On the Hardwoods Trail--Ramser Arboretum, Event 3

Here's the article I promised on my trip to the Ramser Arboretum--it's late due to computer problems.  It was quite a thrill to find out that I, as a member of the general public, have more land to explore nearby--680 acres to be exact. 

It's all because one man, Russell Ramser, planted 150,000 native Ohio hardwood trees on 265 of those acres, creating what has since his death become a public preserve that provides a wonderful habitat for birds and other wildlife.  It is listed as a birding hotspot on e-bird (www.ebird.org). 

I got my first clear view of a warbler--a black-throated green warbler--on that May 4 tour, leading me to later identify a yellow warbler at bird baths in my yard!  I also had numerous plants identified for me for the first time, including many early spring plants like white trillium and yellow and longspur violets.

I saw my first Tiger Swallowtail butterfly of the season there and Arboretum director Chris Bowman pointed out  a rose-breasted grosbeak and female scarlet tanager.  And we saw the nest of a blue-gray gnatcatcher.

The Arboretum is next to the Village of Jelloway, about 10 miles from I live.

The Arboretum visit was the third event in the "Explore the Nature of Knox County" series.   The series has an event or two every month, through December.  It began with the Earth Day festival at Kenyon College.

The fourth event was a tour of the "Galbraith Wetlands" near Fredericktown.  Dan Galbraith granted the Owl Creek Conservancy a conservation easement on his two wetlands in perpetuity.  This prevents farming on the wetlands, allowing the wetlands to perform their ecological function of filtering out sediment and other pollutants, while reducing flooding and providing wildlife habitat. 

The next event will be on May 25, at the Mission Oak Gardens in Zanesville, at 2 p.m.  It is the only event that is outside Knox County.

At the Galbraith Wetlands I learned that "Mission Oak is as fascinating as this property [Galbraith's Farm], in its own way."   Burt, the man who created Mission Oak Gardens, volunteered to plant gardens for his neighbors and cleared hundreds of loads of trash from vacant lots which he later bought.   In the process of a one-man volunteer urban renewal, the landowner created an expanse of beautiful gardens for the public.

So, one thing I've gained from the series so far is how much individuals like Russell, Dan, and Burt can do for the environment and the world by following their passions.