MERAMEC HILLS CHAPTER MISSOURI NATURALISTS
DECEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New
officers Elected
At the
November meeting, the following slate was unanimously elected:
President - Neil Elfrink
Vice-President - Emily Brown
Secretary - Judity Dudley
Treasurer - Sue Goodman
SAC representative - Val Jontz
Christmas
Social
As has
been our tradition since the inception of the chapter, we will hold our annual
Christmas social at the home of Janet McKean, 618 Salem Avenue, Rolla.
This year the event will be held on Sunday, December 13, from 4:00 pm - 7:00
pm, but come whenever you can and stay as long as you can. Please bring
spouses or significant others. Chapter members are asked to bring an
appetizer or finger food to share. Janet will provide coffee, tea, mulled
cider, and mulled wine. Please feel free to bring wine
or beverage of your choice. To have an idea of how many will be attending,
please RSVP to Janet :573-364-7809 (h) or 573-465-0405 (c) or e-mail: jmckean@fidnet.com
. A separate announcement with directions will be sent later this week.
There
will be no regular monthly meeting of the chapter in December.
Bonebrake
Facts for Radio Series
Bonebrake
Center needs short informational "blurbs" for radio announcements
(Ex: "Did you know that the wings of a hummingbird can flap ___ times a
minute?). These facts need to be accurate and creative. Try to
make a fact for each season. Facts should be related to Missouri.
Members can work at home on the facts. Participants will earn 1
volunteer hour for 5 facts. At the January meeting, members will share,
discuss, and decide on facts to submit.
For
more information, contact Neil Elfrink (nelfrink@embarqmail.com )
CoCoRaHS
(Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow network) - new approved volunteer
project
CoCoRaHS
is a non-profit, community-based network of volunteers who measure and map
precipitation.
This is
a project you can conduct in your own backyard, and it will count for 5-10
minutes a day.
To sign
up and for more information, go to http://www.cocorahs.org
DECEMBER EVENTS
December
5 (Saturday)
Tanager
Trails, 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Trail
maintenance. Bring shovels, rakes, loppers, snippers.
For
more information, contact Connie Roberts (unicorn1@fidnet.com
December
12 (Saturday)
Stream
team #3713 Dry Fork ACOA water quality monitoring site #1. Bring your
stream team equipment. Anyone interested in helping or observing is
welcome. Meet at 8:30 am at Burger King, St. James.
For
more information, contact Neil Elfrink (nelfrink@embarqmail.com) or Pamela Barnabee (pamela.barnabee@gmail.com
)
December
13 (Sunday)
Chapter
Christmas Social at the home of Janet McKean, 618 Salem Ave., Rolla, 4:00 pm -
7:00 pm or whenever you can make it. Details under announcements.
Further notice will be sent in December with directions to McKean home.
Note:
There will be no chapter monthly meeting in December.
December
15 (Tuesday)
Nature
Adventure, Bray Conservation Area, 10:30 am - 11:30 am and 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm,
for children 3-7 with an adult
Program:
Bald Eagles
Have you ever seen a bald eagle? Do you know how big an eagle's nest
is? Come learn all about Missouri's "big bird." Children
can climb into an "eagle's nest" and have their picture
taken. Parents, please bring your own camera.
For
more information, contact Connie at Connie.Schmiedeskamp@mdc.mo.gov
or call MDC Rolla office - 573-368-2225.
December
18 (Friday)
Stream
team #3713 Dry Fork ACOA water quality monitoring sites # 3 and #4. Bring
your stream team equipment. Anyone interested in helping or observing is
welcome. Meet at the Centre, Rolla, 8:30 am.
For
more information, contact Neil Elfrink (nelfrink@embarqmail.com ) or Pamela Barnabee (pamela.barnabee@gmail.com
)
JANUARY EVENTS
January
10 (Sunday)
Chapter
Board meeting, Bray Conservation Area, 5:30 pm. All interested persons
are invited to attend. Please bring a dish to share.
January
25 (Monday)
Regular
monthly chapter meeting, United Methodist Church, Rolla, 6:0 pm - 8:00 pm
Prepare
"Conservation Tid Bits" for Bonebrake Center. Qualifies for
advanced training or volunteer hours.
Refreshments:
Neil and Ineke Elfrink
Judith Dudley
January
29 (Friday) or January 30 (Saturday)
"Grow
Native" Workshop, Rolla Technical Institute, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
For
more information or to register, go to http://www.grownative.org
FEBRUARY EVENTS
February
4 (Thursday) with a snow date: February 11
"Native
Plant Workshop", Bray Conservation Area, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
An
advanced training class led by Master Naturalist, Pat Perry, with fellow Master
Naturalists, Judith Dudley and Sandy Hubbard, assisting. The first hour
of the class will be an introduction to native plants; the second hour will be
spent planning the planting area at Bray CA and choosing plants to use.
Plans are for a planting day on Saturday, April 17, with a rain/snow date:
April 24.
Febuary
6 (Saturday) with snow/rain date: Saturday, February 13
Workday
at Tanager Trails, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, constructing a footbridge and improving
trail
This
project will involve building a rustic, cedar log footbridge across drainage on
the Glade Trail. Work will also be done on improving and relocating a
section of the Glade Trail bordering the glade, brushing out the trailhead and
marking the trailheads with new signage.
Bring work gloves, shovels, saws,
limb clippers, garden rakes, leaf blower, etc.
For
more information, contact Connie Roberts (unicorn1@fidnet.com ) or call 573-426-5616.
February
22 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of chapter, United Methodist Church, Rolla, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Program: Frog ID (also prep for frog project), Kate Kelly, MDC - qualifies for
1 hour advanced training
MARCH EVENTS
March
12 (Friday)
8-hour
introductory level volunteer water quality monitoring workshop at Ft. Leonard
Wood. Details to follow.
March
20 (Saturday) with rain/flood date: March 27
Monitoring
Water Quality, Big Piney River, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Stream
team #3481 monitors 4 sites along a 7-mile stretch of the Big Piney River, near
Duke, MO. This project will be sampling for macro invertebrates as well
as testing water samples for turbidity, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen,
nitrates, and ammonia.
To sign
up or for more information, contact Pamela Barnabee (pamela.barnabee@gmail.com
) or call 417-458-3099 by March 6th.
March
22 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of the chapter, United Methodist Church, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Program: History of Deer Management in Missouri, Lonnie Hansen, MDC - qualifies
for 1 hour Advanced Training.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April
15 or before - Date to be announced
Prescribed
burn at Tanager Trails, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm - burning the glade and grassland
areas of the nature reserve.
The
date cannot be fixed due to requirements on burning and getting permission from
the Rolla City Fire Department and also weather conditions. Details and
date will be announced later.
Level 1
Prescribed Burn class is strongly recommended, but not required to assist with
a prescribed burn. A class will be held on a Saturday in April.
April
17 (Saturday) with rain/snow date: April 24
Beginning
at 9:00 am, planting native plants and mulching the pond bank at Bray
Conservation Area.
There
will be a potluck lunch following the planting, with dessert provided.
For
more information, contact Connie Schmiesdeskamp (connie.schmiesdeskamp@mdc.mo.gov )
April
26 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of chapter, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Location to be announced.
Program: Prairie Plants and Plant ID, presented by the Thomas's (1.5 hr.
advanced training)
May
-
Field
trip to Prairie State Park near Joplin. This will be an all-day trip, on
a Saturday. (5.5 advanced hours estimate).
For
more information, contact Pat Perry at 573-364-8440.
May
24 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of the chapter, United Methodist Church, Rolla, 6:00 pm - 8:00
pm
Program: Climatology and Climate Change, Pat Guinan
June
28 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of the chapter, Tanager Trails, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Program: Projects at Tanager Trails, presented by Connie Roberts
July
26 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of the chapter, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm- location and program to be
announced.
August
23 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of the chapter, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Camp Brimshire
Program: Bats of the Ozarks and Bat ID, Carol Mahan (qualifies for 1 advanced
training or 1 volunteer hour)
September
-
Field
trip on a Saturday to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, near Columbia
Program: Wetlands management and Bird Identification, Tim James (qualifies for
5.5 advanced training hours)
September
22 (Monday)
Regular
monthly meeting of the chapter, United Methodist Church, Rolla, 6:00 pm - 8:00
pm
Program: Karst Topography and Karst Features in the Meramec Hills Chapter area,
Neil Elfrink (qualifies for 1 hr. AD)
CHAPTER COMMITTEES and COORDINATORS
Volunteer
Opportunities Committee - Neil Elfrink and Ineke Vander Meulen Co-Chair this
committee
The following members will be liaisons with centers, projects, and programs
with which we are working (The plan is for them to bring to the committee and
the membership information about volunteer work at these places):
Rich Hashagen - Camp Brimshire, St. James
Nancy Moenster - Bonebrake Center of Nature and History,
Salem, and Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center, Salem
Connie
Roberts - Audubon
Pat Perry - Bray Conservation Area, Rolla
Bob Perry - Truman Elementary School, Rolla
Publicity
Committee - Sue
Goodman chair
Advanced
Training Committee- Emily
Brown chair
Core
Training Committee - Pamela
Barnabee coordinator
Newsletter
- Janet McKean
Website
- Jerry Barnabee
Note: If anyone is interested in
working with any of these committees, please contact the chair. We want
everyone in the chapter to be involved!