On the Trail of Two Wetlands: Event #4

On May 10, I toured the Galbraith Farm with farmer Dan Galbraith and four others, a year after he donated an agricultural conservation easement for the 210-acre farm to the Owl Creek Conservancy to keep the land in farming forever.

Howard Gratz, and Owl Creek Conservancy trustee and avid birdwatcher, led the tour, accompanied by Richard Stallard, a geneticist and Conservancy trustee.  Galbraith enjoyed the tour as much as the rest of us, seeing the diverse plants and abundant wildlife, including birds and toads.

The tour focused on two wetlands on the farm.  Stallard said that the main reason the farm was chosen for the easement was the need for these wetlands to filter out soil and possible attached pollutants before reaching nearby Knox Lake.  Two creeks run through these wetlands and drain into the lake.  Gratz added that Ohio had already lost 90 percent of its wetlands, having drained them for farming and other development.  Besides filtering out pollutants, wetlands reduce flooding potential and provide habitat for wildlife and plant diversity.

Gratz identified many plants for us as well as many birds by sound, including three types of warblers and a rose-breasted grosbeak, which he said are particularly plentiful this year.   Many of the plants were indicators of wetlands, such as marsh marigold and skunk cabbage.  We also saw jewelweed, nettles, common milkweed, horsetails, willow, elderberries, angelica, spring beauty, yellow violets, white violets, wild blue phlox, ferns, ramps, Dutchman’s breeches, wild geranium, false Solomon’s seal, and meadow rue.

A wooded area connecting the two wetlands had an airy feeling and consisted of numerous trees, including black cherry, sycamore, ash, and oak.

The tour of the Galbraith Farm was the fourth event in the “13^th Annual Explore Knox Nature” series, which began with the Earth Day festival at Kenyon College on April 6.   There will be one or two events every month through December.  The next event will be at 2 p.m. on May 25, at the Mission Oak Gardens in Zanesville, where I’m told we’ll meet another amazing man, who did his own urban renewal project by turning his neighborhood from littered lots to wondrous public gardens.

For more information on the “Explore Knox Nature” series and the Conservancy, go to:  www.owlcreekconservancy.org.

One of three American toads that delighted us on tour.  (Photo by Don Comis)

This toad charmed us.  (Photo by Don Comis)

We were treated to a great display of marsh marigolds in a wetland on the Galbraith Farm.  (Photo by Don Comis)

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.