Merc Owner Appreciation Day

Hello everyone, I am forwarding this to you so that you are aware of an opportunity to be a spokesperson for GHF. On Saturday, October 25, the Community Mercantile in Lawrence is having am Owner Appreciation Day. We will not be able to do any fundraising at this event, but I would like to use it as a way to promote awareness of GHF's mission with the Merc's customers.

I will be setting a booth up outside that includes a native plant tapestry that visitors can add to. Alison Reber created a loom and started this tapestry, and it has been a popular attraction for adults. This means I will need plenty of native plant material to go into it. Even if you can't participate in the event, you can help collect tall plants. I'd prefer they are freshly cut so they are less brittle, but I will accept anything native. If you know what they are, please label them. In case of rain, we will move inside.

Also, I am asking for donations of give-away items such as pots of native plants or packets of native seeds. I want to have a drawing for these, and it will help us collect names of potential members/donors. If you have these, or know good sources for them, let me know.
And finally, if you are available for an hour or more to help promote GHF between 10-4 on Oct 25, let me know. For local Lawrencian GHFers, you will probably see a lot of familiar faces at the Merc, and there's no better way to attract people than knowing them, depending on your reputation, of course. The sooner you respond, the better, because I would like formalize plans and promote GHF in the Merc News. Read the attachments below for more information. Take care,

Angie-


Hi Angie,
Owner Day goes on all day long (from 7am to 10pm), as far as discounts and special deals. Most of the special activities happen between 10am and 4pm.
I think your ideas for the focus of your display are really good and would be of interest to our customers (and also avoid the dead animal issue). Thank you for being sensitive and responsive to our needs. Let me know what hours you think will work for you. If you give us an official title to your activities for the day we may be able to work it into our promotions.
Thanks Angie.
Nancy
Nancy O'ConnorDirector of Education and OutreachCommunity Mercantile Coop901 IowaLawrence, KS 66044785-843-8544 cmef@themerc.coop

Angie Babbit wrote:
Nancy, Could you shoot me an email that has the start and end time of the Member Appreciation event on October 25? I am hoping to put something together that does not involve any dead animals as in the past, in case we need to be near food. Most likely, I will have information about native prairie plants, and possibly have a small loom with some local grasses for visitors to help create a collaborative wall hanging. Allison Reber created the loom and it has been very popular at our events. I am also entertaining the idea of having a drawing to give away one or two pots of native plants, such as big bluestem or switchgrass. If you know of anyone who could donate plants, let me know. I will contact Vinland Valley Nursery first, because that's where I get my natives for my yard.

Thanks and take care,Angie

Event Summary

I put together a list of events that we have done so far, and a couple that will be happening in the future.  Let me know if I am missing any, or if any need to be removed.   Like, for example, I don't know if we ever decided what we were doing with the Grant-Bradbury walk.

· 1-27-2008 Eagle's Day - RPLL booth

· 1-29-2008 to 1-31-08 Lawrence Community Nursery School bison box - instruction by         LCNS staff (no expenses)

· 3-29-2008 Jeff's Native Landscaping class at Co. Extension Service - Adult ed

· 4-6-2008 Plymouth Congregational Social Justice Class - Adult ed

· 4-19-2008 Earth Day Parade and Festival, Lawrence - RPLL booth

· 4-20-2008 Unitarian Fellowship panel discussion - Adult ed

· 4-20-2008 Grace Covenant Earth Day event - RPLL booth

· 4-24-2008 History and Environment Fair - Topeka - RPLL booth and guided hike

· 5-17-2008 Art Tougeau parade

· 6-28-2008 Lawrence Public Library

· 7-23-2008 Jeff's Grant-Bradbury Prairie walk? - Adult ed

· 7-30-2008 Lawrence Public Library

· 8-2-2008 Little Green Festivle

· 8-22-2008 Lied Center

· 8-24-2008 Kansas State Fiddling and Picking

· 9-20-2008 Prairie Day

· 9-21-2008 Jeff's Wildflower Class - Adult ed

· 10-?-2008 Community Mercantile Member Appreciation Day

· 10-12-2008 Jeff's Native Landscaping Class - Adult ed

· ?  -2008 Guest speakers at Lawrence Public Library - Adult ed

Now that we're advertising the GHF blog...

I have updated the GHF blog with information about our newest education materials, and some details about our summer activites.

Summer 2008 RPLL at LPL

We've completed 2 Rolling Prairie Learning Labs at the Lawrence Public Library. The Labs were designed to augment the children's summer reading program insect theme.

A total of 125 people took part in the labs. The majority of these people were either on route to the library or pool, or were waiting at the bus stop. I'd guess about half of the attendees intentionally timed their trip so they'd be able to take part in the Lab.

The Learning Labs were facilitated by Alison Reber, Angie Babbit, Joyce Steiner, Rex Powell, and Stephanie Barrows. These outside events ran from 11 to 2. Between set-up and take-down, these folks worked on behalf of GHF in the Kansas summer heat for a straight 4 hours or so. Together they provided a combined total of 24 educational contact hours.

Also, shout out to Sue Holcomb for providing cut plants from her garden as well as a wonderfully diverse bag of supplies for the "insect mechanics" activity. Thank you to Mackenzie and Tabitha Reber for helping collect plants and insects. A special thank you to Rex for his brillant placement of giant butterflies and GHF's "Rolling Prairie".

The Learning Labs are strongly adapt for young people. GHF has scheduled several adult class offerings through the Lawrence Public Library this fall. (see below posts)

Fine Tuning for 7/19

Lawrence Public Library 9:30 - 2:30, stagger lunch
Confirmed - Rex, Angie, Alison

Activities:
Insects - Angie's bringing the insect display materials from KU; NEED LIVE SPECIMENS

Forbs - Alison will bring odds and ends, for sure black-eyed susans, queen anne's lace, bergamont, compass plant, & misc blooms as I come across them

Grasses - Alison will bring odds and ends - timothy, big & little blue stem, brome, kentucky grass, maybe oats, maybe love grass, spartina, & whatever else ends up in the bucket

Insect Mechanics (art) - Sue's bringing some things, I've got some odds & ends, the library's got some stuff as well; NEED SCOTCH TAPE

Dragonfly Story Tree - this was the weakest section last time mostly because we never had enough people to make up an audience.... however, I think I want to keep it in the mix because kids seemed to enjoy having a chance to look at books while sitting on a quilt under a shade tree.

Insect Vision - we need a better way to rope off the area & a better way to demark the pollen trays

June 28 Pictures

Angie's flickr pictures from the 6/28 RPLL

Sept 20, Prairie Day at Jerry Smith Park

From Sue Holcomb - GHF may have a booth....

Prairie Day at Jerry Smith Park
Saturday, September 20, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Prairie fans from Kansas City and beyond mark your calendars for Saturday, September 20 as we celebrate “Prairie Day” at Jerry Smith Park in south Kansas City.

For many years this event has been held at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center in Blue Springs, but in 2008 we are moving it to the only surviving remnant prairie in Jackson County. This year marks ten years of prairie restoration efforts at Jerry Smith Park and adjacent Saeger Woods Conservation Area, administered by Kansas City Parks and Recreation and the Missouri Department of Conservation, respectively. This tenth anniversary of the rebirth of this prairie will also be celebrated by the expected dedication of a segment of a new hiking trail.

The day will feature exhibits, activities, food and guided hikes on the prairie from 2-6:00pm followed by live music at dusk. Event sponsors include Kansas City Parks and Recreation, Kansas City Power and Light, Kansas City WildLands, Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Prairie Foundation.

For directions and more information contact Burr Oak Woods (816-228-3766) .

RE: Little Green Festival, Lawrence KS, August 2

Kim,

The Grassland Heritage Foundation, the Kansas StreamLink Program, and the Wakarusa Wetland Learners Project would like to work together to provide a “Rolling Prairie Learning Lab” during the Little Green Festival on August 2. I had the event penciled in on my calendar. J

Right now I’m serving as event coordinator for GHF – purveyors of the Rolling Prairie Learning Lab. I also head up the Kansas StreamLink Program and the Wakarusa Wetland Learners Project. StreamLink is a statewide watershed education program. Wetland Learners is primarily known for upper elementary field trips to local wetland areas. Currently these projects are all housed at the Kaw Valley Heritage Alliance office at 412 East 9^th Street. Each parties will have promotional materials available.

The Learning Labs include several activities that should appeal to a range of ages. I’m hoping you can help us out with our table needs.

The activities are likely to be something like this:

1. Plants - A table of fresh plants for people to id, draw, look at with magnifying glasses, etc… I actually divide the plants into grasses & forbs so we need 2 tables side-by-side.

2. Insect Mechanics - An artsy table with odds & ends for kids to create their own insects (this fits in with the library’s summer reading program) I’ve also got paper dragonflies for kids to turn into puppets and paper “pollinator” masks for kids to decorate. (2 picnic tables ideally)

3. Dragonfly Story Tree – I actually don’t have a tree but I do have a large dragonfly puppet that sometimes likes to tell stories from a blanket under a tree.

4. Mammals – touch & feel fur, bones, and maybe even some models of scat…. (need a table)

5. Pollinators - a veritable obstacle course for kids to try out insect vision (need a small table and an area we can rope off – maybe 10’x10’??)

6. Soil Tunnel – a shade tarp with a table of soil samples for kids to match up (need a table)

7. Wakarusa River Valley – Gravity & Clinton Lake (need a table)

These are just my chicken scratches; some of what actually falls into place will depend on the help I recruit.

Please give me a call when you get a chance – 218-5106. Just to say “hi” & so I can sort out a couple of questions I have about setting up.

Many thanks!! -Alison Reber

Grassland Heritage Foundation

Kaw Valley Heritage Alliance, Kansas StreamLink, Wakarusa Wetland Learners

---

October 12, Landscaping with Kansas Native Plants

Landscaping with Kansas Native Plants Class
Sunday, Oct 12th, 2008
County: Douglas
Lawrence Public Library, 2:30pm Landscaping with Kansas native plants saves money and is good for the environment. Learn about some of the plants that are native to Kansas and how to incorporate them into your landscape. Kansas has a wide variety of native trees and shrubs as well as native wildflowers and grasses. These native plants are well adapted to Kansas environments and make beautiful additions to our home landscapes. In this class you will learn to plan your native landscape, select plants to match your site’s characteristics, prepare the site, plant it, and maintain it. Class sponsored by Grassland Heritage Foundation.
http://www.grasslandheritage.org/

September 21, Wildflower class, Lawrence

Wildflower Identification Class
Sunday, Sep 21st, 2008
County: Douglas
Lawrence Public Library, 2:30pm Have you ever seen a wildflower but couldn’t identify it? There are nearly 2100 species of wild flowering plants growing in Kansas (1700 native, 400 introduced) so the task of identifying them can be daunting. But there are some simple steps to follow that can make you a pro at identifying wildflowers and other plants. A slideshow presentation will provide the foundation for learning identifying characteristics of plants. You will learn how plants are named and divided into family, genus, and species. Furthermore, you will learn about historical connections, interdependence of flowers and insects, medicinal and horticultural uses, and plant use by wildlife and livestock. After the presentation, we will venture to Prairie Park Nature Center to do some “hands on” prairie wildflower identification. Class sponsored by Grassland Heritage Foundation.
http://www.grasslandheritage.org/

July 23, Prairie Walk, Topeka

Summer Grant-Bradbury Evening Walk
Wednesday, Jul 23rd, 2008
County: Shawnee
Join Kansas Native Plant Society and Grassland Heritage Foundation on Topeka's premiere prairie park. This 80-acre tallgrass prairie includes over 300 plant species. So popular was the June walk, that attendees wanted to come back in July. Jeff Hansen, KNPS past president, will lead the tour at 7pm. Directions: Take Topeka Blvd south to the University Blvd intersection (stoplight), take a right. Take University west about half a mile - when the road curves south, you are at the driveway to the park gate. There is a white utility building at the driveway to the park. (785) 806-6917

Final Details for 6/28

Just some quick jots:

> The library seems to have all of the tables & such sorted out.

> Prairie Park Nature Center, as a standard policy, does not share or lend its equipment or materials. (That makes it even more important to recognize the assistance the Museum of Natural of History has provided.) Angie is making a trip to The Toy Store to purchase some of the cheapy insect eye prisms.

> The dragonfly puppet is at the KVHA office. If people have odds and ends to add to the mechanics box it'd be great. I've got sticks and t-shirt ribbon. I've got a collection of toy box curio for heads, thorax, wings, etc... We've also got some line-drawing dragonflies (almost life size) photocopied on bright mixed colored paper & markers/crayons/colored pencils & scissors pulled together.

> I've got a bucket of plants - nothing spectacular but enough to make it interesting. I tried to key them out. Below is a list my daughter made as I was telling her what was there -- I thought people might get a kick out of her phonetics, etc...

Goldenrod, Yellow Sweet Clover, Dasy fleebain, Spiter milkweed, Bbalm, Black eyed susens, Red Clover, Cartrig pee, Bindweed, White sweet clover, Depford pink, Sunflower, Parrie parsnip, Rye grass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Big Bluestem, Smooth Brome, Johnson Grass, Timothy, Pendant Bulrush, Flat-stem Sike rush

> Between Angie & I we've got enough insects to make it interesting.

> I'm not going to worry about the land planning activity until I have a chance to do more brainstorming with Andrea.

______________

Confirmed for tomorrow: Alison, Stephanie, Angie

Jeff isn't able to be there tomorrow.

I'm hoping a few people will be able to stop by between 10 & 11 to help us set up.

More Details on 6/28 & 7/30

On Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 11:39 AM, Alison Reber wrote to Joyce Steiner, Lawrence Public Library: Hi Joyce! I'm helping out with Grassland Heritage Foundation's Rolling Prairie Learning Labs this summer. These are topics we anticipate having activities for the June 28th & July 30th:

1 - insect vision; We plan on having some insect eye glasses and be able to talk with people about how insect vision differs from human vision. We'll have something resembling an obstacle course. I'm not sure how elaborate it'll be yet but the goal will be to be moving pollen from one area to another. We need a space we can rope off for kids to wander around with the glasses. We don't need a table for this; just a designated space. (The library will handle this.)

• Stephanie Barrows is tracking down the glasses.
• We need some of those footies they wear at hospitals, white flour (to represent pollen), and some kind of treat (to represent nectar).
• We need a couple buckets of plants with flowers - grass is fine.
• We'll need to brainstorm the obstacle course.

2 - dragonfly morphology; We have a large dragonfly puppet (4 feet) made out of found objects. There'll be an opportunity for people to construct their own dragonfly puppets with found objects - this won't be a craft project. The point will be to think about how dragonflies are put together and to do some creative problem solving. Any odds and end craft supplies you've got would be greatly appreciated - no glue. Any extra kid scissors you can add to the mix would be fantastic! We'll need 2 tables for this - ideally picnic tables but tables & chairs will work too. (The library will handle this.) Anyone with mechanical talents interested in helping out with this activity? I have visions of tinker toys crossed with a recycling bin.

3 - prairie sounds & storytelling; The kids will be making sounds with their hands & such to round out a story about a prairie adventure. I'd like to stage this under a tree and somehow incorporate the puppets they've made. We don't need a table for this; just a designated space in the shade. I'm thinking we can adapt "Going on a Bear Hunt" to include whatever facets of prairie life we feel are more important. I would love help compiling ideas about cool things to include.

4 - prairie plants; This will be a touch & feel activity for kids to look at and handle prairie plants from a pollinator perspective. There will be live specimens to dissect, look at under magnifying glasses, draw, do plant; rubbings, etc.... Two tables would be ideal for this activity - one for specimens and one for activities. (The library will handle this.) This is pretty straight forward. Any related materials - plants, etc... would be greatly appreciated --- as would volunteers for this activity station.

5 - insect exhibit; We'll have an assortment of live insects for kids to observe & perhaps draw, etc... One table should be sufficient. (The library will handle this.) The activity table will share with the prairie plant table (so they should be close together). This activity should be shaded so we don't bake the bugs. :) I caught a couple of dragonflies this morning - never done THAT before!! We'll probably have to let them go before next week but it would be helpful if folks can start stashing insects that can be kept for a week in jelly jars (be safe, etc...)

6 - bug habitats; This is a land planning activity for people to move around "habitats" and figure out where different kinds of insects might be able to survive. I'm envisioning this being like a magnet board but it might end up being slightly different --- we'll see. ANDREA -- Do you still have those pictures (both the prairie & urban planning) you mentioned last night? I have magnet "paper" we could print them on. If we can track down a couple of magnetic white boards we'll be set! I have several different art easels we can use to prop the boards on and either line them up so its like on long landscape or have individual work stations.

This is really much more detail than I typically have sorted out going into an event so you'll need to give us a bit of creative latitude for the day of.... If I've misunderstood what I'm supposed to be doing or what the libraries role will be I hope people will speak up. I'm looking forward to seeing this fall into place.

Many thanks! -Alison Reber

Planning for June 28th

The theme for the library gig on the 28th is BUGS :) Angie & I want to extend it to pollinators in general so add some plants to your mind's eye.

* I want to try to get some additional traction out of the Regal fritillary work from last fall.

* There might be some nice bounce with the events that happened with Stan Herd & pollinator stamps last summer.

*Any thing on bees or monarchs??

* Any other buggy things we should add into the mix?

_______________________________

Angie & I also talked about having some stickers made that have a graphic and "Grassland Heritage Foundation" I'll get some quotes. We need to move fast if we're going to have them done in time.
_________________________________

Author Invitations

At the risk of being bold I went ahead and sent author invitations to these people.

Angie Babbit , Mike Campbell , Amy Carlson, Craig Freeman , Jeff Hansen , Sue Holcomb , Steve Holcomb , Doug Martin , Frank Norman , Rex Powell , Andrea D. Repinsky, Chip Taylor , Gary Tegtmeier, & Joyce Wolf

Unfortunately there was no way to embed an explanation in the invitation but basically this is an unlisted work page for folks working on GHF education endeavors. While this is not a public forum, it's also not the most secure place for discussing sensitive issues. However, it's perfect for some quick chitter chatter about where GHF is at with it's outreach goals.

I know or have met almost every one on the list (Amy, we'll catch up with each other someday!). I figure you folks know more about me then I know about all of you combined since it sounds like my resume has been scattered across the web from here to Sunday and back.

I've been specifically asked to help with volunteer recruitment and completing the Schultz grant. Angie's already stepped in and added her list of events to the mix. I'll be making an upcoming events post shortly.... A quick heads up - things look pretty clustered from the 20th to the 24th of August.

2008 -- GHF Events so far

These are the events that I have on my calendar that have been completed. There are others that Jeff and Rex did but I was not involved with. (eg: the Art Tougeau parade preparation at elementary schools.)

• 1-27-2008 Eagle's Day - RPLL booth
  
• 1-29-2008 to 1-31-08 Lawrence Community Nursery School bison box - instruction by LCNS staff (no expenses)
• 3-29-2008 Jeff's Native Landscaping class at Co. Extension Service - Adult ed
  
• 4-6-2008 Plymouth Congregational Social Justice Class - Adult ed
  
• 4-19-2008 Earth Day Parade and Festival, Lawrence - RPLL booth
  
• 4-20-2008 Unitarian Fellowship panel discussion - Adult ed
• 4-20-2008 Grace Covenant Earth Day event - RPLL booth
• 4-24-2008 History and Environment Fair - Topeka - RPLL booth and guided hike
• 5-17-2008 Art Tougeau parade
  

Coon Creek Wildlife area:

KVHA partnership project FYI: (COE, KAWS, KTC, KU, KVHA, KDWP, Western Resources??, .... others I can't think of off the top of my head....)

• prairie restoration, trail development, wetland construction;
• There's a small parking area & a locked kiosk that can be used for a prairie display;
• Coon Creek is a northern tributary to the Wakarusa/Clinton Lake; Kanwaka Township;
• Nice connection to the Upper Wakarusa WRAPS & potential to leverage funds for prairie conservation/restoration above Clinton Lake;
• COLYER is in the Wakarusa River watershed;
• ties in with the Wakarusa Heritage folks & Wakarusa Wetland Learners;
• active prairie management - burning every other year??;
• it's rustic - no toilet, running water, electricity, picnic tables, or mowing;
• an event could be staged from the gravel lot & have people park on the road;
• the trail is fairly clear & there's a bench overlooking the valley)

(see http://kawvalleyheritagealliance.org/cooncreek - the write up slants towards wetlands but there's actually prairie, woodlands, riparian, stream, and wetlands...a VERY COOL site!! there are scads of pictures on flickr: search "Coon Creek")

6 Rolling Prairie Learning Labs

Right now I don't have information about Schultz grant RPLLs that have already happened.

When does the Schultz grant have to be closed?

Additional Lab Event Ideas:

> Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Musuem (?) has an ice cream social in July; they've also got an event happening there later in June but I don't think there'll be many kids plus we want a prelude promo

> Lied Center Community Event in August 22nd Family Arts Festival

> Mormon Battalion Trek (re-enactment) in August

> Douglas County Free Fair in August

> Quantril's Raid anniversary in August

> River City Reading Festival at Lawrence Art Center in September

> Pendleton's have events in the late summer, also in October there's the Douglas County Farm Tour

I focused on Douglas County. Are any of these more/less desirable??

Education Program Concepts

Purpose: Build public awareness of grasslands (education, protection, restoration)
(How will we know when our outreach has been successful?)

'08 Outcomes?: 6 Rolling Prairie Learning Labs, 6 Classroom Outreach Events, 4 Organization Outreach Events (Need to complete the Schultz grant by Dec 2008)

Tracking: Numbers of people at educational events, Increased membership, Donations for native prairie protection

ALR: consider asking members about grassland conservation in their lives -- how many of them are actively managing a prairie area or some kind? how many of them are engaged in some kind of related conservation endeavor such as monarch tagging, rain gardens, native plantings ---- this be jumped started via the newsletter, worked into the blog as a survey, tallied informally on the primary website, etc...

I'd love to have this fleshed out a bit more... -ALR

10 hours

Thursday - reviewed & organized materials from Sue re: current grants & organization goals; met w/ Sue & Andrea re: space at KVHA office & environmental ed

Saturday - reviewed website & scoped out digital resources (Angie - flickr & blogger; Jeff - blogger; noted Jeff's work on KNP.org)

Sunday - brainstorming (see above notes); workpage framing

Monday - finished preliminary workpage; left message for Angie; typed in idea/status notes