A Joyous Earth Week

April 22, Earth Day, is a time to remember our sustaining relationship with the Earth. The Friends of Big Rock Park were happy to sponsor two Earth Day related events.

On Earth Day itself, we had a brief walk led by naturalist Kayla Linquist. Kayla is completing an independent study at Central College this semester on  Connecting to Nature.

It was a time to greet old friends and make new acquaintances. The participants began with a gratitude circle where each mentioned one thing they were grateful for in nature. The scent of crab apple trees, flowers, owls, woodpecker calls, Spring beauty flowers, lakes, Morel mushrooms, baby frogs, sunshine and fresh air and birds were among the delights discussed. The group then listened to the bird calls. The warblers were migrating through and calling to each other as were chickadees. Then they began their walk, stopping at a Burr oak which had sprawling limbs which indicated that it  hadn’t grown in a crowded area but an area of transition from oak to prairie.

Flowers such as Jacob's ladder, trout lilies. and cut leaf toothwort were signs of a healthy habitat.

One special delight was a Brown Midland snake, usually secretive but this one was a little cold and thus slow enough to be admired.

A few days later, a group of 170 4th graders from the Pella Community Schools were able to visit the park. Before their field trip into the park, they stopped at Central College and were treated to a talk about bats from Professor Russ Benedict. Topics included bat, anatomy, bat faces in relation to what they eat, bats around the globe, and echolocation.  The students were so enthralled with the talk that they cheered after it was over. And as an aside, Doctor Benedict will give talks to grade school children, especially fourth and fifth graders. Here's his contact information:

benedictr@central.edu

After becoming bat enthusiasts, the students were broken up into groups and went to Central Colleges Vermeer Science Center, where each got an in-depth look at a topic in nature: rocks, frogs, dragonflies, bees, birds, or trees.

Finally, to add one more celebration, naturalist Kayla Lindquist shared her nature photography with residents of The Cottages.

 Our vision for this year was to share the park with people of all ages. It’s been a joy meeting with everyone.

These programs were sponsored by Friends of Big Rock Park with a grant from the Pella Community Foundation.