Armand Bayou Nature Center Volunteer Newsletter APRIL 3 Prairie Friday (Good Friday) 4 Stewardship Saturday Pond Life class 5 Sundays In Nature (Easter) 9 Volunteer Board meet Volunteer meeting 10 Prairie Friday 11 Second Sat. Bird Count Rookery Tour Gator Nite 16 Bayou Foliage deadline 17 Prairie Friday 18 Stewardship Saturday 19 Sundays in Nature (Earth Day is 22nd) 24 Prairie Friday 24-26 Order of the Arrow Volume 34, Issue 4 Bayou Foliage April Meeting Speaker Diane Humes Talking Trash Humans are trash-making animals, producing waste from prehistoric times to the Space Age. The story of our trash is complex, often with as many questions as answers (and people). Please attend the ABNC volunteer meeting, April 9, and join Diane Humes in her presentation, “Talking Trash.” Diane is a Master Naturalist, long-time resident of Clear Lake Forest, and ABNC volunteer. Originally from Michigan, she first heard of the Garbology project - the first study of "fresh" trash - while living in Tucson, AZ, and continues to learn about trash and recycling what to do with all our stuff. Hope to see all past, present, and future "dumpster divers"! FROM THE CHAIR April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go. - Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe After spending years working 50 to 60 hours a week every spring, I will never take it for granted again. When one does taxes for a living, you start the tax season in the cold months of winter and end in the middle of April. By then, the trees already have their leaves, the Irises are done with their beautiful displays of color, the delicate white flowers of dewberries and trifoliate oranges are long gone. But this year, this year they are all coming alive for me as if for the first time in a very long while. Over the last few months, there have been some wonderful training classes made available for our volunteers, I hope you have had a chance to participate, learn and hopefully made some new friends. We still have two more classes coming up, April 4th is “Pond Life” and May 2nd is “Turtles of ABNC.” These classes are open to all and we encourage all to attend. The class in March on “Outdoor Safety” was such a success that I have asked Margaret Frick if she would be willing to give it again in the fall. I truly feel that every volunteer, because we are all outside, needs to take this class. We can all use a refresher class now and then, and safety is so important for ourselves and for the public. Last weekend I had the opportunity to take the new “Preserve Watch-Rookery Tour” with Mark Kramer. My husband and I are still talking about our experience. There are more of these tours as well as the “Gator Basking Days/Night” and the “Bayou Backwaters” coming up. I do love the fact that ABNC is coming up with new ways to get people connected to nature. Please note that if you do take these tours, you can log your hours as continued education. That is true for all the training you attend. I have been inspired by nature and inspired by others, whose love of nature is contagious. So, as Mr. Morley so elegantly stated, I am ready to “Go.” To “Go” outside and inspire, and to help connect people to our treasured oasis, Armand Bayou Nature Center. As always, thank you so much for all you hard work and dedication, Liz Van Orstrand Volunteer Chair Armand Bayou Nature Center Volunteer Board 2015 Staff Roster Chair Liz Van Orstrand 281-480-8296 [email protected] Vice-Chair Joe Bryan 409-933-4087 [email protected] Secretary Tom Scarsella 832-221-3752 [email protected] Treasurer Eleanor Stanley 713-455-1502 no e-mail Administration Gaye Batiz 713-518-5759 [email protected] Weekend Demos Polly Swerdlin 281-814-4606 [email protected] Weekend Trails Karen Sutera 281-474-5087 [email protected] Greeters/Interpreters Polly Swerdlin 281-814-4606 [email protected] Weekday Edu. Madeleine Barnes 281-474-9406 [email protected] Outreach Susan Millsap 281-538-6695 [email protected] Facilities James Frantz 281-470-0946 [email protected] Stewardship Edward Craven 917-921-8290 [email protected] Bayou Foliage Editor Polly Swerdlin 281-814-4606 [email protected] Webmaster Shawn Gano 832-314-1608 [email protected] Tom Kartrude Barbara Baxter Susan Millsap Mike Maglitto Ext 11 Ext 18 Ext 10 Ext 10 Janice Schrager Kathy Gardner Heather Millar Ext 12 Ext 13 Ext 14 Mark Kramer Dave Kovach Jessica Collier Zach Roper Ext 15 Ext 16 Ext 17 Ext 20 Emails are [email protected] i.e.: [email protected] ; except Susan: [email protected] for the front desk April 2015 Bayou Foliage 2 VOLUNTEER MEETING MINUTES MARCH 12, 2015 The Volunteer Meeting was called to order at 6:58 PM by Liz Van Orstrand, Volunteer Chair Joe Bryan “introduced” our speaker, Gaye Batiz, who gave a program on her 78-day Grand Pacific and Far East Voyage cruise aboard the ms Amsterdam. The Volunteer meeting began at 8:11 PM. Liz said the 2015 Volunteer Wish List had been approved by the Volunteer Board and put it to a general vote. The request to spend the money passed. All items are to be purchased before the Summer adjournment. The volunteers were informed that Lucy the Rat Snake had recently passed away. The Day Camps scheduled for March 17th, 18th and 19th require volunteer assistance. Coordinate with either Madeleine or Heather. Earth Day will be celebrated on April 19 which is a Free Sunday in Nature Day. Trash Bash is scheduled for March 28. All the canoe slots are booked, but help is still needed at the park. The schedule for the Adult Outdoor Education activities was discussed. The schedule should be included in Bayou Foliage. The meeting adjourned at 8:33 PM. Tom Scarsella Secretary Treasurer’s Report February 2015 Beginning Balance Expenditures: The social portions of our meetings are enhanced with finger food, snacks and beverages; please sign up for one month, either one: SNACKS DRINKS APRIL Sharon Tummins Chuck Gerteis MAY (pot lunch picnic) AUGUST Eleanor Stanley x SEPTEMBER x x OCTOBER x x NOVEMBER x x DECEMBER (pot lunch dinner) $0 Total Expenditures $0 Income: $0 Total Income Current Balance April 2015 Meeting Snacks & Drinks $3597.08 $0 $3597.08 Bayou Foliage Signup is on a clipboard in the Volunteer Office 3 TRAINING DATES TO REMEMBER Presenting our Spring Program for training. Signup sheets are in the Volunteer Office located in the Admissions Building. For pre-registration classes (*) call 281-454-2551 x 10. Has anyone seen the Cherry Pitter that used to be hanging onto the farmhouse kitchen counter near the sink? Saturday, April 4th “Pond Dip-netting” (rain date April 11th) 10:00-12:00 Leader: Margaret Frick – [email protected] Location: Classroom2/Lab and pond platform. The ponds of ABNC look serene, but hidden in their plants and algae are secret worlds filled with amazing animals and incessant life and death struggles (albeit on the small scale). In this class, the instructor hopes to demonstrate that dip netting is just about the most fun you can have outdoors with a group of people: there are nets, water, mud, strange critters, fierce predators, and the excitement of discovery with every dip of the net. You’ll learn how to dip net in a pond, identify your catches, and explain the ecological significance of the animals you catch. This is a hands-on, outdoor class, so dress accordingly. May 5th – Turtles Time: 10am – noon Location: Classroom 2/Lab Leader: Margaret Frick – [email protected] Turtles are as old as the dinosaurs and even tougher. The Nature Center is privileged to be a home for many different species of these incredible creatures. In this class, we’ll cover the biology of turtles, the species that live at ABNC, and how to make learning about these ancient reptiles fun for both for children and adults. First and Third Sundays In Nature Zach Martin in Education is the POC for the projects (Sponsored by Dow Chemical of Deer Park) Are you on Facebook? If so, join other current and past volunteers and staff to share comments and news about happenings at ABNC. April 2015 April – Earth Day May – Birds June – Turtles July – Snakes August – Insects September – Outdoor Safety October – Bats November – Spiders December – Mammals Bayou Foliage 4 Education Department Page Leaders and Helpers needed for these events Contact Heather 281 474 2551 ext 14 Outreach Opportunity Call or email Susan Millsap to volunteer: Keep Pearland Beautiful and Pearland Parks and Recreation Saturday April 18 10am – 2pm Pearland Recreation Center 4141 Bailey Rd Possibly over 300 attendees including local dignitaries Preserve Watch for Kids Birds for kids Same time as adult’s version. Children will view a bird demonstration, use binoculars on a birding hike, create a bird craft, and participate in birdoriented activities. April 11, 2015 9am – 12 noon May 9, 2015 9am – 12 noon $15/child ages 6 -10 year old Advance Registration Required: To register, please call 281 474 2551, ext 10 Along the Bayou for kids Same time as adult’s version. Children visit live bayou reptiles, canoe on May’s Pond, pond dipping activities, trail hikes and games. May 30, 2015 8am – 3pm $50/child ages 6-10 years old, Advance Registration required To register, please call 281 474 2551, ext 10 2 8 9 15 16 17 20 21 23 April School Field Trips Hands On History grade Hands On History 3rd grade Hands On History 5th grade Adaptations pre-K and K Hands On History special needs Hands On History K – 5th grade Pond Life 3rd grade How Nature Recycles pre-K and K Adaptations 3rd grade 3rd BY THE WAY: There will be scouts on our site April 24 through 26 for Order Of The Arrow. They will be working several projects for us, like refurbishing the nursery ponds and some drainage issues, probably about 80 folks, and they’ll be staying overnight Friday and Saturday. However, they cannot talk the whole weekend, so please don’t expect them to respond to you verbally. Khaki Shirts for sale: I picked up a couple from the Goodwill store and took them in for the embroidery. One long sleeve, one short sleeve, both small - can be purchased for $12. The front desk will pay me back. They are in the Volunteer Office with a tag on them. I will keep an eye open for more opportunities (Salvation Army, thrift stores, etc.) But any time you buy your own shirt – you may drop it off at the front desk and I will be glad to take it in for the logo to be added. Just be sure to attach your name, phone, and $8. Or you can take it yourself to Third Coast Graphics (301 W Edgewood Dr., Friendswood). It takes about a week. Polly Swerdlin April 2015 Bayou Foliage 5 CONTINUING EDUCATION What are the top 4 rules about outdoor safety? #1. “Look where you put your hands and feet.” If you can’t see where your fingers are… #2. “Drink plenty of water.” Avoid dehydration especially in the summer. #3. “Leave it alone and it will leave you alone.” A general rule is that, unless it eats off people, almost nothing will bite or sting you if you don’t scare it or mess with it. This includes snakes, wasps, ants, etc. #4. “Dress properly.” Covered shoes and socks can help protect against snakes, poison ivy, ants, bees, wasps, and thorns. In hot weather, dress in light colors and clothes and wear a hat. In cool weather, wear layers. When there are mosquitoes, wear lightweight pants and use bug repellent. Just a few items covered by Margaret Frick in our March 7 class NEW IN THE LIBRARY Beautiful Bird Songs From Around the World – British Library (a CD with audio recordings – thank you Karen) It’s Easy Being Green – Crissy Trask (last one from the Gift Shop – thank you Barbara) Saturday March 21st, a group of 8 new volunteers turned up for Interpretive Trail Guide Training. Unfortunately, the weather was very wet and a choice was given of indoors or outdoors for the trail hike. These brave folks made the choice to venture out for a walk in the rain - well done all of you. From left to right: Darleen Latimer, Jay Cross, Edith Erfling, Jean Booth, Greg Nenninger, Liz VanOrstrand (Trainer), Karen Sutera (Trainer), Cody Raeth, Laura Vincent and Darien Teague. Photo by Gaye Batiz. April 2015 Bayou Foliage 6 HISTORY LESSON The following write-up was found while sorting through historical documents saved by past staff and volunteers. As with March’s issue, there are typos from the original piece. Also, there were about 5 pages, but a good part of it is covered in the Volunteer Manual. "The water in the Bayou was fresh and clear. It had big lily pads on it and they had big, beautiful yellow or white flowers ... and you could look down into the water and see their roots going down, the water was so clear. The banks were lined with fishing cane, and that's where we'd cut our fishing poles from. We'd use worms or wood-sawyers for bait, and we'd catch goggle-eye perch, and bass, and gaspargou and catfish ... And up on the bands you'd see alligators lying there, sunning. They didn't bother us, so we didn't bother them." This was Middle Bayou in the 1920's, as remembered by Juanita Ballentine who was born on Middle Bayou in 1917. And this was Middle Bayou as seen by the first Anglo settlers in the late 1800's. The Henry family was the first to settle in this area, arriving from Bayou la Fourche in Louisiana. They settled land on the East bank of the Bayou, where Bay Area Boulevard now crosses. The land that they cleared and farmed is the site of today’s Bay Area Park. The Henrys were joined by other families ... the Gossmans to the North, and the Dobsons and the Ballentines to the South. This small community was known as the French Settlement, and is the area of focus for this brief history of Middle Bayou. This history begins in 1832. Texas was part of Mexico. The Mexican government allowed an Anglo Empressario, Stephen F. Austin, to offer free grants of land to immigrants into Texas. Austin’s initial land grant attracted 300 newcomers. Among these Old Three Hundred, were three brothers from New York ... The Harris brothers ... William, John and David. Each was granted one League or 4438 acres of land. On John's league, he founded the City of Harrisburg which was later to be prominent in Texas War for Independence, and now part of the City of Houston. The William Harris League was located on Galveston Bay and extended from Red Bluff on the south, to just below La Porte on the North. David Harris' League was bounded on the west by Middle Bayou and on the East by brother William's League. It is on a small portion of the David Harris League that we focus ... that portion of Middle Bayou that included the French Settlement ... the land ... and its people. Those people were to include a young British immigrant and his American bride ... the Martyns. James Martyn left his native Cornwall in the late 1860's, bound for a new life in America. Working his way from Canada thru New York and into Texas, He considered going on to the California gold fields. While in Galveston, he had a change of plans. There, in 1874, he met Elizabeth Margaret Williams who was visiting from her home in Pensacola, Florida. They became engaged, and in 1875, were married in Pensacola. Returning by ship to Galveston, they barely made port ahead of the destructive hurricane of 1875. Settling in Harrisburg, James found employment as a drawbridge tender, and the Martyns began their family. Their firstborn, Minnie, arrived in September of 1876. James Malachi was born October 4, 1878, and was named for his father and grandfather. While in Harrisburg, James renewed acquaintance with Thomas Dobson, whom he had known in England. Dobson owned land southeast of Harrisburg on a small stream called Middle Bayou. He told James of a good buy on a tract of land that was adjacent to the Dobson place. The widow, Marie de Naive, had for sale 83 acres which fronted in the Bayou and contained not only good rich sandy land for farming, but also prairie land on which cattle could thrive. All this for a price of $300. April 2015 Bayou Foliage 7 When the bridge job ended in July of 1879, James purchased the 83 acres and the Martyns moved to Middle Bayou. The small, dirt-floored house that James and his neighbors built was located on the fringe of the woods, with a view of the open prairie. James set about clearing the land down by the Bayou ... rich sandy loam that was to produce crops of sugar cane, watermelons, corn, potatoes, pears and garlic. Juanita Ballentine remembers the garlic ... "Me and one of the Dobson girls decided that we didn't want to go to school one day, so we started figuring out how we could get out of it. We were very young. We decided that we'd go down to the field and eat a bunch of garlic and we'd smell so bad that they wouldn't want us in school." It didn't work ... they went to school. James maintained a pear orchard down in the clearing near the bayou. Some of these pear trees have survived the years and in 1980 were pruned and trimmed. In 1981 they produced pears which were promptly harvested by our local raccoons. In the process of clearing the underbrush from the orchard, a patch of garlic was found, still thriving, after more than 40 years of neglect. The sugarcane patch provides an interesting sidelight in Middle Bayou history. Each family in the area had their own sugarcane patch. In the winter, right after the first frost; the cane would be cut and taken to the Ballentine syrup mill. Here the cane would be crushed in the horse-drawn mill and its sweet juice was collected. Born in 1891, Alton (Jack) Ballentine remembers the operation ... "The mill resembled an old-time washing machine wringer. We'd feed the stalks of cane in between the rollers and they'd just squeeze the juice out of the cane. When you squeezed the cane; that juice would just squirt out everywhere and get all over you. At the end of the day you could take off your overalls and they'd stand up by themselves. We called the juice 'wormjuice' because there'd always be some worms left on the cane when you squeeze it ... but it was sweet ... and the kids always enjoyed dipping in a cup and drinking the juice." The juice was then cooked into syrup in large evaporator pans. Constant stirring was necessary to prevent the juice from sticking. Careful cooking and skimming was also required. Undercooked syrup would ferment and explode when it was canned. Overcooked syrup soon turned into solid sugar crystals ... rock candy. While cooking, the froth was skimmed from the syrup ... an eyewitness remembers ... "We'd take the skimmings and put them into a barrel to ferment. After that, we'd distill it. It made some of the best rum you ever tasted ... for medicinal purposes." Some of the families produced enough syrup to ship to Galveston for sale at $.50 per gallon can. The Martyns produced only enough for their own use. This picture is from Lew Hornung’s historical collection, but no names. Most likely neighbors of Jack Ballentine coming to get their cane processed. April 2015 Bayou Foliage 8 ABNC Volunteer Duty Roster – April Weekends If you have to cancel, please do your best to find your own replacement. If you cannot, please notify your coordinator AND the Front Desk. If you can cover for any open slots, please call the coordinator for that event. When you arrive at ABNC for your duty, please check in at the Front Desk. DATE Natural 10:00 Trails 2:00 Trails Greeters History Demos Karen Sutera Karen Sutera Polly Swerdlin Polly Swerdlin 281-474-5087 281-474-5087 281-814-4606 281-814-4606 4/04 Polly Swerdlin Edward Craven Polly Swerdlin Julia Knutson Study Skins Farm House Farm Life Interpreters Demos Polly Swerdlin Polly Swerdlin 281-814-4606 281-814-4606 Jane Bingel Susan Hesley Yarn Dolls 4/05 First Sundays in Nature 4/11 EASTER Leda Parker 4/12 4/18 Liz VanOrstrand Laura Vincent Ken Russell 4/25 Leda Parker Julia Knutson Fabric OPEN OPEN Polly Swerdlin Adaptations Julia Knutson Jane Bingel Stereoscope Ray Parker Rope Making Karen Sutera Julia Knutson OPEN Jill Macomber Nancy Saint Yarn Dolls OPEN OPEN Margaret Frick Snakes Jane Bingel Julia Knutson Fabric Marie Asscherick Joe Bryan Odie Asscherick Bats Laura Vincent Julia Knutson Fabric OPEN Julia Knutson Jane Bingel Birds Polly Swerdlin OPEN 4/19 Third Sundays in Nature Eleanor Stanley Reptiles Polly Swerdlin 4/26 Karen Sutera Polly Swerdlin Zel Arbuckle Julia Knutson Snakes Eleanor Stanley Fabric Bayou Foliage deadline: 3rd Thursday of each month. April 2015 Bayou Foliage 9 P.O. Box 58828 8500 Bay Area Boulevard Houston, TX 77258 Phone: 281-474-2551 Web: www.abnc.org We’re on the Web! www.abncvols.org In Memory of Lucy 1993 – 2015 The white rat snake that had been on exhibit in the ABNC Admission Building died on Sunday, March 1, 2015. Her coloring was produced by an unusual pigmentation known as leucism. This abnormal condition prevents the classic coloration of most Texas rat snakes. Lucy, the leucistic rat snake, was donated by the Houston Zoo in 1993. For over 21 years she served as a primary exhibit animal and a gentle ambassador who helped many to overcome their fear of snakes. She will be missed by all of us who knew her. April 2015 Bayou Foliage 10
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