April 2017
Eagle Creek Park Volunteer News
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
—Margaret Mead
Parks on the Park
By Janice Parks, Volunteer Coordinator—Happy Spring! Looking back at
the 2016 year, we brought on board 42 volunteers who took new volunteer orientation. We had 188 active volunteers (with at least one hour of volunteering
in the past twelve months) at the end of December 2016. Hours logged by all individual volunteers in 2016 on a monthly basis were:
Volunteer
Opportunities
Bringing people
and nature
together!
• Nature Guide
January
562
May (#3)
1,037.75
September
786.25
February
647.75
June (#2)
1,126
October
876.75
• Art show
March
983.25
July
1,013.25
November
658.5
• Gardening
April (#1)
1,130.25
August
651.75
December
561
• Indoor maintenance
This makes the 2016 year total of 10,034.5 volunteer hours by individuals. Twenty-six of our volunteers each put in over 100 hours last year and will
be recognized at our annual picnic in August. Nineteen different groups
logged an additional 2,720.25 hours with a total of 644 people. THANK
YOU to ALL our volunteers for your tremendous assistance in helping Eagle
Creek Park!
Happy Spring, Everyone
• Run/walk events
• Outdoor maintenance
• Rubbish Busters
• Earth Discovery Center weekend
staffing
• Historians
• Bulletin boards
• Team leaders
• Coffee Talks—first Wednesdays
• Project organizers
By Nancy Herrin, Gardener—You can tell the season has arrived by the green • Newsletter production
haze you see throughout most of the park. Isn't it wonderful?! Um, no. Pretty • Special events
much everything that greens up early is bad, as in bush honeysuckle, multiflora
rose and privet. And I fear it won't be long before we start seeing the lovely white blossoms of the profoundly invasive callery pears. They will be creeping into the park from all sides. Check out the intersection of 56th Street and Raceway if you want to see one of the major sources of the inevitable invasion. (And who on earth thought it was a good idea to plant them at Eagle Creek Golf Course?) Early
Spring is when the extent of our invasive plant species problem is most evident.
An excellent article entitled "Going Native" in the latest issue of 'National Wildlife,' the National Wildlife Federation's magazine, discusses how introduced, non-native plant species can wreak havoc with our
indigenous ecosystems. And... "We don't know what the next invader will be. But we can guess that it
will pass into the country unimpeded. That's because the United States has a feeble system of regulating garden imports. Each new species is presumed harmless until proven otherwise - and by the time a
verdict arrives, the harm is often beyond repair." The article describes the two ways governments regulate how new ornamental plants can enter a country - by using either a blacklist or a whitelist system. A blacklist contains prohibited species considered a risk to crops, livestock and the environment,
and is what the United States/USDA uses. By contrast, a whitelist, used by Australia and New Zealand, prohibits
(Continued on page 6)
KUDOS TO KEVIN!
By Janice Parks, Volunteer Coordinator—Most of you know
our Ornithology Center Manager, Kevin Carlsen, retired from Eagle Creek Park (ECP) after 17 years, and March 10th was his last
day as staff there. Kevin is known for many things and in many
ways at our park—“Bird Man,” designer/carpenter, photographer,
Grand Canyon hiker (40+ years and going for 50!), etc., but I think
of him as the “Pied Piper of ECP Volunteers” since he is the main
reason we have an organized volunteer program here, and his enthusiasm has brought on board the
greatest percentage of our long-term volunteers. Recently I sat down with Kevin, as well as sorted
through articles, to record some information to share about him with the rest of you:
Listening to Kevin you may hear him speak certain words with a New England accent which reflects
that he was born and raised in New Hampshire where his love for the outdoors began as he enjoyed
both the mountains and the ocean. Our Senior Park Manager, Brittany Davis Swinford, has noted that
he competed in skiing, bike racing, canoeing and excelled in surfing. He was an architectural engineer
in Boston before starting his own construction and remodeling business. As he backpacked the Grand
Canyon every year, he would often stop along the way to visit relatives in Indiana. Building a deck for a
sister and her family spread to others in the Indy area wanting him to do projects, so with all the work,
he decided to move to Indiana in 1989.
Looking for a place to do some training bike rides led him to Eagle Creek Park. He says it was the
best nature place around and the closest thing to New Hampshire. He met Karen LaMere, the nature
center director at the time, and ended up rebuilding the rickety deck next to it. When he found out
there was a part-time naturalist position available, he decided to apply and was hired in 1999. They
were already considering a new nature center (which would eventually become the Earth Discovery
Center—EDC) and Kevin had an interest in remodeling the existing building. He moved into a full-time
position and through the years made concept drawings and drew up cost estimates and lists of materials needed. He designed a layout for what could become an Ornithology Center (OC) and presented his
ideas to the park board as well as reached out for support from the ECP Foundation and other groups of
people to get the money to fund it. The EDC opened in 2007 and Kevin began renovating the old nature
center in earnest. Unfortunately, in 2008, he was found to have colon cancer with subsequent surgery
and chemo, but he says working on the OC was like therapy for him. Kevin may not have any children
but many of us know the OC is his “baby,” and it was “born”/opened in 2009. That same year, Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) named Kevin as the Golden Eagle Environmentalist of the Year in
recognition of his efforts in creating the Eagle Creek Park Ornithology Center.
Of course, Kevin’s handiwork can be seen in several other places around our park, including most of
the wooden bases for displays and animal enclosures at both the OC and EDC, the ecology pond deck,
the stage at the marina, an outdoor classroom near the OC, a canoe/kayak ramp at the marina, the
OC’s migration game course, etc. He greatly appreciates the many individuals and groups who helped
him on various projects! As I mentioned earlier, he also was the main instigator in starting an official
volunteer program at ECP. Attending National Association of Interpretation (NAI) conferences gave
him lots of ideas for a more organized volunteer program, and the park manager at the time, Chuck
Beard, was all for it. Kevin met Sandy Vicenzi by happen-stance and encouraged her to become the first
volunteer coordinator. Many people caught Kevin’s “bug” and got pulled in to help as volunteers for the
love of the park.
(Continued on page 3)
Page 2
Eagle Creek Park Volunteer News
(Continued from page 2)
I asked Kevin for some of his best memories at Eagle Creek Park and he mentioned creating the Ornithology Center (of course!), starting moonlight canoe trips, setting up orienteering courses, having
“Senior Games”, updating our trail maps and courses with color coding, AND working with tremendous
volunteers. Kevin said, “You can’t put a price tag on what volunteers have done for this park.” It’s also
true that Eagle Creek Park can’t put a price tag on what Kevin has done for it as well. We look forward
to still seeing him around in various ways—THANK YOU KEVIN!
Kevin’s Retirement Party:
Eagle Creek Park Volunteer News
The ECP Family Wishes Him Well
Page 3
April 2017
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Great Indy Clean-up, Saturday, April 29, 9 am—noon
Join our Volunteer Workday to clean up the 56th street causeway and west to Raceway
Road. We will start at the Park Office, 7840 W 56th, and work our way across the causeway. Gloves, trash bags, and water will be provided. Call or email Brittany Davis Swinford
to register at 327-1193/ [email protected].
2 9 Birdwalk
1:30 Feeding
3 1 Garlic Mus- 4
tard Pull
5
6
7
1 9:30 Story Tm
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Raptor Feed
8 Invasives
8:30 Coffee Talk
2:30 Meet Raptor
Sat
9:30 Story, 1:30
Nature Disc
9:30 Gardeners
2:30 Raptor Feed
9 9 Birdwalk
10
11
12
13
1:30 Feeding
9 Gardeners
2:30 Meet Raptor
10 Animal Care
Training
16 9 Birdwalk 17 Pond Study 18
1:30 Feeding
Training
19
14 HOLIDAY 15Free fishing
EDC, OC
CLOSED
Day; 9:30 Story
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Raptor Feed
20
21
22 EARTH
DAY; 9:30 Story
9 Gardeners
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Meet Raptor
2:30 Raptor Feed
23 9 Birdwalk 24
25
1:30 Feeding
26
27
28
29 9:30 Arbor
Day; 9:30 Story
9 Gardeners
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Meet Raptor
2:30 Raptor Feed
30 9 Birdwalk
1:30 Feeding
2:30 Meet Raptor
Arbor Day Celebration
Coffee Talk
Saturday, April 29
Wednesday, April 5, 8:30 am, EDC
9:30—4:30, EDC
John Thieme, “All About Animals”
Go Ape & Eagle Creek
Outfitters open April 1st!
Page 4
This presentation will highlight unique facts about
animals in the world today—including many from
Eagle Creek Park!
Eagle Creek Park Volunteer News
May 2017
Sun
Mon
1
Tue
2
Wed
3
Thu
4
Fri
5
Sat
6
8:30 Coffee Talk
9:30 Story Time
9:30 Gardeners
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Raptor Feed
7 9 Birdwalk
8
9
1:30 Feeding
10
11
12
9 Gardeners
13 Invasives
9:30 Story Time
2:30 Meet Raptor
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Raptor Feed
14 9 Birdwalk 15
16
1:30 Feeding
17
18
19
20 10 Migratory Bird Day
9:30 Story Time
9 Gardeners
2:30 Meet Raptor
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Raptor Feed
21 9 Birdwalk 22
23
1:30 Feeding
24
25
26
9 Gardeners
27
9:30 Story Tm
2:30 Meet Raptor
1:30 Nature Disc
2:30 Raptor Feed
28 9 Birdwalk 29 HOLIDAY 30
31
1:30 Feeding
9 Gardeners
2:30 Meet Raptor
EDC, OC
CLOSED
Coffee Talk, Wednesday, May 3
8:30 am, EDC, Anne Cecere
’“Stories the Land Tells Us: Tips for Researching the
Natural and Cultural History of a Place”
Eagle Creek Park Volunteer News
Saturday, May 20
Migratory Bird Day
Right: Colletta
Kosiba and John
and Mary K Thieme
dressed for the
March Coffee Talk,
“Gardening in
1816”
Page 5
Eagle Creek Park
5901 Delong Rd.
Indianapolis, IN 46254
Earth Discovery Center Phone: 317-327-7148
Ornithology Center Phone: 317-327-BIRD (2473)
Park Office Phone: (317) 327-7110
Volunteer Coordinator Phone: (317) 327-7123
EDC Hours: Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5
OC Hours: Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5
Park Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 9-5
MISSION STATEMENT: Our mission is to educate and inspire our
community to actively participate with our natural environment.
(Herrin: Continued from page 1)
the introduction of ALL new exotic trees and plants until research has determined
they are low-risk. Unfortunately, attempting to adopt that policy in this country
would be a hard sell. Resistance would come from many sources, especially the horticulture industry which wants to be able to offer its customers an ever-increasing variety of new plants. Referring to many of the introduced species that have become invasive as "biological pollution," the article ends by saying that they "...are products of a
permissive import system. They are also products of a conventional wisdom that says
garden plants don't need to be part of the local food chain. Ecologists say this ethos
must change; residential landscapes need to help compensate for shrinking wildlife
habitats and diminished food sources in the wild."
Brittany Davis Swinford, Senior Manager
Eagle Creek
Park Staff
Dawn Van Deman, Manager, EDC
Leah Frenzel, Asst. EDC Mgr./Naturalist
Will Schaust, Asst. OC Mgr./Naturalist
Jennifer Boyce, Naturalist
Mallory Kirby, Naturalist
Jenna McElroy, Naturalist
Heidi Shoemaker, Naturalist
Janice Parks, Volunteer Coordinator
Joe Schmid, Manager, Trails
Shilah Larison, Manager, Park Office
Dan Neeley, Asst. Park Office Manager
Jenny Love, PO Customer Service Rep
View Newsletter online
at:http://www.eaglecreekdiscovery.org
/home/volunteers/newsletter
Deadline for Next Issue: May 22
Natalie Nicholls, Newsletter Editor
Email: [email protected]
We can help by filling our own residential landscapes with native
plants and trees. Go to www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder and enter your
zip code for a list of the most important plants to use for the wildlife in
your specific area. And to get your yard designated a Certified Wildlife
Habitat, go to www.nwf.org/certifytoday for an application. Lets go native this Spring!
Happy Birthday to:
April 1—Tom Moll, Andy Phillips
May 2—Jeff Peiffer
April 4—Joy Fulk
May 4—Linda Crawford, Kyle Thate
April 5—Kim Basch
May 9—Susan White
April 7—Elaine Parks
May 11—Kevin Trehan
April 11—Carol Hooker
May 13—Rita Hummel, Harold Pope
April 12—Karen Anttila
May 16—Bob Iles
April 13—Michael Brunette
May 17—Nik Kiourtzidis
April 15—Angelica Kellinghaus,
May 18—Kathryn Weirick
Jim Parks
May 19—Frank Povinelli
April 16—Pat Hittle
May 22—Gail Wiseman
April 17—Linda Priso
May 24—Sally Wycoff
April 21—Joe Hettle
May 28—Dustin McKinney
April 24—Dottie Mullennax
May 31—Sandy Hostrawser
April 28—Karen Rose