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 Dear
Roberta, I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed
the Nature Trail orientation this morning with Jane! What a wonderful
person she is and such a wealth of knowledge! I learned a great deal
from her including all about the "White Snake Root" plant, and the Osage
Orange tree and their fruits, as well as the White Ash trees and the Paw-paw
trees, fruits, and seeds ( LOVED that the giant sluttish used to eat the
Usage Oranges, and the Mastadons used to eat the paw-paw fruits! WOW!),
and about the Sassafrass trees and the grape vines. I went home and located
paw paw trees and grapevines right in my own back yard! One could survive
in the Eastern deciduous forests for a long time on the fruits, seeds,
and berries! I also learned that the only indiginous evergreen in the Southern
Ohio area is the Red Cedar! I also learned about Biomarkers...trees that
marked where the water is, such as the white ash and the Sycamore. I loved
the fun fact about the "Louisville Slugger" bats are made strictly from
the white ash tree! Wow! It was a great
experience and I look forward to many travels down the nature trail!
Patty |
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Jane Gonzales began the
development of the nature trail as a parent volunteer 2004. Though
a very busy mother and business woman (She owns Mother's Nature)
she keeps her hand in the maintenance and continued development of the
trail in her very part-time position as our Nature Trail Manger. |
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Did you know that
Ohio has an endangered ecosystem called a “deciduous forest?” Well it
is one of Jane's missions to make sure
Loveland’s schoolchildren are aware of that fact. Another of Jane’s
passions is outdoor education and giving children the chance to
experience nature in all of its ‘natural’ glory. Jane says, “Many
people think they have to go to nature, like Yosemite National Park, and
they don’t realize that nature is right there.” When Granny approached
her about developing a trail through the 5-7 acre undeveloped woods in
back of the elementary school, she jumped at the chance. She knew the
trail would be a great asset for teaching about forests as well as Ohio
plants and animals. Jane knew that children would be more likely to
understand and appreciate the forest if they could experience something
similar in their own backyard. Jane then set
out on the task of writing a grant proposal that was granted from the
Ohio Environmental Education Fund. After that she oversaw the
development of the trail and worked with Jody Maher
to develop lesson plans and train teachers and volunteers how to
make best use of this valuable resource. |
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The goal is to
disturb the area as little as possible, while still giving people a
chance to be a part of this amazing forest. The trail really showcases
Ohio wildlife and native Ohio plants and flowers. There are even some
native snakes, turtles, and reptiles found on the trail! Visitors are
urged to stay on the path as it may disturb the animals if you veer too
far off the course. Jane believes that the most important thing that
children will take away from their experience on the trail is a “respect
for other living things.” The trail is a valuable resource that is very popular
with the teachers and students.
The
nature trail has been the site for a number
of Eagle Scout projects that
enhanced it with bird blinds, bridges and benches. T here are two spots where we needed to build bridges
and a couple of steep areas where we needed steps. These challanges
became Eagle Scout projects. The first project was completed by Steve
Bangs in the summer of 2004. He built a bridge to span a gully
and steps down a steep slope. The second project was also completed
that summer by Thomas Deardon
who built a bird blind, steps up a steep grade and re-mulched the whole
trail. Girl Scout Troop
# 7551 built a 2nd bird blind.
This spring Life Scout Evan Lively is
adding a new link to the trail for his Eagle Scout project.
Like
all of the woods in the area, ours is filled with non-native, invasive
bush honeysuckle. We are in the process of attacking
the honeysuckle with the help of Boy Scout Pack 888, who has taken
on the maintenance of the trail as their on-going community service project.
We are working with Wild
Ones to identify and reintroduce native plants in the area. We
consulted with the Hamilton
County Soil & Water Conservation District. and the Ohio
Division of Forestry to guide us with wise stewardship of the woods.
Dan Brewer a volunteer with the Loveland Tree Committee,
helped Jane lay out the trail and remove the undergrowth from the path.
The project was
funded, in part, by a grant from the Ohio EPA
Ohio
Environmental Education Fund |
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Free
coffee for garden volunteers.