EASTMAN NATURE CENTER / THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT
Trackings
Volunteer Newsletter
SAVE THE DATE: Field Trip
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1-4 PM
LOCATION TBA
Summer 2017
Volunteer Opportunities ........pg
Feature Story ctd .................pg
Thank Yous! ........................pg
Congratulations! ..................pg
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We’ve got a few great ideas for our fall Volunteer Field Trip that we are
putting together! We will do an afternoon adventure this year on the 12th
of September. More details will be coming along soon!
If you are interested in the trip and free that afternoon, be sure to RSVP to
Eastman at 763-694-7700.
We hope to see you then!
Editor: Lauren Borer
The mission of Three Rivers Park
District is promote environmental
stewardship through recreation
and education in a natural
resources-based park system.
Bugs Are Here, Hope We Have Bats!
by Dierdre Schultz
You all know Minnesota has lots of insects and we are lucky to have
bats that eat the adult form of all the insects that give us the most
trouble.
This state has seven species of bats. They are the Big Brown, Little
Brown, Northern Long-eared, Tricolored, Eastern Red, Silver-haired,
and the Hoary. The Evening bat may be a new resident, discovered
last year, this will bring the count to eight species. This discovery
is both good and bad for Minnesota. The good part is another bat
that eats insects may like living here. The bad part is the bat might
be able to survive here because of climate change. The traditional
territory of the Evening Bat is from the middle of Iowa south and in
the past Minnesota was too cold.
On the top of the list of problems bats face is the fungus that
causes “White-nose Syndrome”. White-nose is killing bats by the
millions. The fungus was first found in a cave in New York State
and has been moving across North America and Canada. The
researchers think it was brought to this country by people who
enjoy spelunking and our bats have no immunity. In many cases,
the entire bat population of the cave has died.
Little Brown Bat
Little Brown Bat with
White-nose Fungus
Scientists first had to find out what was killing the bats and how it
was spreading. Now that we have that information the next step is
how do we get rid of the problem. Researchers are coming up with
ways to help the bats but so far there is no cure. People can help
by putting up bat houses. The bats that hibernate in caves are the
same ones that use the bat houses. When a bat has a house
available, they don’t have to use as much energy to stay warm as
they would in a tree cavity. This helps them go into hibernation
with the maximum amount of fat possible.
Along with the usual habitat loss, chemicals that poison bats, and
people killing bats because of misinformation and fear, and wind
turbines are killing bats by the thousands.
(Continued on page 3)
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Volunteer Needs
PLEASE CALL EASTMAN NATURE CENTER, 763-694-7700,
TO SIGN UP FOR A SPECIFIC EVENT.
BOTTINEAU HOUSE
VOLUNTEERS
DRAGONFLY
MONITORING
MONARCH LARVA
MONITORING
BOOKWORMS
PARENT/CHILD
ASSISTANT
Contact: Bill W alker
Dates: M ay—October
763-694-2059
Training: TBD
[email protected] Staff: Christy
Dates: J une-August
Training:
As-needed and by request.
Staff: Elaine
Are you interested in history?
The Bottineau house will be
opened to the public every
Saturday this summer. We need
volunteers to greet visitors and
answer questions. If interested
contact Bill Walker, Cultural
Resource Coordinator.
Identify dragonflies and
help track species
occurrence throughout the
summer, once a week to
once a month, depending
on your schedule. Data is
sent to the Minnesota
Dragonfly Society.
The Monarch Larva Monitoring
Project is an international
citizen scientist program.
Participants check the prairie’s
milkweed plants for monarch
caterpillars and eggs. Weekly
monitoring (1.5-2 hours per
visit) will be shared throughout the summer amongst
participants. The more the
merrier!
BEACH OLYMPICS
BUMBLEBEE SURVEY DRAGONFLY
FESTIVAL
MONARCH TAGGING
Date: W ednesday, J uly 5
9:30 AM-1:30 PM
Location: Elm Creek Beach
Staff: Vicky
Dates: Saturday, J uly 15, Date: Saturday J uly 8
29, August 12
9:30 AM-1:30 PM
1-2:30 PM
Staff: Brandon
Staff: Brandon
Dates: Sunday, A ugust
20 and 27, and
September 3
1-3 PM
Staff: Vicky
Join us as we celebrate the
Olympics—nature style! Spend
the day assisting with various
games and activities that
highlight our MN animals. Come
for the fun!
Join a U of M entomologist
to learn about current MN
bee surveys. Capture and
release bees on the prairie
and learn to identify, count,
and mark them. Weather
permitting.
ONGOING NEEDS:
WANTED …
WISH LIST:
SAVE US YOUR …
The exhibit area has a
number of display pieces that
switch out monthly or seasonally. We are seeking someone to
adopt the task of regularly
switching out the contents of
the table-top items, the reach-in
cubes, the puzzles, and the children’s area books.

Contact Elaine to help.
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
PB Jars
(20 oz. + preferred)
Cool Whip tubs
WANTED:
We are in need of the
following items:
 For our Apple Cidering
programs in the fall, we
are in need of apples! If
you or some you know
would like to donate,
contact Lauren!
 Bird seed
Come help with our second
annual Dragonfly Festival!
Help participants with crafts,
visit dragonflies, catch dragonflies and more.
Dates: J une 6, J uly 4 &
August 1
Tuesdays, 10-11 AM
Staff: Elaine
Assist in program set-up
and clean-up, engage parents and their young children (ages 2-6) during activities, and
accompany the group hike.
Assist in presenting
information about monarch
butterflies. Help catch, tag,
and release monarchs in
the field; record data.
Save These Dates
Apple Cidering Demos
Three Sundays,
October 1, 8, & 15
1-3 PM
Big Woods Halloween
Saturday, October 28
10 AM–3PM
Bugs Are Here, Hope We have Bats!
continued from page 1
Research has shown that there are things the turbine owners can do to cut down on deaths, but much of the
time they say it will cut into profits. I hope that with education and public pressure the necessary changes
will eventually take place.
Information from Bat Conservation International (BCI) says that bats in Minnesota save farmers $1.4 per
year by eating insects that eat our crops. It has been estimated that a single colony of 150 Big Brown Bats
eats around 1.3 million pest insects each year.
Bats are very clean animals. They are good mothers that carry their nursing babies with them until they get
too heavy to fly. They don't carry rabies. They make up 20% of known mammal species and have been on
earth more than 50 million years. Bats don't really want to have anything to do with people.
So - what can we do to help? Don't spray your yard with insecticide. Put up bat houses. Plant a Bat Garden.
Keep your cats in the house. And if you have a bat in your house or building, don't kill it. I can help you
with bat information and help remove the wayward bat that ends up in the wrong place.
Good resources about bats can be found online at the Organization for Bat Conservation
(www.batconservation.org) and Bat Conservation International (www.batcon.org).
Thank You
PROJECT FEEDERWATCH
KITS & CUBS:
MAPLE SYRUP SEASON
EGGSTRAVAGANZA
A big thank you to our Project FeederWatch volunteers
for counting birds at our feeders this winter! This is
important data used by Cornell University to study trends
in bird feeder populations. Thank you to Bill and Karen
Bieber, Vennie Fahning, Marilyn Hultgren, Gene Lau,
Sylvia Winkleman, Carol Klitzke, Deb Lewis, Jo Ann
Morse, and Duane and Nancy Hepokoski.
A HUGE THANK YOU to Addi Mommson for volunteering
with our Thursday Kits & Cubs preschool classes this
whole school year! This was her 5th school year with us!
Addi assisted our students with art projects, snack,
stories and nature hikes each week. The kids love “Miss
Addi”, and we couldn’t have such a successful program
without her love of the kids and her dedication.
Once again, Mother Nature’s fresh ideas about seasons
threw us for a loop, and some sites were tapping trees in
early February! We at Eastman risked waiting, holding
out for our audiences to arrive, and the trees
accommodated. From our first syrup program on March 1
to our last one on March 31, we gathered and boiled and
jarred enough of the sweet stuff of trees to make 58
quarts of new syrup — exactly the same as last year!
Thanks to our many cauldron-boilers, sap haulers,
equipment cleaners and repair-ers, and finishers. Well
done, everyone. By everyone, we mean fifteen awesome
volunteers, PLUS the folks who helped out with the
Festival!
Just like in 2016, our biggest event of the year was held
over 2 days to help spread the crowds out. Thursday’s
attendance was almost 400 people and Friday was nearly
double that with 757 people attending our event! Whew!
We definitely could not have done it without the help of
all the volunteers. There were so many of you that we
don’t quite have the room to list you all, but there is no
way we could have run such a successful event without
the dedication of our volunteers. You did everything from
stuffing eggs, to setting up, to egg dying, to bunny
wrangling, to games, to egg hunt, to face painting and
more!!! The comments from families overheard were all
so positive and much of it has to do with you! THANKS!!
MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL
BIRDING AT DUSK
This year we had lovely weather for the Maple Syrup
Festival! We had 200 people attend this year—one of the
biggest years yet! This included a group of families who
attend Miranda’s monthly library programs in Brooklyn
Park and Brooklyn Center. They were shuttled from the
libraries to Eastman so they could take part in this
fabulous event. Thanks to all of our volunteers, who are
too numerous to list. Because of your help people
enjoyed tapping trees, trying maple sugar, enjoying
maple syrup on ice cream, maple syrup games and crafts,
and sitting by the fire watching the sap in the cauldron
bubble. Thanks for all of your help! We really could not
have done it without you.
More and more of the general public have shown interest
in observing the spring mating flight display of the
American Woodcock, and that has created a new
volunteering opportunity! Thanks to Laura Feirabend, Deb
Lewis, and Kevin McKinney, forty more people were able
to go stalking the Timberdoodle this spring, and Carol
Klitzke is trained in for next year. If squatting in the grass
and sneaking through brush while birding by ear at
sunset sounds fun, maybe you want to join us next
spring! *Peent!*
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Eastman Nature Center
Elm Creek Park Reserve
13351 Elm Creek Road
Osseo, MN 55369
Phone: 763.694.7700
ThreeRiversParks.org
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Congratulations!
Distinguished Volunteer Service Award Recipients:
Dan Fortin and Hannah Wachtler
We at Eastman are pleased to announce that two of our volunteers have received the 2017 Distinguished Volunteer Service
Award!
Dan Fortin has been volunteering at Eastman for the last 10
years. He is our “bird feeder guy”! He fills them and cleans them
and let’s the staff know of any issues with them. This simple task
is a huge help to us!
Hannah Wachtler has been a NYL volunteer for the last 4 years at
Eastman. She has volunteered during our summer camps and all
our major events like Halloween and Eggstravaganza. There’s a
good chance if you’ve volunteered here, you have met Hannah!
Congratulations to both Dan and Hannah for being chosen for this
award. Congratulate them the next time you see them at Eastman!
Kim Nowicki, Hannah Wachtler,
and Vicky Wachtler at the
Volunteer Service Award
Ceremony