Nature Activities to Fight Coronavirus Blues
The outdoors can help us cope with coronavirus fatigue and confinement. It may be soon that everyone in the entire country or world will have no good out-of-the-home entertainment other than going outdoors to enjoy and learn from Nature.
Here are some suggestions for people of all ages and good activities for immediate family or a solo outing:
April is native plant month, so why not learn to identify the highly invasive garlic mustard plant which dominates yards and parks, at the expense of native wildflowers, at least in my area in central Ohio, USA? They are easy to identify once you learn what their leaves and flowers look like and the leaves give off a garlic odor when crushed. An extra benefit: While the plants are short as they are now in our area in early Spring, they can be added to salads in small amounts!
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| Garlic mustard in its early tasty stage to add flavor to salads. (Photo taken 03/26/2020 in Howard, Ohio by Don Comis) |
The garlic mustard should be tied up in a black plastic garbage bag and left to wither in the sun, then thrown in the garbage so it can't re-seed. This can be done on walks and other walks can double for picking up litter in your neighborhood.
Also, it's a good time to plant native trees, shrubs, prairie plants and wildflowers. Normally I buy my prairie plant seedlings at Natives in Harmony in Marengo, Ohio, but because of coranavirus, this year I ordered online from Prairie Nursery.
The cheapest way is to order a packet of native perennial wildflower seed mix such one sold at Gurney's: packet of 300 seeds for $2.99 or 1/2 oz. packet for $9.99 plus shipping.
Also, April 24 is Ohio Arbor Day. If you pay $10 to join the Arbor Day Foundation, they'll send you 10 trees suited for Ohio, free. The same thing happens when you renew, and you get free trees everytime you order trees, plus you get a membership discount.
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| Great Spangled Fritillary is one of many butterflies you can attract by planting native plants such as purple coneflower. (Photo by Don Comis) |
Also, it's a good time to plant native trees, shrubs, prairie plants and wildflowers. Normally I buy my prairie plant seedlings at Natives in Harmony in Marengo, Ohio, but because of coranavirus, this year I ordered online from Prairie Nursery.
The cheapest way is to order a packet of native perennial wildflower seed mix such one sold at Gurney's: packet of 300 seeds for $2.99 or 1/2 oz. packet for $9.99 plus shipping.
Also, April 24 is Ohio Arbor Day. If you pay $10 to join the Arbor Day Foundation, they'll send you 10 trees suited for Ohio, free. The same thing happens when you renew, and you get free trees everytime you order trees, plus you get a membership discount.
Smart Science
Have adults and children learn to use their smartphones for outdoor activities. For example, the "Seek by iNaturalist" app is free and uses your phone's camera to identify plants and wildlife, as well as some nests and other structures built by wildlife, including a praying mantis' egg mass. It lets you earn badges for identifying different species.
Conservation Organizations Step Up to Help Us Cope
National Wildlife Federation(NWF) offers free resources for families to inspire their children with the wonders of wildlife and nature, including:
Free access online to:
Ranger Rick magazine through June);
Ranger Rick Educator's Guides and Ranger Rick Jr. Parent Reading Guides;
Full array of curricula, activities, and projects for the NWF Eco-Schools Program;
NWF 4th annual EcoCareers Conference April 1-2, 2020.
Array of information, tips, and services to help gardeners attract more butterflies, birds, and other wildlife to their backyards).
Online NWF Nature Gluides for $9.99 Each
Download Nature Guide apps to identify butterflies, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders, and mushrooms. There are also two garden guide apps, one on herbs and one on vegetables.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers free weekly "Science & Nature Activities for Cooped Up Kids".
The National Audubon Society offers a free online "birdy care package" called "The Joy of Birds", showing how birds can help us cope in these trying times.
Free "Birdy Care Package"
The National Audubon Society offers a free online "birdy care package" called "The Joy of Birds", showing how birds can help us cope in these trying times.
Visit Local Parks
There are ways to engage with the natural world while keeping social distancing in mind. All 75 Ohio State Parks remain open. Find a park to hike, picnic, or watch birds and wildlife. (From Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) post, March 17, 2020.)
Also the Nature Conservancy has seven Nature Preserves, open, only restrooms closed:
Herrick Fen Preserve: 140 acres, unique geologic, hydrologic,
biologic and physical features that resulted from the retreat of glaciers
during the last ice age, some 12,000–14,000 years ago.
Also the Nature Conservancy has seven Nature Preserves, open, only restrooms closed:
Ohio Nature Conservancy Preserves
Kitty Todd Preserve: More than 1,000 acres, a centerpiece of Oak Openings Region;
Great Egret Marsh Preserve: More than 150 acres
of marsh and surrounding upland;
Morgan Swamp Preserve: Nearly 2,000 acres, home to an
abundance of wetlands, including swamps, bogs, beaver ponds and vernal pools;
Brown’s Lake Bog: 100 acres, features glacial relict bog
habitat, more than 20 rare plants and many resident and migratory
birds.
Big Darby Headwaters Preserve: 1,000 acres, wetlands, streamside forests and old fields.
Edge of AppalachiaPreserve: More than 20,000 acres, a crown jewel of southern Ohio’s forests.
State Parks
The state parks near Howard, Ohio are: Mohican, Buckeye Lake, and Knox Woods State Nature Preserve. The 30-acre Knox Woods Nature Preserve is within the boundary of the 260-acre Wolf Run Regional Park and Bark Park at 17621 Yauger Road, Mount Vernon.
Knox County Parks
Knox Parks' 955 acres includes eight parks, ten river access points on the Kokosing and Mohican State Scenic Rivers and 14 bike trail parking areas. The parks, water trails and area bike trails provide the public with an abundance of nature activities such as hiking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, biking, picnicking, geocaching, and meaningful educational experiences. April and May offer the chance to see early wildflowers that bloom at woodland edges for a short time, until they are shaded out when the trees leaf out.
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| Long-spurred violet is one of the earliest spring violets. (Photo by Don Comis) |
Explore BFEC's 9 Miles of Trails
The trails cross prairies and deciduous and evergreen forests and are open daily from dawn to dusk. All trails are well marked and trail maps can be found in serveral locations: one to the left of the front doors at the Brown Family Environmental Center's (BFEC) headquarters building on Laymon Road, three kiosks between the headquarters and the gardens, and one at the Observatory on the other side of State Route 229.
BFEC Manager Noelle Jordan reminds that the headquarters is closed to the public because of coronavirus precautions, "so use your home restroom before you head out, and please practice social distancing when you see others on the trail."
Explore Ramser Arboretum
The 680-acre Ramer Arboretum, just 10 miles from Howard, was established as an educational and outdoor recreation resource for individuals and groups interested in native Ohio hardwood trees.
The Arboretum also operates the 66-acre MVNU Woods at the northeast corner of Proper Road and North Liberty Road in Mount Vernon.
The 680-acre Ramer Arboretum, just 10 miles from Howard, was established as an educational and outdoor recreation resource for individuals and groups interested in native Ohio hardwood trees.
The Arboretum also operates the 66-acre MVNU Woods at the northeast corner of Proper Road and North Liberty Road in Mount Vernon.
Citizen Science Projects
There are countless different citizen science projects. These are the ones I've tried:
Firefly Watch
For this project you count the number of flashing fireflies seen in three 10-second intervals over 10 minutes as well as the number of flashing patterns, which indicate different species. As I remember, there are only two common species in my area, with one flashing normally and one forming a "J" shape as they fly and flash.
I learned that the females stay on the ground or on bushes while males fly high in the sky, signaling species-specific codes to attract females in their matching species. I also learned that you can see fireflies at rest by shining a flashlight through a yellow lens. The yellow light doesn't bother them, just as a red light doesn't bother most wildlife.
You can easily buy headlamps that have white and red light, but the red light is often weak. The ideal thing is to buy a powerful flashlight with a removable lamp head. If the flashlight doesn't include red and yellow discs to insert under the clear lens, you can cut a piece of red or yellow acetate film and insert it under the flashlight lens. Or you can just strap red cellophane wrap around the flashlight lens with a rubber band.
Sometimes you'll see fireflies land near your porch lights and you can photograph them. I even had a green frog near one light last summer--I guess he came to eat the moths and other bugs congregating around the light!
Butterflies and Moths of North America
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| Crocus Geometer Moth under my porch light. (Photo by Don Comis) |
For butterflies and moths, click here for a website where you can submit photos of butterflies and moths for identification. You don't have to know how to identify the bugs, just take a clear photo of them. For moths, go outside afer your porch lights have been on for about an hour or more and take photos of all the moths landing near the lights.
Many parts of the U.S. and North America don't have people submitting photos of moths so it isn't hard to end up with photos of moths not recorded by this site in your area and your finding is added to your area's database! When I moved to Knox eight years ago, there were only 13 moths in the county's database on this site. I brought the number to above 100 and got my county at least temporarily in fifth place among the state's 88 counties for numbers of moth species.
I slowed my pace in the past few years, but a young man read one of my articles about the project and he raised the county total even farther. I write a "Nature in the Valley" monthly colum for our association newsletter, "Cider Press".
For more information and photos, look at the "Moth Guide".
FeederWatch
Because of the coronavirus, this watch has been extended to the end of April and paying ($18) to join late allows you to participate in next year's FeederWatch Project at no extra charge.
For more information and photos, look at the "Moth Guide".
FeederWatch
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| Blue Jay at my feeder one winter. (Photo by Don Comis) |
Because of the coronavirus, this watch has been extended to the end of April and paying ($18) to join late allows you to participate in next year's FeederWatch Project at no extra charge.
eBird
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| Apple Valley's "Eagle Man" Jon Minard counts waterfowl on Apple Valley Lake for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Currently large flocks of migrating waterfowl can be seen at Sutton and Davis beaches. |
2020 Nature Calendar:
April: Ohio Native Plant Month
April 1-2, 4th Annual EcoCareer Conference online
April 22, Earth Day, 50th Anniversary Earth Day Celebration at Kenyon College has been cancelled due to the coronavirus, but Kenyon's Brown Family Environmental Center says we should stay tuned to their website for an announcement of an outdoor challenge for us to do on our own on April 22.
April 24, Ohio Arbor Day
April 24, Ohio Arbor Day
May 9, Global Big Day: Anyone, regardless of skill level, can count birds in their yards or elsewhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours (if you want to count owls
in the pre-dawn and late evening) and record the count on the "ebird.org" app or website. There are instructions on "support.ebird.org".
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| Red morph eastern screech owl in an oak tree in my yard when both of us were looking for moths. (Photo by Don Comis) |
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