Biology of Streams

Saturday, July 11, 8:00 am-12:00 noon
Leader: Keith Blackmore. Ages: junior high to adult. Participants will spend about an hour learning about the geology of streams and then sample, observe, and study stream life. We will examine molusks, insects, fish, and any other critter that is found. Those who have hip boots or old sneakers and shorts can help with the sampling. Others can sort materials on shore. Fee: $5. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register.

Dr. Pond Scum

Sunday, July 12, 1:30 pm
Program is directed for kids ages 6-11, but others may attend. Foolishness, fun and of course, education is what the Doctor has on order, so you won’t want to miss it. Local area science teacher Gary Pasch mucks and yucks it up as his lovable and laughable character, Dr. Pond Scum. Meet at the Nature Center. Free to all, kids must be accompanied by adults. Please call to reserve a spot for your family. 1-815-335-2915

Adventure Quest

Monday-Wednesday, July 20-22, 9:00 am-3:00 pm (Monday);
8:00 am-4:30 pm (Tuesday & Wednesday)
Grade Level 6th-9th grade (2009-10 school year)
It’s fun! You won’t want to miss it! These three days are for students going into the 6th-9th grade who want to experience some exciting places and learn hands-on about rivers, wetlands, woodlands, and caves. Day 1 will be spent at Severson Dells walking in and exploring our creek. Day 2 we will travel by van to a mystery destination. Day 3, also by van, will take us to Maquoketa Cave State Park in Iowa to investigate the wonderful world of caves. Cost: $125 per member of “Friends of Severson Dells.” $140 per non-member. (Early drop-offs and late pick-ups can be arranged.) 1-815-335-2915

The Extraordinary Ordinary:
A Night of Amazing Words and Thoughts

Thursday, July 23, starting at 6:30 pm

Pattiann Rogers                      Brian Doyle

There will be nothing ordinary about this evening. It will be talked about on a variety of levels for weeks, if not months, quite possibly years. Come hear one of the “nation’s most persnickety” poets, Pattiann Rogers of Colorado, and one of the nation’s “oddest essayists,” Brian Doyle of Oregon. “The thesis for the evening: there are no small things, only moments crammed with story and song and revelation and epiphany, if only we could see — we are swimming in a sea of the most particular and amazing miracles. We search for them and embrace them with our senses and our stories, our music and our joys, our visions and our intellect.”

The evening will begin with accomplished local poets, Mary Caskey and Chris Swanberg sharing some of their words and thoughts. Then Rogers and Doyle will share the podium as they sway back and forth from poems to “proems” in a crescendo of words and feelings.

Brian Doyle is the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland — the best university magazine in America, according to Newsweek. He is the author of numerous books and his essays appear in a wide variety of periodicals and anthologies.

Pattiann Rogers, born and raised in Missouri, has spent most of her adult life in Texas and Colorado. She is the author of 13 books of poetry and has been awarded five Pushcart Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lannan Literary Award. Rogers has taught as a visiting writer at several universities. Her papers are archived at Texas Tech University.

Free to all, but please call for registrations at 1-815-335-2915. This program is in honor of the memory of Dr. Alan Hutchcroft.

Hall Creek Scamper Green Run and Walk

Saturday, July 25
Green, serene, and lean. The Hall Creek Scamper will combine these three elements on July 25 in a morning full of fitness and education in nature. The event includes a 5k Open Race, a 5k Youth (high school and under) Race, and a 1 Mile Walk Scavenger Hunt. The Open 5k will begin at 8:00 am. The youth event will begin at 8:45 and the walk at 9:30 am.

The event will take place on the scenic trails and roads of Severson Dells Forest Preserve. Participants will traverse through woods, meadows, and an optional creek crossing. Participants in the walk will have the opportunity to lean about Northern Illinois wildlife by participating in a scavenger hunt highlighting the unique scenery on the course.

Proceeds from the run will benefit education programs at the Severson Dells Nature Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. If you don’t want to participate in the Hall Creek Scamper, but would still like to get involved, we are in need of race day volunteers. Please e-mail don@seversondells.org if you would like to volunteer. Click here for more information and to register for the event. To save money register before July 19!

By Don Miller, Education Director, Severson Dells Nature Center

There was a young family out to Severson Dells Nature Center recently and they were telling me about their experience of vacationing in Yellowstone National Park. It made me think of the two times that I had visited out there, once as a kid of about eight and then later as a Dad of three kids.

As I listened to the family tell their tales I thought that the beauty of the awe-inspiring mountains had not changed through the years. The vistas, flora and fauna, the hiking trails and the feeling of wonderment of nature still remain as powerful as ever. To be in the middle of a herd of hundreds of buffalo as they cross the road, or to see bears, moose, elk or pika is as thrilling for them as it was for me at 8 or 40. What did the people that first came upon the Yellowstone area think? That’s a question I ask now as I did almost 50 years earlier. The mountain region is truly a national treasure and needs protection from all that threatens it.

The changes that have occurred have more to do with the vacationers than the landscape. Fifty plus years in the lives of people is a long time. Fifty plus years in the life of a mountain isn’t even a blink of an eye. If you are a baby boomer maybe you can relate to some of the things I am about to mention. If you are not a “boomer” well? this is the way it was. In the early sixties the minivan was a thing of the future. My folks packed our family into a wood-grain sided Country Squire station wagon and we left in the wee hours of the morning. All of us kids were stacked in the back, lying on top of sleeping bags, tents, and the weaker, younger ones in the group would be on top of the cooler or some other hard object. (It was based on the pecking order.) As we crossed Nebraska, there was a battle to stay away from the sunny, hot side of the car. I’m not sure looking back if we had air conditioning or if we just didn’t use it. Passing through Nebraska as a dad some years later it was 105 degrees, we used the air conditioning and appreciated the tinted windows.

On our last travels all my kids had their walkmans/discman to listen to their own choice of music. The family I had just talked to said their kids had iphones and video games to amuse themselves. I kind of miss the old times when there was only an AM radio to tune in. Every hundred miles or so you had to dial in a new station because the one you were listening to faded out. It didn’t really matter, because all the stations from here to the mountains played the same three songs over and over and over again. I still know the words to “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” and “Baby Don’t Go”. (Yikes!) We played the license plate game as do some modern families. Unlike my dad, I feel the need to stop for ice cream often. Oh so many ice cream stands we went clapping and barking by like seals, only to see them disappear into the horizon out the dusty back window. While driving high in the mountains I didn’t pay attention to where on the road dad was driving. I was fighting the pecking order so I could get a spot with a view. I’m sure he wasn’t like me and used the yellow line down the middle of the road to straddle the car with. (I got better by the end of the mountain driving session.)

Sleeping arrangements have changed since my youth in the sixties. We all slept on the ground with no pads or air mattresses. Before our last trip, I bought a four inch queen size air mattress to sleep on. The family I was talking to said they had cots. Mom made us all wear red-hooded sweatshirts (with the hood up and tied) to bed in the mountains. I couldn’t wait to be old enough not to wear that thing. While camping in Yellowstone the last go-round the temperature one night got down into the low-thirties. As I lay there freezing in my sleeping bag, all I could think about was, “I wish I had my red-hooded sweatshirt!!”

Growing up with my brothers and sister we all thought we could be the biggest help around the campsite (and the house for that matter) by getting out of the way. (That hasn’t changed with my kids.) That philosophy of being helpful was probably the cause for one of my favorite quotes from my mom. When asked by neighbor upon us returning from our western trip, “How was the trip?” Mom replied, “It gave me a chance to do the dishes outside! (Believe it or not, some of us kids turned out to be more helpful with age.)

I think I’ll end this rambling with one last thought. There is something ageless about the jokes that can be made while walking on the boardwalk touring Yellowstone’s mud pots. With the strong smell of sulfur in the air there is a bonding of the generations between males during this experience. But, like the “Three Stooges” it seems like the female gender doesn’t find as much humor in it.

I know I didn’t mention the development going on around the Park’s border, or the slaughter of the bison, or the other issues that engulf the area. For now, I remember the smell of bacon cooking in the morning with beautiful mountains in the background, hoping my kids will remember this vacation with fond memories of family and of natural beauty shared.

By Don Miller, Education Director, Severson Dells Nature Center

Ely Keilback was born on February 6, 2009, this is a fact. However the legend of Ely starts here; after floating around in embryonic fluids for over nine-months, Ely was ready to run the current of his mom’s birth canal. The legend continues that he ran the canal like all good river runners who were being dumped, feet first. This is standard procedure just incase there should be obstacles in the way; the legs can provide a cushion for the body. There were no obstacles, but the story is told that Ely came out paddling. He used a perfect forward stroke with an occasional j-corrective stroke to continue himself on his straight and narrow path. (Mom Keilback says that Ely also used the sweep and pry strokes on his way out. Mom should know.) When he burst from the chute he took a deep inhale breath that was full of cosmic dust gathered through the eons, with it was water vapor from all the rivers and lakes of the world as well as the spirit of all those adventurers that that are living now and have lived before.

So at the age of three-months it was no surprise to me that Ely was canoeing on the Kishwaukee River. Now don’t be calling the DCFS on us, he was in good, if not great hands. He was with his mom, dad and me! We found ourselves on a warm May day running two canoes from Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve to Atwood Park in New Milford. I couldn’t help but think of the “circle of life” as I pushed off my canoe from the bank. Here I was floating with Ely on his first float on the same stretch of river that less than a year ago I had canoed with my friend Fran Lowman. Fran had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and that trip was to be her last float. It was a privilege to float with both Fran as it is now with Ely; such is the circle of life.

I was ecstatic when the Keilbacks called and had included me in their plans. They would be in one canoe with Ely and I would be in the other, with camera ready. A writer’s first obligation to his readers is to tell the truth. Well for the first 15 minutes little Ely wailed big time. Holy cow he wailed!!! It was a complete exercise in lung capacity building. But after mom readjusted his straight jacket of a life preserver, we all relaxed without adding any more water to the already high flow of the Kish.

Hope is not an action word. Nothing ever happens just because you hope it will. I know that there are people who are “half full” as well as there are people who are “half empty.” One can spend an insurmountable time hoping that their glass would become full or one can go out and fill it. Keilbacks are the type of parents who are going to fill Ely’s cup to the top. They will expose him to nature, make it fun, as well as give him room to grow. And yes, and then hope for the best. Life is full of choices. As parents we choose what is important to us to introduce to our children. It could be a variety of things: soccer, bowling, basketball,…nose to the grindstone homework values, dress codes, music, and we all know at some point in their young lives, peers and others will have their influence as well. We have know idea what our kids interest or focus may end up being. We can only lead them down the trail so far.

I wish on Ely’s first exposure to running rivers I could tell you about how an eagle soared over our heads, or about an osprey robbing the river of one of its small mouth bass, or that a pair of great blue herons performed their ancient dance on the shores…but none of that happened. Such is life, were we disappointed? Hell no! We saw a kingfisher that lead us down the river and chatted the whole way. Who knows maybe it’s a language not forgotten by three month old babies? We heard a barred owl asking,”who cooks for you, who cooks for you?” The banks were lustfully green and the sun was placing dancing diamonds on the waters surface. There was a young mom and dad with their baby boy at one within a family and at one within nature, filling their cups to the brim.

Ely will remember this day through pictures that will be shown and stories that will be told and retold. He may not actually remember the event at all, and that is okay because we did it as much for ourselves and we did it for him. This trip I am sure was the first of many adventures Ely will have in his life. As we floated Ely’s first float we went by a dad on the bank skipping stones with his young daughter. Further downstream the current took us by a grandma fishing from shore with her grandson. They were not at home “hoping” to go fishing or to skip rocks, they were making it happen.

The journey ends and we pull our canoes out of the water. Dad Keilback sprinkles a small amount of Kishwaukee River water on his son’s head. If you are shaking your head at that… don’t. There was no sac-religiousness in this act. Isn’t the love between a father, mother and child and them sharing the beauty of this world we live in with each other, a sacred thing to celebrate? To consecrate?

So welcome aboard little Ely, ride that current of life and always keep your cup full. I promise you that it will be a most amazing float. Love, “Uncle” Don

Pattiann Rogers                      Brian Doyle

There will be nothing ordinary about this evening. It will be talked about on a variety of levels for weeks, if not months, quite possibly years. Come hear one of the “nation’s most persnickety” poets, Pattiann Rogers of Colorado, and one of the nation’s “oddest essayists”, Brian Doyle of Oregon. “The thesis for the evening: there are no small things, only moments crammed with story and song and revelation and epiphany, if only we could see – we are swimming in a sea of the most particular and amazing miracles. We search for them and embrace them with our senses and our stories, our music and our joys, our visions and our intellect”.

The evening will begin with accomplished local poets, Mary Caskey and Chris Swanberg sharing some of their words and thoughts. Then Rogers and Doyle will share the podium as they sway back and forth from poems to “proems” in a crescendo of words and feelings.

Brian Doyle is the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland - the best university magazine in America, according to Newsweek. He is the author of numerous books and his essays appear in a wide variety of periodicals and anthologies.

Pattiann Rogers, born and raised in Missouri, has spent most of her adult life in Texas and Colorado. She is the author of 13 books of poetry and has been awarded five Pushcart Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lannan Literary Award. Rogers has taught as a visiting writer at several universities. Her papers are archived at Texas Tech University.

Free to all, but please call for registrations at 1-815-335-2915. This program is in honor of the memory of Dr. Alan Hutchcroft.

Leader: Keith Blackmore. For ages: junior high to adult. We will begin with an introductory lecture about ponds and pond life and then spend a couple of hours exploring the pond environment and collecting representative organisms. The organisms will be identified, discussed, and released back into their natural community. Those who have hip boots or old sneakers and shorts can help with the sampling. Others can sort materials on shore. Fee: $5. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register.

We seem to live at a time when electronic gadgetry serves as a crutch for many of our activities. Witness the vast array of cell-phones, hand-held GPS devices and mobile navigation systems. Can anyone read a road map anymore? Are we in an era when analytical thinking and personal observation skills take a back seat to blind allegiance to what a machine says? If our technology fails us can we still function and continue with our plans or are we like the proverbial canoe heading upstream without a paddle?

Severson Dells Nature Center will offer the chance to leave your high tech digital route finding devices at home and instead rely on a map (actually printed on paper) and your ability to interpret it. If you’re up for the challenge you can choose to also test your skills with the original “high tech” navigational device, a compass. Best of all is the fact that while you are honing your route finding skills you are surrounded by the woodland, prairie, creek, hills and, of course, the dells of Severson Dells Forest Preserve.

This is an activity known as orienteering, a popular sport in parts of Europe, but existing in relative obscurity on this side of the “big pond.” Many Americans when asked if they can find a particular location blithely exclaim, “I can’t read a map!” This indifference toward map reading and finding one’s way almost seems a cultural norm. However the exploration of our continent was done by those who relied only on basic navigational devices and/or dead reckoning. The likes of Daniel Boone, David Thompson, John Fremont and Lewis and Clark found their way without a map because they were the ones making the map. Many who went through the ranks of the Boy Scouts received training in map and compass and that organization still offers a merit badge in orienteering.

Here’s how it works. Come to Severson Dells Nature Center on Saturday, June 13 between the hours of 9:30 AM and 12:00 noon. There you can check out a map which will have trails, streams, pond and various man-made structures shown on it, along with a series of x’s representing checkpoints which you are challenged to locate. If you choose the easier orienteering route all of your checkpoints will be located along established trails so go ahead and wear your shorts. Those up to it can choose the more challenging route where some of your checkpoints will be off the trail, which means out in the woods or in the middle of the prairie. As you probably already figured out, shorts are not advised for this route. You will need a compass to do the more adventuresome route and you can check one out at the nature center.

A short course on map reading and compass use will be offered at the nature center at 10:00 AM for those wishing instruction before heading out on the trail. Attending the course is not mandatory, however, and anyone can come between the hours mentioned above and head out on his/her own. This activity is a great opportunity for families and individuals to get outside in a beautiful location and learn backwoods route finding skills at the same time. There is no fee for participating. However donations to Severson Dells Nature Center will be appreciated. Call 815-335-2915 for more information.

Submitted by,

Richard Benning, Severson Dells Nature Center

Tree huggers wrap up a bur oak.

He writes:

The old adage of “can’t see the forest because of the trees” has taken on a new meaning for me. I always thought it described some people who just didn’t get the big picture.

And . . . .

“Can’t see the forest because of the trees” may mean that one is so centered on the beauty or uniqueness of a single tree, the surrounding ones all disappear. Much like being at a crowded airport and not noticing anyone except the loved one you are focused on. I decided I needed to do some soul-searching and to seek out the trees that are in my life and mind. I found each tree special for a variety of reasons.

Click here to read the story.

His in his latest blog post at Birdfreak.com, he takes a look at his crystal ball and sees a bright future where advanced technology plays an important role.

Predicting the future is sorta like picking football results. The longer into the future your prediction, the higher the probability you will be wrong. So, what is in the years ahead for birders? As we get more fast-paced and high-tech, we think birders will become more advanced as they make a push to slow down and enjoy the birds they have helped conserve.

Read more: The Future of Birding and Conservation: Predictions and Wishful Thinking

ⓒ Photo By Robert Renk

In the plant world, skunk cabbage is one of the first signs of Spring. Severson Dells member Robert Renk captured these images of skunk cabbage March 28 during the Skunk Cabbage Meander at Anna Page Park.

ⓒ Photo By Robert Renk

It’s called skunk cabbage for good reason: It stinks. And it’s a good survival strategy as the rancid odor attracts flies, bees and gnats that pollinate it. Skunk cabbage blooms way before other wildflowers. The plant generates heat and is sometimes seen surrounded by snow and ice.

It grows in wet areas like creek and river bottoms, and wetlands. Its maroon petals and green leaves provide marked contrast to the leave litter that it emerges from.

Even though parts of the plant are poisonous, Native Americans used skunk cabbage to treat headache, muscle ache, hysteria, respiratory problems, epilepsy and various other ailments.