenhouse gases like CO2 from the atmosphere? How do scientists measure CO2 flux of an entire forest? Can forests play a role in ameliorating greenhouse gas emissions? This session has been approved as advanced training. Spring Break

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74th Annual Convention, Conservation Federation of Missouri, Feb 26-28, Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake of the Ozarks.

Please join us for our 74th Annual Convention...Call 1-800-THE-LAKE by February 4th to reserve your room at the special CFM group rate. Reservations made by February 4th will be entered into a drawing to win a free night of lodging!! We sincerely hope you will honor this request and come to your Annual Convention. This fun and festive weekend will provide attendees with the opportunity to weigh in on important policy issues and further the cause of conservation in Missouri. We hope you will be able to attend for the entire weekend, but if you can come only for a day or part of a day...COME! We are absolutely confident you will be glad you did...and make it top priority to attend next year and every year.

CLICK HERE for Agenda and Registration Form

Sixth Annual MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium, March 12-14, 2010. From Art to Biology & Back Again Will examine provocative new work arising from intersections between the life sciences and art – the biological contexts of our response to art and aesthetic contexts of scientific visualizations… In the process, the talks will inquire into the relationship between artistic and scientific invention. Free registration available at the conference website.: http://muconf.missouri.edu/artbiology

1 1 0 t h C H R I S T M A S B I R D C O U N T

Susan Hazelwood

This year I had the good fortune to participate in two Christmas Bird Counts. I’m the organizer and co-compiler (with Jim Gast) for the Columbia Audubon Chapter sponsored count. I was a simply a participant in the Cole Camp Master Naturalist sponsored count. I went to Cole Camp because a plea had been issued: “Birders needed.” A trial run had been done last year but 2009 was the first official count for this area and counters were needed. It was keen to be part of a history making “first” time event! As it turned out I was engaged with publicity for both CBCs. I arranged for Gary Grisby (a University of MO School of Journalism faculty member) to spend time with count parties and conduct interviews with section leaders in Columbia. Gary’s work ended up as a National Public Radio/KBIA 7 minute story with all kinds of live sound effects (from the birds and the birders). My party was tailed by the Sedalia Democrat reporter’s and photographer’s vehicle at Cole Camp’s CBC. My car (not me) made the front page of the newspaper. But there were additional people photos in the on-line version of the story. Most of you won’t be surprised to learn I tried hard to explain “citizen science” concepts and the value of the years of data collected by participants on Christmas Bird Counts to these journalists. I’d have to say the publicity outcome was excellent.

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Are you wondering how the two events compared one to the other? Here is a summarization.

Cole Camp Columbia

Date of Count Dec. 30, 2009 Dec. 19, 2009

Number of Sections in Count Circle

4 13

Number of Participants Counting Birds

13 73 in the field, plus 7 feeder counters

Number of Bird Species Seen

56 95

Number of Birds Seen 15,932 55,728

Number of Species Requiring Documentation (i.e., they were unexpected)

0 2 (Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager – both summer residents who should be absent in winter)

Weather / Road Conditions

Intermittent Snow / Snow and Ice Covered

Gray and Windy / Dry Pavement

Highlights of each CBC Out of area participants came from Columbia & Springfield, MO and Vicksburg, MS

19 out of 73 field participants were first time Columbia CBC’ers

19 Short-eared Owls sitting on fence poles at the end of the day at Hi-Lonesome Prairie

Eastern Screech-Owls in almost every draw going uphill from the Katy Trail between McBaine and Providence Access

Food Events as Part of Count Day

Breakfast at The Classic and compiling supper at Calgaro’s Pizza with lots of good “car food” in between

Organizational holiday gathering in advance of count day and chili dinner compiling session supper

Names of Master Naturalists (that I recognized – apologies to those I missed) Who Counted Birds

Charley Burwick, Therese Cline, Susan Hazelwood, Marge Lumpe, Donnie Nichols (who said to tell everyone here “Hi”), Susan Schreck, Gary Webb

Jane Fore, Susan Hazelwood, Howard Hinkel, Jeff Koppleman, Vanessa Melton, Dan Reeves, Marie Scruggs, Sally Swanson, Suzanne Wright

My take-homes from my comparisons between these two events were:

1. The weather is often kinder earlier during the count period. That translates in more bird species as some migrants might not have left and there is an increased chance of open water to support more lingering waterfowl.

2. While Cole Camp has interesting prairie and farm habitats they have a lot less public land. There is less habitat diversity in their count circle compared to Columbia, too. Both factors reduced the number of species and number of individual birds seen.

3. Columbia’s long history of CBC traditions and our large population base make it easier to find CBC participants. The more eyes looking, the more birds found. The more parties in the field, the more habitat types explored and the more birds that are found.

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4. Love of the outdoors, laughter, and generally good times were common to both counts. You should think about joining a CBC next season. You can be a driver, an observer, a recorder of data, and/or a navigator. All are needed skill sets for a successful CBC.

A D V A N C E D T R A I N I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S

(All approved unless otherwise noted)

For updated information on advanced training opportunities, please see the online Chapter calendar at http://extension.missouri.edu/masternaturalist/columbia/boones_lick_chapter_calendar.htm. Missouri Natural Resource Conference, Feb 3-5, Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, MO Conference Title: Purposeful Risk Taking: Making Decisions in Dynamic Times Cost: $105 A compilation of several presentations and events centered around strategies for managing Missouri's natural resources. Presentations will cover the management of water, forest, and wildlife management. There will also be a sufficient amount of time spent eating and socializing - we ask that you only report your "learning time" as advanced training. For more information and a detailed schedule, visit the following website: www.mnrc.org. Stream Team Training Stream Team Boone County Summit, Saturday, March 6, 9:00-2:00, Boone Electric Co-op Agenda topics include: Hinkson Creek Hydrology; New Stream Buffer Ordinance; How to Report Stream Pollution; Impaired Streams in Boone County; Boone County Underground – Geology, Land Use, and Groundwater Facilitated Session:

What are some concerns among Stream Teams? How can the County and Stream Teams work together?

Displays from local groups featuring their efforts and accomplishments. Lunch will be provided. Please say in your RSVP if you are vegetarian or have other special dietary needs. RSVP no later than February 19 by email to Amy (Jungclaus) Meier at Amy.Meier@mdc.mo.gov. This summit is open to all Stream Teamers who volunteer in Boone County. This program has been approved for three hours of advanced training. EPT Workshop will be held in Jefferson City on February 6. Class size is limited to 20, there is a waiting list. EPT: Ephermeroptera – Plecoptera – Trichoptera. Workshop is open to those who have completed the VWQM Level 1 workshop, and will be taught by Amy (Jungclaus) Meier. For more information, please contact Amy at Amy.Meier@mdc.mo.gov or 573 522-4115x3166. This class is a presentation of the Stream Team Academy. VWQM Intro Workshop will be held in Columbia at Boone Electric Coop on Saturday, May 8, from 8:30-5:00. Registration required by Wednesday, April 28. This is the basic workshop that includes visual survey and biological monitoring. For more information, go to http://www.mostreamteam.org/ (NB: register early, this class fills up fast.)

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Saturday Morning Science – See “Upcoming Events” for details. Sessions approved as advanced training: 6 March - Rainer Glaser: CO2 capture & global warming. This talk will describe atmospheric CO2 levels and ways that are being discussed to stem the increase. Plants have been grabbing CO2 from the air for millennia. Can we borrow their approach to bring down atmospheric CO2 levels? This presentation has been approved as advanced training. 20 March - Stephen Pallardy: Forests & greenhouse gases: A science primer. How do earth’s forests both add to and remove greenhouse gases like CO2 from the atmosphere? How do scientists measure CO2 flux of an entire forest? Can forests play a role in ameliorating greenhouse gas emissions? This session has been approved as advanced training. Where the Wildflowers Grow, May 1, 1:00-4:00, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park A park naturalist will lead a walk/hike (approximately 2 miles) along Gans Creek and along a path to the bluff top vistas in The Wild Area of the park. Participants will see about twenty-five different Missouri wildflower species of varying colors and shapes. The staff naturalist will provide information regarding plant identification through size, shape, color and habitat location. There will also be instruction on which species are native, edible, and medicinal uses of specific plants, and aspects of woodland and glade ecology. This program is free to the public and designed for ages 8 to adult. Registration through RBMSP is required. For more information and to register, visit www.mostateparks.com or call the park office at 573-449-7402. Raptor Rehab Training - ongoing Approval for initial training is as follows; dates will be determined by the individual trainees and the Raptor Rehab team. Note: to take the training, you must commit to volunteering for Raptor Rehab. Basic Training Hours Constitution and By-Laws 10 minutes Education program procedures 10 minutes Compound rules and security 10 minutes Compound layout 10 minutes Compound maintenance and cleaning 10 minutes Chart reading 10 minutes Charting information on birds 30 minutes Feeding birds 2 hours Watering birds 10 minutes Cleaning mews (bird enclosures) 10 minutes Capturing injured birds 1 hour Transporting injured birds 20 minutes Placing birds in transport boxes 10 minutes Use and application of bird equipment 2 hours Stepping bird to glove 2 hours Holding birds 10 minutes Putting birds away 30 minutes

Total 10 hours

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V O L U N T E E R O P P O R T U N I T I E S

Below are the current volunteer opportunities and ongoing projects, as well as announcements of other events. Please contact the person indicated for more detailed information on any of the projects. Note that if a project is listed as “not yet approved,” you will need to fill out a Service Project Form (available at http://extension.missouri.edu/masternaturalist/columbia/Projectapproval.htm. You will be notified via e-mail if there are any questions about the project, or notified of its approval. Once approval is granted for any person, it is approved for everyone, so it is only necessary to submit one form per project. To add your project to the list of volunteer opportunities, please contact the Vol Opps committee at MMNVolOpps@gmail.com. For updated information on volunteer opportunities, please see the online calendar on the chapter website at: http://extension.missouri.edu/masternaturalist/columbia/boones_lick_chapter_calendar.htm.

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities CACHE/SPARKS Birding Trips – Wednesday mornings Sponsored by The Columbia Audubon Society, Missouri Department of Conservation, and The Audubon Society of Missouri. These are birding trips with Bill Clark, former president of The Columbia Audubon Society. Meet Bill at 7:30am (don’t be late) at the southwest corner of the Parkade Center parking lot. The destination will be decided the day of the trip depending on who is there and where they want to go. Contact Bill Clark at 573-474-4510 to confirm you are attending. Project is approved. Troy Gordon Memorial Hummingbird Garden Sponsored by the Audubon Society of Missouri and Boone’s Lick Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalists Thanks go out to everyone who worked on this project. The plants have done a wonderful job of becoming established and blooming beyond expectations since their installation last spring. The mulch in the beds, walkways and path through the butterfly garden look great. Work on this project over the winter will consist of creating a tri-fold leaflet about hummingbirds, native plants, the memorial garden and the work Troy & Janine did banding hummingbirds. To participate in this project, contact Suzanne Wright at 573-446-2217 or Suzwright@centurytel.net. Project is approved. School Natural Areas/Outdoor Classrooms Many of our local schools have nature areas that have been neglected and could use some volunteer assistance. These areas include prairies and woodlands, small butterfly gardens or sensory gardens, and rainwater gardens. The following elementary schools are volunteer sites: Blue Ridge, Fairview, Mill Creek, New Haven, Rock Bridge, West Boulevard, plus Rock Bridge High School. Hallsville and Harrisburg are also possible sites, and there are other schools that have Outdoor Classrooms, but we

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have not yet begun working with them. If you are close to another school and curious about volunteering there, I can tell you what I know about their natural areas, and we can try to get something going there. Opportunities exist to work at just one school, or to be called or emailed for work days at different schools. Contact Lea Langdon at langtrea@gmail.com or 864-7647 to sign up. Project is approved. Raptor Rehabilitation Project – Ongoing The most rewarding volunteer experience ever! We have new opportunities for volunteers to begin working with birds sooner. Please contact us to set up training sessions just for you, so you can begin to feed these amazing creatures. You can then become more familiar with our education birds and all of the amazing ways you can interact with them and continue educating delighted audiences throughout mid-Missouri about the importance of wildlife conservation. This is a rare and special opportunity that is not available in most areas. We are truly lucky to have the chance to do so, so why not check it out? Contact: Amber Edwards, Volunteer Coordinator, at 314-550-0201. Let her know you’re a Master Naturalist. Project is approved.

Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with

experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason.

Leonardo DaVinci

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2010 Officers

President Meredith Donaldson

MJDonlsn@aol.com

Advanced Training Co-Chair Sally Swanson MMNATrain@gmail.com

Vice President Shelly Reimer MMNVicePres@gmail.com

Chapter Historian Beverly Boyd SSBNBAB@hotmail.com

Secretary Angela Belden Angela@stumod.com

Communications Chair Rachel Pia MMNDragonflyer@gmail.com

Treasurer Jane Fore JFore@centurytel.net

Project Approval & Volunteer Opportunities

TBD MMNVolOpps@gmail.com

State Advisory Committee Rep, 2010-11

Cheryl Hardy CHardy@ccis.edu

Refreshments Janie & Robert McArthur JBMcArthur@centurytel.net RDMcArthur@centurytel.net

Chapter Co-Advisors

Kent Shannon University Extension

ShannonD@missouri.edu

Bob Pierce, Interim Co-Advisor University Extension

PierceR@missouri.edu

Thursday, March 11; 6:30pm Extension Office

Back to the Future

A View through the Lens of the Missouri Historic Landscape Project James D. Harlan, Senior Research Specialist

The Missouri Historic Landscape Project has come to its harvest yielding an encyclopedic amount of important information on the pre-EuroAmerican landscapes of the late 18th and early 19th centuries of Missouri. These data offer glimpses of

the land, waters, and occupants long before modern urbanization and agriculture. With its beginnings dating back to Professor Walter A. Schroder arduously searching for his pre-settlement prairie in old General Land Office survey notes, this project has culminated in the most robust and thorough historical landscape reference now available in the US at this

state-wide scale.

This program has been approved for advanced training.

This program is rescheduled from January, 2010.

Refreshments: Dessert: Sally Swanson, Non-dessert: Alice Havard, Beverages: Nicole Stanton

2010 State Conference: St Louis area chapters, October 15-17. 2011 State Conference: Chert Glades, September dates TBD.

To promote awareness and citizen stewardship of natural resources

through science-based education and community service.