A Winter Walk

The MMNC Spring Intern, Liz Short, wrote the following entry after a recent walk through the marsh:

It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do!
In the dead of winter, a ray of sun goes a long way with me. I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the day. A walk through the marsh this morning proved that the same is true for many creatures. Just last week I took a few photos to show what ‘winter in the marsh’ looks like. Winter did not stay long this year. Birds that have been silent for months were euphoric to be out in the morning sun. Not a patch of snow survived the past few days of spring weather. The only signs of winter left are the dulled colors of the marsh plants. But even those are reviving to reveal new foliage. The mallard ducks have been especially active and visible to marsh visitors. Even the muskrat has popped up a few times this week! The small beaver dam on Bathgate Spring has been freshly dug out creating a wonderful whirlpool. The kids affectionately describe it as ‘A TORNADO!’ I am happy to say I am not the only one appreciating the marsh in its current vivacity; I see dog walkers, families, runners. All have come out to enjoy themselves and the marsh in the spring air. Winter may still have a few tricks up its sleeves, but for now the marsh is glad to see sun. So am I.

Organic Gardening Workshop

Interested in the Organic Gardening Workshops at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center?

Watch this great clip of Recreation Supervisor Molly Hetrick talking with the folks from Central PA Live this past Monday.

Click HERE to watch the clip!

Space is still available for the program - held TONIGHT!

Organic Gardening Workshops
Dr. Gene Bazan will lead these workshops on organic vegetable production. His principles and tips will be useful to beginning and intermediate organic gardeners and also conventional gardeners who might like to convert to organic and wish to learn how. Two workshops are being offered; both will include similar information so please register for only one. In the late spring, Gene and his wife Tania will host a garden walk for attendees at their home in Lemont where they grow 90% of their vegetables year round and 60% of their fruit (home garden visit dates to be determined). Advance registration is required.

Wed., Feb. 29
7 PM
Spring Creek Education Building at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
$6 R/$9 NR

Contact Centre Region Parks & Recreation to register by calling 814-231-3071 or visit www.crpr.org to register online.

Frog Legs, Anyone?

Our friend of the marsh, Jon Whitsel, shared these fantastic pictures from a winter walk at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center. He described observing a group of ducks who caught a frog and were tossing it back and forth between them.
Last summer, the camp kids saw a large green frog who hung out in that area every day and they named "her" Beaulah. We were hoping it wasnt Beaulah that the ducks were eating!

A big thank you to Jon for sharing these photos. To see more photos of the ducks with the frog, visit his blog at http://jonnycooloutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/01/frog-legs-anyone.html

Box Turtle Visitor at MMNC

After returning from a trip last week, the Staff at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center pulled into our parking area and look who was waiting for us on the sidewalk!

This box turtle has a very interesting life story. We actually do not know where this turtle started out, but in the spring a parent brought it to a classroom teacher, and the teacher brought it Millbrook Marsh Nature Center in a box and the turtle escaped the box! We were very distressed, not knowing if this turtle had been captive all his life and perhaps would not make it in the wild, but the turtle was nowhere to be found.

Now, imagine our surprise and delight four months later, to find the turtle on our path! We know it is the same turtle because of the blue dot on its back.

According to this article from Essex County, VA:

The shell consists of living bone and is part of the animal’s skeleton. Its backbone is attached to the inside of the carapace or upper shell. Adult box turtles are small. Their shell is only four to six inches long and has a distinctive high dome. The bony shell is covered with plates, called “scutes.” Scutes are made out of “keratin”, the same material that makes up your fingernails and hair.

Box turtles typically live in forests where there is plenty of cool shade in the summer and some sunny, open spots where turtles can warm up. The moist soil is good for digging burrows, and there is plenty of leaf litter, fallen tree branches and other woody piles where turtles can find shelter. There are other habitats or places in and around forests where box turtles also spend time. They visit streams and ponds, wetlands, where the ground is always muddy and often has a layer of water on it, and meadows, or grassy fields. Today, box turtles also use lawns, flowerbeds and backyard ponds around houses near the woods.

Most box turtles have home ranges or areas where they live their entire lives. Home ranges can be as large as 12 acres (or about 9 football fields), although they are often much smaller. Home ranges of different turtles overlap or share common space. This overlap makes it possible for turtles to meet and breed. Box turtles don’t’ reach adulthood or breeding age until their teens.

How long do wild box turtles live? We don’t know for sure. Most never reach adulthood. For the lucky ones that do, most probably live less than 50 years. However, there are records of wild box turtles living much longer, some more than 100 years!

Read the rest of this great article at http://www.essexcca.com/story/eastern-box-turtle-disappearing-gems-forest

Scientist believe that box turtles return each year to the place of their birth to breed and lay eggs. So, if you remove a box turtle to another place, it will set out to journey back, which often leads them into danger and across highways. Many do not make it back. Please never remove a box turtle from its habitat. If you see one crossing the road, please help it across in the direction it was traveling and always watch while driving, that rock might be a box turtle!

TrekEast's Davis to take Trail Break in State College at 4,500-mile mark of trek through East's wildlands

See his presentation at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center on Thursday, July 21 at 7 PM in the new Spring Creek Education Building.


ClearWater Conservancy and Millbrook Marsh Nature Center will host wilderness explorer John Davis of the Wildlands Network July 21 as part of TrekEast, Davis’s 6,000-mile trip from Florida to Canada aimed at drawing attention to the remaining wild places in the Eastern U.S. and Canada and inspiring people to connect those places and preserve them.

Davis will tour wild places conserved by ClearWater Conservancy for part of the day, then share the story of his travels to with the public at a one-hour presentation and Q and A session at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center at 7 pm. Admission to the event is free.

“We are really looking forward to meeting John and learning about his journey and experiences,” said Jennifer Shuey, Executive Director of ClearWater Conservancy.

TrekEast was launched Feb. 3 when Davis set out in a kayak from Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida. The Wildlands Network vision John is sharing is that of an Eastern Wildway, a mosaic of connected habitat stretching from Florida’s Everglades to Canada’s Gaspe Peninsula—providing enough space for nature, wildlife and people to thrive.

“John’s vision of interconnected conservation lands throughout the East is just a larger scale version of what we work on every day here in Central Pennsylvania at ClearWater Conservancy,” said Shuey, tying local actions to the larger network.

Using mostly human power, Davis is hiking, paddling, cycling and skiing through the spectacular and biologically diverse Eastern Wildway. He is slogging through swamps, hiking in search of rare prairies and longleaf pine forests, paddling pristine and important rivers, exploring rich coastal marshes, climbing ancient mountains, and navigating through valleys and northern landscapes. In addition, Davis is taking “side-trips” from his charted course, in order to encounter as many critical wild places as possible.

Davis is sharing this journey with many esteemed companion trekkers as well as a variety of intriguing and important species such as: American Crocodile, manatee, bottle-nosed dolphin, oysters, black bear, Florida panther, bobwhite quail, American turkey, red-cockaded woodpeckers, elk, bison, moose, beaver, Canada lynx and more. Many times, John’s stories will be told from the perspective of these threatened creatures as he faces barriers to survival from their perspective.

While in State College, John will learn more about local efforts to conserve Galbraith Gap, Musser Gap, Millbrook Marsh, Spring Creek, and the Scotia Barrens. He will also witness the hands-on outdoor learning taking place at the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center.

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For more information about the Wildlands Network, visit www.wildlandsnetwork.org

For Trekeast information and links to Davis’s blogs, go to www.wildlandsnetwork.org/trekeast

For more about Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, visit www.MyMillbrookMarsh.com

For information about ClearWater Conservancy, go to www.clearwaterconservancy.org

Biscuit Jam Concert, July 8th!

Music Nights at the Marsh

features

BISCUIT JAM

Friday, July 8 at 6:30 pm

at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center

Biscuit Jam performs unique acoustic interpretations of classic rock favorites as well as traditional folk songs and Americana-flavored original compositions.

Bring the family, a blanket, a chair, or a picnic!

A $5 donation per person will be collected at the door to support the nature center and these great local musicians. Children under 10 yrs. are FREE! Free parking is available. In case of rain, the concert will be held inside the barn. Alcoholic beverages prohibited.

Ancient Echoes to play at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center

Music Nights at the Marsh
Friday, June 17 at 6:30 PM
ANCIENT ECHOES

Please join us this Friday night to hear the amazing sounds of Ancient Echoes! This band plays beautiful celtic/folk style music and have been a favorite at the MMNC Music Nights for many years! Their beautiful string instruments sound amazing in this acoustic setting (and it takes over an hour to tune over 120 strings to bring this beautiful music to you!) Rain or shine, this concert will be held inside the nature center barn. COME JOIN US!

Music Nights at the Marsh are a fun way to hear great music:
Come and enjoy beautiful music at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center! All ages are welcome! Some concerts may be outdoors, some held in the barn. A $5 per person donation will be collected at the door to support the nature center and these great local musicians! Bring the family, a blanket, a chair or a picnic! (Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on nature center property.) Free parking is available. In case of rain, call CRPR before 5 PM for information. More concerts are being planned - please check back for updates & schedules.

• Friday, June 17 6:30 PM Ancient Echoes
• Friday, June 24 6:30 PM Tussey Mtn. Moonshiners
• Friday, July 8 6:30 PM Biscuit Jam
• Friday,July 22 6:30 PM Pure Cane Sugar