In a meeting on 7 Aug, the Lytle Creek League of Conservators fixed on Saturday, 20 Oct, for our annual Lytle Creek Day. Carolyn Matthews, Maria Butcher and Lori Williams agreed to serve on the planning committee. Detailed plans will be decided at the next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, 11 Sep.
A number of local groups are being contacted about joining our celebrations. Horse groups and cycling groups, school groups, local natural history enthusiasts and others are being sought to conduct activities at the Pavilion, on the Greenway, and along the bike trails . We hope to present an extensive slate of events encompassing a wide range of interests and age groups. Details will be decided at the next meeting and publicized through a mailing and a press release to the Wilmington News-Journal.
Honors to be awarded
In a culminating event at the Trailhead Pavilion in the evening, awards will be presented to two people. One will go to a person who in the view of the directors has compiled an outstanding record as a spokesperson in the local community for natural history and conservation. The other will go to a person recognized as one who has a history of inculcating in children a love or nature and respect for the environment. The intention of the board is to make these awards an annual event.
After much careful consideration, the directors have selected the first two awardees, but do not plan to release the names until the awards are presented on the 25th. Come and join us to show your appreciation for the work and accomplishments of these two fine leaders.
Message from our leader
The Creek in our back yard
The Lytle Creek Greenway with its riparian tributaries is within a healthful hike or bicycle ride of nearly every home in Wilmington. Safe streets, good schools and extended green space are three essential elements of a desirable community.
The Lytle Creek League of Conservators supports all three; but it works, specifically, for the third. It tries to make the beautiful stream that traverses our community, an accessible, perpetually protected, natural resource of ever greater worth.
The mission of the League is to protect and to encourage the responsible enjoyment of Lytle Creek, its tree lined banks, public parks, campuses and other adjoining green spaces.
In this mission the League supports the Wilmington City Park Board, The Clinton County Park Board, The Wilmington College Physical Plant staff, the College Academic Farm staff, the Clinton County Coalition of Rails-to-Trails, Clinton County Open Lands (CCOL), Clinton County Streamkeepers, and both corporate and private citizens as each serve in specialized missions. The League sees its role as a facilitating one; and is pleased with our community’s recent cooperative progress in natural resource development.
At our Autumn Lytle Creek Day, we will encourage usage of existing facilities and showcase works in progress. These include, but are not limited to, the County Prairie, The City Lytle Creek Nature Reserve, The County Forest, The College Hazard Arboretum, 4-C bike and horse path, the future site of a City west side park, the 2.4 acre CCOL mid city Lytle Reserve, the College Farm Trail, the Trailhead Pavilion; and a new bridge and trail system built and installed by ABX air. The involvement of so many private and public entities is indeed encouraging.
Roy Joe Stuckey
White Snakeroot, a common late summer composite along the trail.
(Photo: Bob Powell)
Minutes of August Board of Directors Meeting
August 7, 2007
Lytle Creek Trailhead Pavilion
Members Present: Roy Joe Stuckey, Maria Butcher, Chris Hodgson, Chaley Peelle, Bob Powell, Kathy Springsteen, Lori Williams
Roy Joe Stuckey convened the meeting at 4:30 PM. The directors held a moment of silence.
The minutes of the July meeting were reviewed. After noting several typographical errors (to be corrected in distributed copies), the minutes were approved. The treasurer’s reports showed $1565.29 in Board accounts and $53.54 in the endowment fund (amounts correct as of July 31, 2007).
Updates:
• The boulder at the headwaters of Lytle Creek is in place (gift from Melvin Stone and installed by Randy Gerber). A plaque has been purchased for the stone and will be installed by John Stanforth.
• The new weatherproof sign for the pavilion is in place. Board members approved allocating $365.94 to Waring Office Supply for their work Kathy Springsteen will get a check written and delivered to Waring Office Supply.
• The curb cut is done and will be inspected next week. More stone may be needed in the area.
• Work on the bridge being donated by ABX Air is progressing on the trail and this work should be done in the next two weeks.
• Bob Powell is on target to have the next newsletter out in a few days with another edition coming prior to the next meeting.
Old Business
Fall activity will be entitled “Autumn Lyle Creek Day” and will be scheduled for October 20 if awardees are available that day. Roy Joe will notify horse and bike groups once the date is firm. Carolyn Matthews (awaiting confirmation) and Maria Butcher agreed to serve on the planning committee with assistance from others upon request. Lori Williams will arrange for bridge dedication and awardee events. The event will be held at the Pavilion. Other activities suggested include a run/hike on the trail.
Publicity for the occasion was discussed. We will plan to put a sign on the courthouse lawn again this year. Bob Powell will prepare a special edition of the newsletter and a press release for area distribution. Roy Joe will talk to Randy Sarvis about other possibilities.
Sue Hanna and Lori Williams met to discuss activities for “No Child Left Indoors”. They will be preparing a presentation (Power Point) that can be used when talking to various groups. It will include the rationale for the program and will be able to be customized for the audience. Hopes are to have the presentation ready to premier for Leadership Clinton Education Day. Roy Joe will be meeting with Jody Black of Leadership Clinton next week.
New Business
Roy Joe has been communicating with Dennis Tenwolde of Little Miami River Project concerning a grant that Dennis is willing to write to raise funds for reduction of non-point pollution, benches, signs, and general education for the trail area. A minute of support from the Board was requested and approved.
Lori Williams suggested that the Board plan to update Wilmington City Council yearly on progress made relating to their Resolution 1936. As the resolution passed in February, this month was suggested as appropriate for the yearly report. Members agreed and will discuss this report at the October meeting.
The next meeting will be held Tuesday, September 11, 2007, at the Pavilion.
The meeting ended with expressions of thanks to Bob Powell for his work on the newsletter, Chaley Peele for fund raising, Chris for her continuing interest and work, and Lori for her support and work.
Kathy Springsteen
No Child Left Indoors
Tips for Parents
The following material was adapted by Lori Williams from the Jane Goodall Institute “Roots and Shoots” youth program. We believe it fits in very well with the LCLC “No Child Left Indoors” initiative. “No Child Left Indoors” takes its theme from the Richard Louv book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Louv argues persuasively that modern children deprived of unstructured contact with the natural world grow up thinking of nature as hostile and dangerous. LLC supports activities and opportunities for children to experience the natural world as, well, natural. Here are some ways parents can help foster healthy attitudes toward the environment their children live in.
Give your children unstructured time outside. Children benefit from casual playtime in nature, when they can interact freely with the natural world. These experiences build their curiosity and confidence.
Spend time with your children outside. Research shows that videos, films, photos and other media cannot take the place of direct experience. Get your child out into the parks and local natural areas.
Enjoy nature in your neighborhood. Planting a garden, watching birds and climbing trees with your kids can launch a life-long love of plants, insects and animals.
Let your children take the lead. Instincts can be their most valuable guide when discovering nature. With their natural curiosity, your kids will quickly find something for the family to explore.
Hold a scavenger hunt in the backyard. Ask kids to check off items on a list that could include flowers, bird tracks, squirrels, something that makes noise, colors in nature, worms and insects in the soil.
Play games to encourage looking, such as “I see something you don’t see and its color is….” Use yes-and-no questions to give your kids clues.
Direct your children’s attention — and join in their fun. Research shows that children learn more when someone participates in an experience with them. It’s as simple as pointing out trees or touching a leaf with your child; encouraging her or him listen for birds, smell the
flowers, or feel the wind or soil. Use all of your senses.
Don’t be afraid of not knowing the answers. You don’t have to know everything about plants and animals to help your children enjoy them; half the fun is asking questions and building a sense of curiosity and wonder. There are lots of resources that can help you find the answers.
Remember to support the institutions and organizations that provide those important outdoor experiences to the public. Let your elected officials know they deserve support as well!
Bob Thobaben shows a young birder the construction of the wing of a newly banded Wilson’s Snipe. (Photo: Bob Powell)
ABX Air seen as good steward of wildlife
Right at the top of the Lytle Creek watershed sits the nation’s largest private airport, owned by DHL and operated by ABX Air. ABX Air includes an office of environmental compliance, headed by Tanya Carey. Tanya and her staff undertake a number of programs and initiatives that reflect a proactive attitude toward the company’s environmental obligations
Hop to it, ABX Air!
This imaginatively named program is the brainchild of Eric Davenport, ABX Air environmental compliance assistant. It denotes the first in a series of frog and toad surveys of streams and wetlands on ABX Air property. The surveys are themselves part of a pilot study of the biodiversity of the airdrome.
Eric conducted the surveys using protocols approved by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Biological Survey. Four monthly surveys were carried out from March to June 2007. Included in the surveys were waters of Lytle Creek and Indian Run Creek, a tributary of Cowan Creek. Both areas are typical of amphibian habitats in Southwest Ohio.
Plans are now being made for the 2008 edition of the survey and volunteers are being sought. It is a great chance to get involved with genuine science right here in our own back yard. If you are interested, you can contact Eric at
Western Chorus Frog. (Photo: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)
American Avocet stopover
Eric Davenport found an American Avocet at the ABX Air wastewater treatment plant on 29 Aug. Eric got the word out and shortly afterward, he, Tanya Carey, Bob Thobaben and Bob Powell assembled at the plant on Jenkins Road to validate the find.
The American Avocet is a tall (18”), elegant shorebird, mostly white with boldly patterned black and white wings and long, bright blue legs. It has a distinctively recurved bill, which it swishes back and forth in the mud to stir up food.
Avocets nest mainly on the western Great Plains and winter mostly along the Pacific coast. Some, however, winter along the coasts of the southeastern US. This bird was a female that was probably on its way to the Gulf coast.
Avocets occur only every four or five years in our area, usually at Caesar Creek. This is the first sighting we know of in Clinton County.
(Photo: Bob Powell)
Reminder: Next meeting is 4:30 pm, 11 Sep at the Trailhead Pavilion.
Contact the editor: Bob Powell, (937) 382-3557, rdp1710@gmail.com.
