when is a tree hugger not a tree hugger?extension.missouri.edu/camden/documents/master...

, Missouri Master Naturalist - Lake of the Ozarks Chapter Second Quarter, May 2015

Second Quarter, May 2015

Your Key to Discovering The Natural Missouri

A partnership of the Missouri Department of Conservation and University of Missouri ExtensionTo engage Missourians in the stewardship of our state’s natural resources

through science-based education and volunteer community service.

Many of the things that I learn as aMissouri Master Naturalist surpriseme. But what surprises me the mostis not the NEW things I have learned,it is the things that I THOUGHT I knew,but what I thought I "knew" was partlyor completely wrong.

One of my biggest shocks was that thelocal terrain around the lake used tohave far fewer trees than it does now.This area used to be more like asavanna with lots more grasses andwild flowers and a lot fewer widely-spaced trees. I never would haveguessed that! Most of the undevel-oped areas are thick with maturetrees, it sure looks like it was alwaysthat way.

Last Fall the local utility company hadcrews in my neighborhood clearingtrees and brush back from the powerlines. The lines run along our road, sothe clearing was close up and visibleto the neighborhood. A few years agoI would have viewed this change withsadness or dismay - a destruction ofbeautiful trees. But not any more.

Many of my neighbors were not happywith the change. Since my "treehugging" ways are pretty well known,they where surprised to learn that Iwelcomed the actions. One person'sdeforestation is another person'ssavanna restoration. We own a small

section of this property; other neigh-bors own the rest. I used the oppor-tunity to collect grass and flower seedsfrom the few open spots and scatterthem in the newly cleared areas onour property.

Now that things have greened up Ihave been back several times to seehow things are faring. My main obser-vation is how quickly vegetation hasregenerated. If you hadn't seen itbefore it would not be obvious that alot of trees had been recently cleared.When I walk through it and lookclosely I can see the signs - theremaining stumps, the oaks and dog-woods that are stubbornly regenerat-ing where they were cut. But from theroad it looks pretty good.

All the growth I see so far is fromSpring blooming plants that werealready there. I may never know if theFall blooming seed I added made anydifference, but I'll be keeping an eyeon it - first of all to try to preventinvasive species from moving in andsecond to keep the tree re-sprout fromhappening. But most of all becausewalking around on that hill is just aboutmy favorite way to spend my time.

I know some people are offended bythe term "tree hugger" but I havechosen to embrace it (OK, punintended). Yes I love my trees. Butthanks to my Missouri Master Natural-ist education, I have also learned thatsometimes it is better to let them go.

Lauri Peterson

When is a tree hugger not a tree hugger?

A savanna (or savannah) is agrassland ecosystem charac-terized by the trees being suf-ficiently widely spaced sothat the canopy does notclose. The open canopy al-lows sufficient light to reachthe ground to support an un-broken herbaceous layer con-sisting primarily of grasses.(wikipedia.org)

In This Issue…2 - Thank you!, Milestones &

Certifications, All Stars3 - Lakeshore Cleanup3 - SOTO Nature Trail4 - LOWA Rain Barrel Work-

shop4 - Bird Scramble answers5 - Missourians for Monarchs5 - Conservation Kids Club6 - State Conference7 - New class graduation7 - Lakes of Missouri Volunteer

training8 - photos!!!!


� Amie Ivey for being our new certifi-cations coordinator.

� Georganne Bowman for organizinganother coveted tour of the BagnellDam.

� Bonnie White, Barbara Fredholm,and Lauri Peterson for setting upthe chapter display at the stateconference.

� David Dilks (Lake Shots Photogra-phy) for donating several naturephotos for use in thank you notes.

All StarsThe communications committee awards All Starcertificates to chapter members that have contributedin extra ways to make our chapter a success. If youhave someone you would like to have recognized,please send your nomination to Lauri Peterson([email protected]).

April certifications: Sally Bauder, Greg Koenig (250 hours), BarbaraFredholm, Ed Thompson.

Left- April: Dennis Reed: Acting Treasurer, Bonnie White: Farmers Market Booth,Linda Burns: Eagle Days Coordinator. Right- May: Glenn Commons: Photographer.

� President - Don Koeninger� Vice President - Bill Moulder� Secretary - Georganne Bowman� Treasurer - Dave Fosnough� (Acting treasurer: Dennis Reed)� Past President- Joann Billington� Projects & Volunteer Services -

Bonnie Kester� Hospitality - Susan Neal� Fund Raising - Al Kitta� Advanced Training - Bonnie White� Communications and Outreach -

Lauri Peterson� Web Site - Lauri Peterson� Calendar - Georganne Bowman� Photographer - Glenn Commons� Certifications - Linda Burns� MDC Advisor - Jodi Moulder� MU Advisor - Jackie Rasmussen

Our

Leadership

May certifications: Nanci Morris, Carolyn Solomon,Joann Billington, Kathy Bishop, Dennis Reed.

Recent Achievements andCertifications

500 hours pin - Al Kitta (May).

Initial certification:David Dilks(April).


A successful day of lakeshore cleanup was held onLake of the Ozarks starting at Sugarloaf Vineyardon the new Big Niangua River Trail.

Nineteen bags of trash were picked up, plus lots ofStyrofoam. About 42 cubic yards total was col-lected. Not bad for seven people in two hours!

Thanks to Master Naturalists:Georganne BowmanAmie & Greg IveyNanci MorrisKathy FayantDavid DilksBeti Pearson

(by Beti Pearson)

Lakeshore Cleanup

A small but dedicated group made up of our chapter members, high schoolstudents, elementary faculty, two guests and a parent met Saturday, April25, to continue the work started by our original Trail Blazers. We widened,cut vegetation and removed loose rocks on a very rough section of trail.We had a scope set up on our mascot, a Great Horned Owl chick, foreveryone to get a look. The elementary staff brainstormed ideas forimproving and using the outdoor classroom.

Another work day was held Saturday, May 16, during which we widenedmore of the trail. The owl chick had vacated the nest by then. This groupalso included a high school student and members of our chapter.

Three upper elementary classes planned to use the trail on Monday, May18.

School of the Osage Upper Elementary Nature Trail Project

Owl photo by Lake Shots Photography, volunteerphotos at left and story by Ted Windels


On a Sunday afternoon in April at Tan-Tar-A, about 30 peoplegathered to transform some food-grade plastic drums intobona fide rain barrels. Hosted by Lake of the Ozarks Water-shed Alliance, Inc. (LOWA), participants paid $20 for eachrain barrel they took home. Participating, learning, andbuilding were free. Tan-Tar-A donated Suite G in Building D,LOWA gathered the materials, and the Build a Rain Barrelworkshop was off and running.

Nancy Digesauldo, Lake of the Ozarks Chapter intern 2015class member of the Missouri Master Naturalist program firstapproached chapter member and LOWA volunteer CarolineToole about a rain barrel workshop in March. Nancy wantedto learn how to put together such a workshop and use theevent for a final project in her Urban Forestry degree class.Caroline approached LOWA, and LOWA agreed to host theworkshop, use their website for registrations, and handle thefinancial aspects of the workshop. In addition, LOWA’sExecutive Director, Donna Swall, and Administrative Assis-tant, Shannon Grogan, put in many hours in making thisworkshop such a success. Nancy rounded up all the barrels,with 18 black 55-gallon drums coming from a dog foodcompany in Versailles, and the white 35-gallon drums comingfrom and being donated by the Springfield Coca-Colacompany (donated only because Nancy is a student; gener-ally they do not donate their drums). The black drums hadflax seed oil and the white drums had phosphoric acid in them.Plastic drums must have contained a food-grade substanceto be suitable for becoming a rain barrel. Caroline rounded

up the rest of the rain barrel materials and designed theLOWA Rain Barrel handout, making prodigious use of chaptermember Lee Stanley’s rain barrel instructions.

Thirty-eight rain barrels were constructed during the workshopand 28 of them went home that afternoon. Participants wererequested to register for the workshop and prepay for thenumber of rain barrels they wanted to reserve. Once at theworkshop, any rain barrel not reserved was available for sale.Each rain barrel was $20, with a that-day-only special sale of3 white barrels for only $50. The last remaining rain barrelshave since been purchased; 4 of them went home with peopleparticipating in the Household Hazardous Waste reclamationday a week later! The cost of the rain barrel was determinedby the cost of the materials with each barrel receiving a 7-footsection of 4” landscaping pipe, screening, and the faucet.

At the workshop, participants chose their drums (with the two4” holes already drilled), gathered their materials, drilled thefaucet hole and installed the faucet. Some participants wentahead and cut the 4” pipe into 2-pieces (one piece to serveas an in-hose and one as an out-hose) at the workshop andsome waited to do that at the installation site. All wereencouraged to make a plan for the overflow of rain water oncethe rain barrel(s) is full. Many planned to direct the out-hoseback to the downspout of the gutter since they already had aplan for that downspout flow in place.

Caroline Toole

LOWA’s Build aRain BarrelWorkshop

1. HI PIE RICE CRANK2. EMAIL BIRRO TOOLE3. PALE GREEN CONFIR4. GE RICK DAWN DRIBBLED5. HUCS I FHONE6. RENT CLEAR STAG7. SPIKE IN SIN8. TEN BRITIAN CREAM

9. LONE LEAD EGG10. READ TRUE NIBBLES11. RURAL PIMP NET12. GIN GIN IN DOUBT13. WHAT LAKER DIED14. VOTE WHERE ROY LITLOAD15. BROTHER WON THE BIN

1. PRAIRIE CHICKEN2. BALTIMORE ORIOLE3. PEREGRINE FALCON4. RED WINGED BLACKBIRD5. HOUSE FINCH6. SCARLET TANAGER7. PINE SISKIN8. AMERICAN BITTERN

9. GOLDEN EAGLE10. EASTERN BLUEBIRD11. PURPLE MARTIN12. INDIGO BUNTING13. RED TAILED HAWK14. YELLOW THROATED VIREO15. NORTHERN BOBWHITE

Bird Scramble (with answers!)

Jean Knoll holds the barrel while Terri Thompsondrills the faucet hole.


At the May Chapter meeting, GlennCommons presented an opportunity inwhich our Chapter members maybecome active: Missourians for Mon-archs. This program was started bymembers of the Confluence Chapternear St. Louis as a response to decreas-ing amount of the plants Monarch But-terflies need: milkweed and nectarbearing plants.

The stated objective of the group is tohelp expand food-source habitat forMonarchs migrating through Missouri –and thus increase the Monarch butter-flies survival rate. They are invitingmany organizations to join in the effort,including other Missouri Master Natural-ist Chapters and Master GardenerChapters.

Glenn volunteered to be the projectcoordinator for our Chapter’s Missouri-ans for Monarchs program. He will beworking with Bonnie Kester (Projectsand Services Committee chair) to getthis effort approved as a chapter project.He also offered to host a meeting ofthose chapter members interested inparticipating during the week afterMemorial Day. An initial sign-up sheetwas posted at the chapter meeting, andeighteen people signed up as beingwilling to participate. This is excitingand bodes well for the Monarch’s future!

If you were not at the May meeting, ofcourse you can still participate in thisprogram. Send Glenn an email and lethim know of your interest [email protected].

An email will be sentout announcing the firstmeeting’s date, timeand location. Thereare two broad areas of topics to becovered: 1.) what you can do, and 2.)what the chapter can do. Within thesetopics, there are many areas of activityin which we can all participate, so weneed as many people as possible to getinvolved.

Come to the meeting at OsageBeach Library at 6:30 on June2nd for our first meeting; bring your“Thinkin’ Cap”. Let’s get creative andjoin in this worthwhile effort!

By Glenn Commons

Missourians for Monarchs Effort Kick Off!

FIELD DAY OF FUN! April 25

Sixteen area kids were treated on the final day of the chapter’ssignature event for area children. These events are planned,organized, and staffed by chapter members, and is completelyfree to all participants. The latest event featured:

Set up a tent and build a fire - Terri ThompsonArchery & Atlatl- Gerry Williams & Bill MoulderFire Tower Tour- Bill MoulderOrienteering - Glenn Commons & Bill MoulderSnack - S'mores and Foil Packs over the fire.- Linda CommonsPut out the fire & Wrap up! - Laura Toombs & Jodi Moulder

Photos by Lake Shots Photography


State Conference 2015< Hellbenders & Turtles Class

James River Float - Beti Pearson & Caroline Toole >

V Chapter display board

La Petite Gemme Prairie

Wild Edibles & Medicinal Plants

Marvelous Mushrooms

Evening entertainment time

Lindens’s prairie

River Bluff Cave

Bill and Jodi Moulder

Photos from BetiPearson, LauraToombs, and LauriPeterson

Joan Michaelree, Jean Knoll


Tony Thorpe, Coordinator of Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program(LMVP) of the University of Missouri-Columbia traveled to the homeof Beti Pearson in Hermitage to train in monitoring water quality onPomme de Terre Lake (PDT). Tony was a recent speaker at themonthly chapter meeting. Training procedures included collectionof lake water, temperature, Secchi depth, and wave conditions onthe lake. This was done in kayaks on a very windy day withwhite-capped waves. The training continued in Beti's kitchen andincluded data procedures for determining chlorophyll and totalsuspended solids. Equipment and paperwork were provided as wellas a helpful website -- www.lmvp.org.

The collected samples are frozen, and Tony will come by a coupletimes (statewide) to collect samples to be further analyzed at thelabs in Columbia for inclusion in yearly statewide reports.

The 2015 Sampling Schedule is about every three weeks Aprilthrough September. There are five monitoring sites on PDT. Betihas three of those sites.

This volunteer project can be done by one person, but help iswelcome if a volunteer can provide their own transportation, kayak,and be flexible to changes in scheduled monitoring days. Potentialvolunteers can contact Beti Pearson by email [email protected] if they would like to be on a list of volunteersto get notice of scheduled monitoring days. It is recommended thatvolunteers be experienced kayakers.

By Beti Pearson

Beti Pearson and her kayak at Site #1 by the PDT Damholding a Secchi for measuring water clarity depth.

Beti says "Of course, I would welcome compa-ny when on the lake for safety reasons, but Iam very experienced in going alone as this lakeis only 5 minutes from my home and I've livedhere since 1978 and know it well."

Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program Training

Left - class field tripon pond ecology.Photo by CarolynSolomon

Congratulations to everyone that graduated on May 18. Welcome tothe chapter, we look forward to getting to know all of you better!

Mark Powell, Joe Bodziony, Nancy Hanna-Somers, John Ballard, Dawn Powell, Shirley Koch, Karen Myers, Robin Becker, DaveHemminger, Ken Becker, Nancy Digesualdo, Debbie Whitmore, Bobbie Aubuchon, Kathryn Casteel, Adolfo Navarrette, Shanel How-ard, Ed Whitmore, Joan Michaelree. In the picture, but hidden: Jenny Halteman, not pictured Mardi Schultz.

Here is another photo that shows some folks from the back row alittle better, but it gets fuzzy at large sizes….

Class of 2015


Organized in the spring of 2009, the Lake of the Ozarks Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalist programserves the residents of Camden, Miller & Morgan counties. The Missouri Master Naturalist Programis an adult, community-based, natural resource education and volunteer service program.Visit us at: http://www.lakeozarkmasternaturalist.com for calendars and volunteer opportunities.

Like us on Facebook for up-to-the-minute postings on the chapter and what its members are doing:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-of-the-Ozarks-Master-Naturalist/153968454647217?ref=ts&fref=ts

Newsletter Staffand Contributors:

� Editor: Lauri Peterson� Contributors: Beti Pearson,

Ted Windels, Glenn Com-mons, Sandy Nelson, LauraToombs, David Dilks (LakeShots Photography), CarolineToole, Carolyn Solomon, JodiMoulder

� Proofreaders: Joann Billing-ton, Jo Anne Gitchell, MaryDelacy, Caroline Toole, LauraToombs

Copyright 2015 Lake of theOzarks Chapter of Missouri MasterNaturalist. All rights reserved.

The communications committee always welcomes information from chaptermembers on what they have been doing under the Missouri Master Naturalistflag. It is very important that we keep submitting articles to the paper, andpromote our organization’s good works! The Lake area needs to know thatwe are out there doing good stuff! Please submit your who, what, where, when,and why to Lauri Peterson- [email protected] in order to get out the goodword! A photo always helps!

Please send updates for the web calendar to Georganne Bowman [email protected].

Send contributions for the newsletter or website about past or up-coming chapter activities to Lauri Peterson at [email protected]

More photos of chapter members at work (yep, we do a LOT!)

http://www.lakeozarkmasternaturalist.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-of-the-Ozarks-Master-Naturalist/153968454647217?ref=ts&fref=ts

when is a tree hugger not a tree hugger?extension.missouri.edu/camden/documents/master...

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