October 2020 - "If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere." - Vincent van Gogh - Pierce Cedar Creek Institute
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October 2020
Sandhill Cranes in Flight at Sunset by Diana Robinson
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
— Vincent van Gogh
A Letter from the Executive Director
A New Season
Hours
September was a big month at the Institute. It marked the
Visitor Center re-opening of our Visitor Center, after being closed to guests
Monday – Friday since mid-March due to the coronavirus, and our first public
9 am – 5 pm event since that closing, our outdoor Candlelight Trails hike on
September 26.
Education Building
Closed Things certainly haven’t been seamless, but I think our
commitment to follow the Center for Disease Control and our
local Barry Eaton District Health Department guidelines has
Trails served us well. We haven’t had any confirmed COVID-19 cases
Open Daily
with staff members to contend with, although we’ve had staff
Dawn – Dusk
members come in contact with others who have tested positive
or who were waiting for results. We’ve always erred on the side Michelle Skedgell,
Executive Director
of caution and hope this commitment to safely operating in our
Mission Statement “new normal” continues to serve us well.
“To inspire appreciation and stewardship
of our environment.” Our staff is working to ensure the Visitor Center remains safe for guests with a regular
schedule of cleaning and disinfecting. We have set procedures in place for indoor guests,
as well as outdoor guests attending events. Social distancing, mask-wearing, hand-
Board of Directors washing, and disinfecting are all part of those procedures.
Carl Schoessel, President
Jim DeCamp, Vice President
We know there may be setbacks, but we believe we are well-positioned to deal with them.
Jim Toburen, Treasurer We also know we may be traversing this new way of operating for a while yet. It’s been a
Dave Arnold challenge, but we are feeling positive, in a good way, that together we will prevail. It truly
Willard L. “Joe” Pierce is a new season in so many ways—and we will continue to learn and grow through these
Dan Remenap
Sharon Van Loon
changing seasons.
Matt Zimmerman
Hilary Snell, Emeritus Trustee
I would be remiss without a huge thank you to all our members and friends who have been
so generous with their support. Our Board of Trustees has been an amazing support group
and resource, providing the hands-on leadership needed through this tough time. I need
to especially thank our Board President, Carl Schoessel, who hasn’t balked at our almost
Naturally Speaking daily interactions and who has provided the guidance that has kept our organization on
is published monthly by the right path.
Pierce Cedar Creek Institute
701 West Cloverdale Road I know this challenge the coronavirus has delivered is something each and every one of
Hastings, MI 49058 you has also been dealing with both personally and professionally. My hope is that you too
Tel (269) 721-4190 are seeing a new season with a glimmer of hope and encouragement. Let’s all enjoy the
Fax (269) 721-4474 season and breathe in the crisp clean air of fall in Michigan!
CedarCreekInstitute.org
Editor
Cathy Hart-Jansma, Development Director
Design
Barb Matyasic, Marketing Coordinator
Contributing Writers
Michelle Skedgell, Executive Director
Matt Dykstra, Field Station Manager
Corey Lucas, Stewardship Manager
Sara Syswerda, Education Director
Ellen Holste, Community Program Manager
Cathy Hart-Jansma, Development Director
Ricki Oldenkamp, Volunteer
Copyright 2020
Pierce Cedar Creek Institute
All rights reserved
Brewster Lake, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Photo by Bob and Mary Meppelink
2
Local Conservation Efforts
Sandhill Crane Migration
If you have lived in Michigan for any period of time, you’ve likely
heard the rather prehistoric call of a sandhill crane. They can
even be heard as cranes stalk across farm fields and prairies
here in Barry County. Interestingly, their physical characteristics
have remained unchanged for over nine million years, meaning
their prehistoric look matches their haunting call. Sandhill
cranes are distinctive looking, four to five foot tall, large-bodied
birds with an impressive six to seven foot wingspan, thin black
legs, and narrow bill; as adults, males average 12 lbs. and
females average 9 lbs. Grey plumage on the body fades to paler
grey or white on the upper throat, chin, and face. During spring
and summer, sandhill cranes preen their feathers with iron-rich
mud that colors feathers a more cinnamon color, which matches
the natural cinnamon color of juveniles. During the fall molt,
these stained feathers are lost before migration. The easiest
identifying feature of sandhill cranes is the bare red skin of the
forehead and crown of the head. A family group
The sandhill crane we typically see in Michigan—the greater
sandhill crane—is one of the six recognized subspecies found in
North America: the lesser, greater, and Canadian subspecies,
which are migratory, and the Mississippi, Florida, and Cuban
subspecies, which do not migrate. Greater sandhill cranes
fall into five distinct geographic populations: Prairie, Rocky
Mountain, Eastern, Colorado River Valley, and Central Valley. The
greater sandhill cranes we see in Michigan are from the Eastern
population, which extends from southern Ontario to central
Florida and has a breeding range across the Great Lakes states
and Ontario.
Recovery of the sandhill crane is one of Michigan’s largest
conservation success stories. Due to habitat destruction, there
were only 16 known breeding pairs in Michigan in the 1930s,
but annual counts put the number of individuals in Michigan
today at approximately 50,000 birds. Every year sandhill cranes
return to Michigan in early March from their overwintering Adult with hatchling Fall plumage
grounds, with nesting starting in late March and sometimes
extending into June. With a possible lifespan of over 20 years,
sandhill cranes do not start breeding until they are 4 – 7 years
old; mated pairs stay together year round. While females often
lay two eggs at a time, only one young is fledged. After a summer
of fattening up on vegetation, insects, mice, frogs, snakes, and
salamanders, the young is ready to migrate with its parents in
the fall migration.
From group staging areas, most birds head south starting
in November with a few stragglers leaving in December. The
traditional wintering grounds were in southern Georgia and
Florida. However, recent annual Mid-winter Waterfowl Surveys
coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show increases
in the number of sandhill cranes wintering further north in
Kentucky, Tennessee, and even southern Ontario on Lake Erie.
Recent mild winters may be leading to this shift.
Sandhill cranes migrate together in large flocks, so when you see
a shadow move over you this fall, look up, and you might get to
see a sight relatively unchanged over millions of years.
Landing gear down
Photos on this page by Tom Hodgson | Washtenaw Voice
3
Biological Field Station Update
Summer Work in Creative Writing and Art
Being creative in the best of times is hard work. Adding the coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing and other limitations to
the creative process make it even more difficult. Despite all of these challenges, this year’s Nature in Words and Gordon Art Fellows
have delivered some amazing work. In an effort to increase the size of the creative community, the Institute funded three Nature in
Words projects and two Gordon Art Fellowships this past summer. The students all spent time in residence at the Institute, exploring the
property through day trips. You can hear more about their work during the report meeting on October 2; see page 7 for more information.
This year’s Gordon Art Fellowship recipients were Ruby Henrickson of Grand Valley State University
and Ashley Postema of Aquinas College. Ruby completed a number of plein-air paintings at the in the kitchen of color
Institute and at other natural areas around the state, as well as two semi-abstract large paintings by Addissyn House
of trees that play with lighting and perspective. Ashley worked with a variety of mediums to create clouds, cotton candy thick,
works that represent changing natural systems through the passage of time. plucked from the cobalt sky,
the perfect fair food,
Addissyn House of Kalamazoo College, Gabriella Lantinga of Grand Rapids Community College,
but I’m not ready
and Elizabeth Walztoni of Aquinas College received this past summer’s Nature in Words
for deep fried.
Fellowships. Addissyn created cardboard castle, a collection of poems exploring her experiences
and a reinterpretation of traditional fairy tales; Gabriella produced a chapbook of poems and I’m ready
drawings influenced by her time at the Institute; and Elizabeth wrote a series of short stories for the many shades of green
informed and inspired by the local community. you can see
when you leave
your house
Stopping to Grin after three months.
By Gabriela Lantinga for candy apple tree tops
Biting flies circle glistening in the sun,
my head, get caught the sage that lays
in my hair, in the grasslands.
discombobulating the shadows
my swirling mind. drawing deep shades
I can think of algae
of nothing else over bushes.
other than how I’m ready
the flies are on schedule, to earn a quarter
they attack right on time. for every mosquito bite:
The pricks swell $8.25.
my sweaty skin but there are no fairs
in little pink bumps, this year.
polka dots no cotton candy,
to accompany my frustrations. no fried food.
Beaten and battered there is six-feet-apart-
I have been whipped up individual-
creaky frames of old glasses neon-neapolitan
ripping out eyebrows ice cream bars,
I’m pinched and pulled
half-melted.
until I brave the moment,
this summer,
stopping to bask in
it’s candy apple tree tops,
the buzz of militant bugs, Gabriela Lantinga
to pluck a ripe treasure. the mint color
Black raspberries belong of my face mask
added with food dye.
to nature,
who grants their sweetness it’s all the mosquito bites,
to me, a solace red rash poison
and consolation for the poor ivy turning pink,
deeds that have bugged me. paper sack lunches,
Chew, chomp, burst and all the people
small explosions I could have hugged
return salivations had there been no
flies tangled bother pandemic.
me no longer, so
Michigan, July 2020
I can stop to grin.
4
Biological Field Station Update
The Meadow (or, One Inch Apart)
By Elizabeth Walztoni
That morning Evy and her mother screamed back and forth in the kitchen and
slammed their coffee cups around in the first glimpse of light like people with no
shame. Evy did not know what to do with her life and her mother did. This was all
they had to talk about. They hiked out to the nature center birdhouses in tight silence.
Pink dawn mist pooled in the hollows of the ground and blurred out the morning.
The elbows of the spotted knapweed plants crowding the grassland were hung with
dewy bowls of cobwebs. Evy looked up over the rise of the meadow and watched a
bird fly overheard, but really saw it, how its little body dipped under the turning of its
wings. It nearly brought her to crying and she looked back down at the trampled grass.
Her mother was almost out of sight on the trail ahead. She wore water repellent
trousers with socks pulled over them to protect her from ticks; she took the proper
precautions. Though she was now in her sixties she walked fast as ever. Every
Tuesday she looked inside the wooden boxes hammered into the prairie to see how
many eastern bluebirds had managed to nest there.
They were somewhat delicate birds with specific needs and they had a hard time
surviving. Often other species took over, house sparrows or starlings. When this
happened Evy's mother scooped their nests out and put them in the grass. There were
enough of them in the world already.
Evy had not gone to visit the bird boxes before. It was a new thing, living at home. She
lost her job in retirement planning several months before and her ex-husband had
gained full custody of their three children not long after. Now she was out of the city.
Though something stirred and told her how things were not right, and her mother said
those things aloud for her, Evy did not know where to follow the feeling. She went to AA
meetings in the damp basement of the Lutheran church in town and accompanied her
mother to her retirement activities and waited for something to reveal itself.
In the fourth nesting box, which her mother let her check alone, Evy found three tiny
eggs. Speckled, not blue, like the bluebird's eggs. They were the size of the first two
knuckles on her index finger. She remembered an old explorer's magazine article
she used to read over and over again. Well, there were two of them. One was about
schoolchildren in Moscow who lived in apartments and played in indoor waterparks Forest Grass, watercolor (top) and Forest Hill, oil painting
under lighting that turned their skin and their cartoon character bathing suits and the By Ashley Postema
chain necklaces they wore a dead yellow. The other was a photo essay exploring abandoned farmhouses of the former Dust Bowl. Silt drifted up on the
couches and beneath it the kitchen cabinets still shone with paint the blue of a bluebird’s eggs. The dry air spread up through the floors and over the
family portraits left on the wall.
Evy had stolen the magazine from the collage material shelf of her sixth-grade art class. All she wanted to do was look at the pictures of other people’s
impossible lives over and over. It made her feel things she couldn’t say. They were all children but the rooms they lived in would make them strangers.
Their kitchen cabinets were blue, like the eggs lying in a cup of feathers at the bottom of the nesting box should have been.
Evy's mother came up behind
her and said, Toss that one. The
eastern bluebird needed the box
more than the sparrows did. Her
mother knew how to make these
decisions and believe in them.
Evy scooped the feathers and
the eggs up in her hands and
held them over the grass.
They were tiny. She could crush
them between two fingers if she
wanted to. The mist was lifting,
the day burning into focus.
She would change her life. Evy
touched one of the eggs with
the tip of her finger and the sun
turned over. Comic Vertigo (above) and Change of the Moon (right)
By Ruby Henrickson
5
Cedar Creek Scenery
Ballo Aquatic Resources Fellowship: A Summer to Remember
This summer brought a new student position, the Ballo Aquatic Resources Fellowship, to the
Institute. This fellowship was funded by Barry County resident and Institute supporter Frank
Ballo, who has a passion for keeping our aquatic resources clean and functioning properly. The
fellowship student this summer was Sarah Grimes, a sophomore at Hope College, majoring in
Biology and minoring in Environmental Science, Chemistry, and Psychology.
Through the fellowship Sarah helped collect data for the Cedar Creek Watershed Management
Planning Project funded through a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and
Energy grant. This work involved performing habitat and invertebrate analysis on six stream
sites, as well as assisting with lake monitoring by utilizing a YSI probe and Secchi disk to collect
water chemistry and clarity information. She also monitored fish populations by electrofishing
and documented sources of runoff and erosion in shoreline monitoring efforts. Sarah presented
updates on her work to a variety of audiences, including the general public, fellow researchers,
and professors. Her work culminated in writing the introduction section for the future Cedar
Creek Watershed Management Plan.
Sarah was also an integral part of an ongoing wild rice restoration project, analyzing density,
species, and life-stage of wild rice populations and creating ArcGIS maps to quantify the size of Ballo Aquatic Resources Fellow Sarah Grimes
populations visually. Plus, she still found time to assist with the native plant sale, plant native assisting with habitat and invertebrate analysis
plugs into restoration sites, help install duck traps for fall duck banding, control invasive species,
and learn to use and maintain chainsaws, handsaws, brush-cutters, and the tractor with a brush hog attachment.
All of Sarah’s summer experiences will serve her well as she considers applying for master’s degree programs and pursuing a career in
research or wildlife biology. Thanks to Frank Ballo and his generous support, Sarah’s experience as the Ballo Aquatic Resources Fellow
will provide beneficial background for her future career.
Celebrating the 100th year of the North American Bird Banding Program!
Crisp fall mornings near wetlands in Michigan are often accompanied by the recognizable
"oo-eek, oo-eek" call of the hen wood duck or the distinct quack of a mallard. What most
people do not realize is many of these familiar calls come from ducks sporting an aluminum
leg band. In fact, over 20 million waterfowl have been banded in North America since the
inception of the federal Bird Banding Program in 1920!
Considered the founder of waterfowl banding, Jack Miner began banding ducks in 1909 at
his waterfowl refuge in Kingsville, Ontario, dubbed the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
Miner’s work informed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1916, which increased waterfowl
populations in North America and established the federal bird banding program used today.
This prolific banding program has been largely responsible for the protection of waterfowl
species through the coordinated effort of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Bird Banding
Laboratory and its many partners across North America including the Michigan Department
of Natural Resources (MDNR).
The Institute continued its duck banding partnership with the MDNR for its fifth season. The Institute Volunteer Mike Duits ready to release a
banding season begins in late July when sites are scouted and platforms baited with corn are newly banded drake wood duck
placed in strategic locations. The 2020 season consisted of nine banding sites, ranging in location from Hastings to Kalamazoo.
After a few weeks of baiting sites, fencing is placed around the baited platforms and a funnel is constructed to allow the ducks to freely
enter the trap and get confused on how to swim back out. This style of trap is referred to as a “swim-in” trap and is the primary method
for capturing wood ducks. With the help of landowners and volunteers, traps are generally set before sunrise, then checked mid-morning.
To minimize the stress on the ducks, they are quickly caught, banded, recorded, and released.
The banding data is recorded with the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory along with any band recovery data, which generally occurs when
a hunter harvests a banded duck or goose and reports the band number along with the date and location of the harvest. The data from
waterfowl banding is so important it has been used to establish the flyway system of waterfowl management that includes the Atlantic,
Mississippi, Central, and Pacific Flyways as well as informing changes to waterfowl hunting regulations.
Next time you hear those familiar quacks and whistles that signal fall is upon us, remember that the protection of those birds is a 100
years in the making!
6
Supportng the Mission
ScienceStrong Update
This year has brought many challenges but also many opportunities to explore virtual learning options and sources of outside funding to
support specific projects. Due to the pandemic, Education Director Sara Syswerda and the ScienceStrong volunteers were limited in their
ability to work directly with students through in-person instruction. However, by working together, they were able to implement three main
strategies to continue to support student learning:
• Moving from in-person programming to virtual programming for both students and teachers.
• Expanding the Institute’s self-guided program offerings.
• Providing increased support—both through coaching and physical supplies—
to elementary and preschool teachers and daycare providers.
With about 100 programs cancelled in the spring and summer, ScienceStrong moved
online through several programs. The Institute’s Community Program Manager Ellen
Holste partnered with Hastings Public Library’s Paige Brandli to present Science
Storytime, a series involving stories, songs, and hands-on activities for preschool
through elementary students. Ellen also moved the Strolling with Nature series online,
introducing students to the diverse insects that live in Michigan. Education Director
Sara Syswerda and Volunteer Debi Kilmartin took this summer’s teacher training
programs online, teaching 18 sessions for early childhood teachers and 18 sessions
for elementary teachers. This fall Sara, Ellen, and Debi are working to develop a series
of ten online Earth Science trainings for elementary teachers funded by a grant from
the Michigan Space Grant Consortium. They are also developing online trainings for A praying mantis visits one of the stops on the Storywalk!
preschool teachers in the fall, winter, and spring.
Along with online learning opportunities, Sara and her team have worked to expand self-guided programs, thus allowing families to
explore science and nature on their own. With funding from the Barry Community Foundation, a new Storywalk was installed, so now
families can get outside, read, and learn science year round. Plus, the annual No Family Left Indoors program was converted to weekly
self-guided activities to keep families active and learning. This fall Sara and Ellen are working on materials for Hasting Public Library’s
Barry County Builds and the Barry County Science Festival.
Additionally, Sara has been working to get more science materials into the hands of teachers in local schools and daycares. While the
teachers cannot take their students on field trips, materials from the Institute’s Lending Library can enhance their classroom lessons.
A grant from the Barry Community Foundation will allow for the purchase of non-fiction science resources for local elementary teachers
and their students.
Even at a distance, ScienceStrong is still reaching Barry County students and teachers and still providing opportunities to learn and
do science. If nothing else, this year has proven that we are adaptable and dedicated to ensuring that all the students of Barry County
continue to become ScienceStrong!
Support from Members and Friends = Fundraising Success!
Despite the changes made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s A Latesummer Night’s Green was a success. With the
generous support of over 100 members, friends, and corporate sponsors, the Institute raised over $34,000 through Fund A Future and
raffle ticket sales. While the past several months have been challenging to everyone, knowing the Institute means so much to so many
people has been truly inspiring for the Institute’s staff and Board of Trustees.
Thank you to all of our members and friends for making this fundraiser—and every day—a success for the Institute!
There’s Still Time to Run or Walk for the Institute!
Don’t miss your chance to participate in this year’s Over the Creek and Through the Woods Virtual
Trail Run. Runners and walkers of all ages are welcome to complete their race any time and any place
October 3 – 18. All participants will receive a t-shirt, participant medal, and swag from our sponsors.
For more information and to register, visit ItsYourRace.com by October 17.
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Calendar of Events
October Storywalk Book: Virtual BioBlitz: Mysterious Mushrooms
We’re Going on a Pumpkin Hunt Thursday, October 15 4 – 5 pm
by Steve Metzger Celebrate National Mushroom Day by learning the differences
Go on a pumpkin hunt to find the biggest between species, their identifying characteristics, and edible vs.
pumpkin in town with this month’s poisonous mushroom look-alikes. Participants will learn about
storywalk and along the way learn about these organisms in a Zoom presentation and then given the tools
the many signs of autumn. “I’m not scared. to go outside and try to identify and record their observations
Are you?” through smartphone apps and online reporting.
Members FREE; Non-Members $5
Nurturing Nature Knowledge Series: A Summary of the
Science Storytime: Batty About Bats
2020 Biological Field Station Projects Friday, October 16
Friday, October 2 Art and Writing Projects Noon – 1 pm 10:30 – 11:15 am
Friday, October 9 Research Projects Noon – 1:30 pm Hear stories, sing songs, and engage in play and hands-
Learn about the exciting work that happened this summer at the on activities while discovering Michigan’s many bat species and
Institute’s Biological Field Station. During the virtual meetings, their importance to our everyday lives in this storytime hosted
researchers and fellows will share the results of their work and by the Hastings Public Library and Pierce Cedar Creek Institute.
the art they created. Participants will have the opportunity to ask Although open to all ages, this storytime is recommended for
questions and engage with the students. toddlers through elementary-aged students.
FREE (donations accepted) FREE (donations accepted)
Virtual Stroll with Nature: Cry of the Wolf Virtual Lunch and Learn: Protecting the Lands We Love
Saturday, October 10 10 – 11 am
Known for their haunting howl, wolves
for Future Generations
Thursday, October 29 Noon – 1 pm
have been vilified for centuries in fairy
We all have a place we love and want to protect. Join Emily Wilke,
tales and in real-life. Explore the true
Conservation Projects Manager at Southwest Michigan Land
nature of this misunderstood mammal and
Conservancy, as she discusses the process of and benefits to
their conservation comeback through stories,
protecting land through conservation easements.
hands-on activities, and suggestions for short
Members FREE; Non-Members $5
“strolls” on trails or through your neighborhood.
This program will be live-streamed through Zoom Barry County Science Festival: RE-IMAGINE STEAM!
and Facebook Live. It is open to all Pick-up STEAM Grab and Go Kits
ages but is geared towards families with at the Institute or Hastings Public Library
preschool through elementary-aged students. Monday – Friday, October 19 – 23 9 am – 5 pm
FREE (donations accepted)
Virtual LIVE presentations on the Institute’s Facebook Page
Fall Fish Fry To Go Saturday, October 24 10 am – 3 pm
Saturday, October 10 4 – 6 pm Celebrate the many ways science, technology, engineering, art,
In Michigan, October is the month for color tours. After you’ve and math (STEAM) touch our everyday lives in this annual event.
spent the day driving through the countryside or hiking the Pick up STEAM Grab and Go kits to learn about everything from
Institute’s trails to see the fall colors, stop by the Institute to weather watching and migrating butterflies to space science then
pick up a fish fry dinner to go. The dinner features fried perch, participate in live virtual STEAM-based hands-on activities and
hash brown casserole, corn bread, coleslaw, and an apple-icious demonstrations presented by many local organizations.
dessert. Please place your order by October 2. FREE (donations accepted)
$15 per dinner The Barry County Science Festival is sponsored by
Pierce Pickups
Order September 28 – October 4 for pickup Wednesday, October 7 and Thursday, October 8
Order October 5 – 11 for pickup Wednesday, October 14 and Thursday, October 15
Order October 12 – 18 for pickup Wednesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 22
Order October 19 – 25 for pickup Wednesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 29
Ordering is easy. Go online to CedarCreekInstitute.org or call (269) 721-4190 to place your order.
All entrées served in a foil tray, frozen and ready to bake. Instructions included.
Please register for all programs online at CedarCreekInstitute.org
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