Chapter Ice Cream Social

Chapter Members Socializing

The Pavilion at Wildcat Glades hosted smiling faces sharing ice cream Saturday afternoon. Members of Chert Glades Master Naturalist met for treats, socializing, and entertainment, as six varieties of ice cream were served. There were numerous choices of toppings to dress up the dessert selections.

Member Kerry Sturgis played his guitar softly in the background, lending an easy, relaxing atmosphere to the gathering. Everyone was delighted that the weather held out, though a little cool as the gathering grew to a close. The breeze wafted through the air, rippling the creek with silver edges.

Scott B. with fish and Lloyd Smith assisting with the whopper.

Scott Butler brought his fishing gear and managed to snag a fish from Shoal Creek, as his wife, May, snapped photos. Several of the senior members (including me), clapped and marveled at this skill! It was great fun and companionship.

Great selection of Ice Cream

more socializing

Lloyd S. & Kerry S. visiting

Krista dipping in for another flavor - Coffee flavor prepared by Cynthia

Everyone enjoying the Ice Cream & visiting

Submitted by Julia Womack with Photos from Julia W. & Scott Butler

Playing Cornhole

WHAT IS OUT THERE LURKING ON SILVER CREEK GLADE?

With a BioBlitz experience under their belts, Chert Glades Chapter has shown extreme enthusiasm and diligence in making 300+ sightings on Silver Creek Glade! While many observations were previously documented on trails leading out from Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center, very few had been entered from that part of the glade to the south of Silver Creek except by MDC staff. Since access is from Norledge Place (unless you are willing to ford Silver Creek or inch across the dam like Karen) it is no wonder observations have been few!  Hopefully this is only a beginning! With but one early May excursion, what is yet to be discovered? Will more people outside our group be curious and venture out to explore? We hope so!

The fearless leaders of the project learned much from this trial adventure:

Stripped Barked Scorpion - Maddie R.

·        The way a project is initially set up determines if observations are automatically transferred to the project once you join it! (It was not set up that way which required some observers to make a second pass on observations.)

·        Many new or almost new users of the iNaturalist app came prepared to seriously discover life (and even signs of life) on Silver Creek Glade.

·        The use of ALL senses to observe should have been emphasized beforehand. Sadly only Maddie and Patrick allowed their ears to hear and record the actively calling Cricket Frogs. (Yes, I know everyone heard them!)

Gulf Coast tick -Diona F.

·        While many reportedly had encounters with ticks during the BioBlitz (or found them on their person later that evening), only Dione and Amera chose to officially record this observation.

Silla and Bee

• Insects, especially bees, were recorded by Patrick, Amera, Dione, Charles, Karen, Maddie, as well as members identified by userIDs as cpdoc,* and electricdoggy*(*who?), although it should be said Cody was drawn to a Lady Beetle. The Wild Hyacinths were especially attractive to the bees! Where were the rest of us

• The mysterious grouping of “melic grasses” suggests iNaturalist taxonomic prowess may be minimally focused on grasses of any kind.

• The willingness of so many to accept the designation of an observation as “Unknown” was disappointing, and indicates  it should have been emphasized as appropriate to go back and hit the 3-dot talk bubble to let iNaturalist give some suggestions to choose from, or at least consider. (There is still time to do this! Perhaps go back and take a look!)

• All members should take a look at the observations that were made and “agree” with those they recognize as valid. There is learning to be done.

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Hairy Lip Fern

With a mission to connect others and ourselves to nature, participants in the BioBlitz discovered many species while learning to use iNaturalist and exercise their powers of observation on Silver Creek Glade. With diligent management by MDC on this glade, habitat will improve and more native species will be observed. Citizens exploring Silver Creek Glade can document how these management practices are progressing and provide valuable insight as to next steps.

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Scorpion Weed

Monarch Caterpillar

Lincoln’s Sparrow - Maddie R.

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Grey Tree Frog

Prickly Pear-Karen G.

iNaturalist is a free app that allows users to make a personal record and share observations about plants and  animals, builds knowledge, and brings people together. You don’t have to be an expert to use iNaturalist…but you just might become one!

Go to www.inaturalist.org to learn more. Check out the “Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center Trails and Wildcat Trail System” on iNaturalist.

Submitted by Val Frankoski

Photos from Maddie R., Brandi P., Chelsa C., Karen G., Dione F.

Redings Mill Prescribed burn

Before and after the burn.

On December 18th, the Master Naturalists ended 2022 with a burn at the old Redings Mill Bridge restoration site. Prescribed burns are one of the best ways to maintain the natural biodiversity of glades, prairies, woodlands, and savannah plant communities. When done on a regular schedule, burns recycle nutrients into the soil, stimulate growth, promote seed germination, and prevent the invasion of woody growth. Woody growth such as shrubs and tree saplings need to be prevented in these plant communities or else, they will shade out important species of plants which need full sun.

Fire is an important natural tool for maintaining our local ecosystems. Historically, some fires were caused by lightning strikes. The vast majority, however, were intentionally started by indigenous peoples such as the Osage in Missouri. I am particularly fascinated by historical and current prescribed burning because it is further evidence that humans belong as a part of nature as stewards of the land. As long as we follow proper practices and especially as long as we follow indigenous guidance, we can manage land in a way that is not extracting or damaging.

The first thing to think about when conducting a prescribed burn is personal safety. Everyone at the burn had either completed or was in the process of completing the MDC level one burn training. This training teaches about goals for prescribed burns, proper technique, equipment, and PPE. For PPE we all wore cotton pants, leather boots, and leather gloves. Randal also provided us with Nomex shirts, which are made of a special fireproof material. We’re also encouraged to wear face coverings and eye protection to deal with the smoke. All of the equipment you wear is to prevent any accidents if embers fly in your direction. Wearing this gear, along with conducting proper protocols in proper weather, greatly reduces any chance for injury during a burn.

One of the biggest considerations for conducting a prescribed burn is weather. Weather conditions need to be perfect in order to have a burn that won’t get out of hand. We were lucky to have the weather in our favor, as there had been some concern earlier whether the dry, windy fall would allow us to have a burn this year at all. Two weeks before, Karen, Donna, Randal, and I prepared the site for the burn. That way, if we did get the right weather, we would be able to jump on the opportunity at a moment’s notice. That involved mowing around recently planted shrubs, signs, and fence posts. Much of that was done by hand, which I think was impressive. We also cut down some larger plants by the path such as ash saplings. This prep made the day of the actual burn much easier when we didn’t have to work to protect every fence post

Fortunately for us, some rain the week before led to the perfect combination of weather conditions to have a safe prescribed burn. These conditions include proper relative humidity - too low and it can burn too hot and dangerously quickly, too high and it won’t burn at all or just produce a lot of unwanted smoke. The wind also needs to be just right - too high and the fire can rage out of control, jumping across burn lines into neighboring property. No wind at all would make for a very slow and frustrating day watching fire creep at a snail’s pace.

Needless to say , iI can take a while for all the right conditions to line up for a burn. That’s why, when volunteering to participate, you usually only get a day or two notice. Even then, the burn can be canceled or delayed. We had to postpone this burn from a planned start at 11 to a 12:30 start to reach ideal weather conditions. Things like humidity and wind can change throughout the day, so that is always a consideration depending on how long a burn will take. This site wasn’t very big, so we had the benefit of burning when conditions were ideal.

Another benefit of this burn was the existing burn line. The burn unit was surrounded by gravel or asphalt, which really doesn’t burn. I had a flapper, a tool that smothers small fires, with me, but I barely had to use it. These advantages - great weather conditions, a small burn unit, and strong fire lines meant that we were able to get the burn done with a small team. Karen, Lisa, Donna, Randal, and I had a rather laid-back time burning without needing a big water truck or radios. Randal as well as Karen and Donna were experienced members of our burn team. I had participated in a few burns before at Prairie State Park which were different since they were much bigger. This was Lisa’s first field experience.

 Randal did most of the work using a drip torch, which drips a burning mix of gas and diesel onto the ground. Karen used a leaf blower to extinguish small fires where we didn’t want them. Lisa, Donna, and I used flappers and rakes to stop small fires as well. It was cool to see that, with the right preparation and team, a prescribed burn could just be a fun afternoon.

The main struggle we faced was getting some sections to burn! On the lower slope, there wasn’t as much wind, so fire didn’t carry across very well. We got some results by transferring burning material to different unburned patches, but it wasn’t nearly as thorough as at the top of the burn unit. I also found that, being a glade, this spot had a lot of rocks that didn’t want to burn (despite my best efforts)! Overall, our main priority site got thoroughly toasted, so we were satisfied.

Singed prickly pear cactus

The results looked good, once you programmed your brain to appreciate a burned landscape. An important practice during prescribed burns is to burn only a portion of the entire area at one time. That allows wildlife such as nesting birds, overwintering insects, and small mammals to still have some refuge while the burned section grows back. In our case, while the bridge restoration area was burned, the rest of the Shoal Creek trail remained for wildlife to take shelter. While I didn’t see any that day, it is common to see birds of prey patrol an area after it is burned to catch uncovered prey. I was particularly interested in the prickly pears all over the site, which exhibited a sort of blistering. They also had their spines burned off. I am interested to see how they recover.

It snowed a few days after the burn, which in combination with the ground-clearing fire should result in good seed germination in the spring. Combined with the new growth that fire stimulates, I think this restoration site will have a beautiful 2023!

Donna C. and Randal S.

Emily B. and Karen M. ready and waiting for the fire

Randal coming back through to take care of some missed grasses with Emily, Karen M. and Donna C watching a few flames behind him.

the string of flames going across the glade

Article submitted by Emily Bowyer & Pictures by Emily B. and Karen G.

Garlic Mustard Pulling at Prairie State Park

On Saturday April 1st, Chert Glades Chapter members helped staff at Prairie State Park by pulling garlic mustard before it could go to seed. Garlic mustard is an invasive biennial species from Europe. This means it flowers after its second year of growth. All the mustard we pulled could have produced hundreds of seedlings next year!

first year seedlings

After initial discovery in the park's campground, the number of garlic mustard plants has steadily decreased by hand-pulling every year. We were told the first-year volunteers pulled a pile of mustard the size of a car, while we only filled a few bags. We did contend with a few patches of tiny seedlings from plants missed during last year’s effort. Hopefully next year there will be even fewer patches!

Invasive species present an ongoing challenge to all parks, prairies, and natural areas. I think this is a good example of how consistent, well-timed removal can eventually control plants that could become a problem very quickly.

a second year plant begins to form buds