June 2001 Issue:
In This Edition:
|
Butterfly Walks Schedule |
|
4th of July NABA Butterfly Count, July 8 (NOT July 4) |
|
Volunteers Needed |
|
New Members; Member Spotlight |
|
Trip Report - butterflies (and plants) seen on May 13 outing |
|
Book Review - "Green Phoenix" |
|
…And more! |
|
Here is the schedule of all our walks for the rest of the season. We have tried to vary it by type of habitat so we can get a good variety of butterflies. Please SAVE this newsletter so you have the schedule. Still to come are our outings to Dennis Bozzay's and Kraig Paradise's gardens in August. We will notify you sometime in July with dates and directions. June 30, Saturday, Shaw Nature Reserve (formerly Shaw Arboretum), 9:45 a.m. July 7, Saturday, Busch Wildlife Area, 9:45 a.m. July 8, Sunday, butterfly count at Busch Wildlife Area, 9:45 a.m. July 14, Saturday, Mark Peters' prairie, 10:00 a.m. August 18, Saturday, Horseshoe Lake State Park, Illinois, 9:45 a.m. September 16, Sunday, Hilda Young Conservation Area (Eureka), 9:45 a.m. October 21, Sunday, Busch Wildlife Area, 9:45 a.m. *********************************************************** 4TH of JULY NABA BUTTERFLY COUNT, Sunday, JULY 8 NABA sponsors a 4th of July Butterfly Count in the United States, Canada and northern Mexico every year. This year our Chapter will hold its Count at Busch Conservation Area on Sunday, July 8. Meet at the Jim Z. Butterfly Garden (by the headquarters parking lot) at 9:45 a.m. Bring water, sunscreen, hat, and insect repellent. There is a charge of $3.00 per person, which is paid to the national office to cover the cost of publishing the results of all the counts. Our chapter will get a copy of the book. *********************************************************** BUTTERFLY GARDEN VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Jim Ziebol Butterfly Garden at Busch C.A. is a joint project of NABA and WGNSS. Many volunteers last year put in long hours and donated many plants to get the garden established. WGNSS contributed $200 for the purchase of plants. This year we have added new plants, expanded the size of the garden, and are improving its appearance. It has been a rewarding experience and we are proud of how much we have accomplished in such a short time. What we are now facing is maintenance - especially watering! Last year, a small group of volunteers (including Jeannie Moe, Yvonne Homeyer and Jim Ziebol) kept the garden alive with regular weekend waterings. Luckily for us, it rained a lot last summer, especially in June. This year, we are already in near-drought conditions and things are looking grim. If the drought continues, our garden could be in jeopardy. We very much need as many members as possible to join in as volunteers to assist with the watering of the garden. It involves setting up hoses (with the assistance of Busch staff), letting the sprinkler do its job for an hour or two (while you are out taking a butterfly walk!) and then taking the hoses down and putting them back. It can be done during the week or on the weekend. If you are willing to contribute at least two hours this summer, could you let me know as soon as possible: homeyer@earthlink.net)? Just volunteering once could make the difference between a scraggly garden and a thriving one. Thanks for your help! PRAIRIE BUTTERFLY WALK Mark Peters, a NABA member, has invited us to visit his prairie and enjoy the butterflies and native plants. Mark, his wife Beth, and their two daughters have been restoring their prairie for several years and we are delighted to accept his invitation! The walk will be on Saturday, July 14, starting at 10:00 a.m. *********************************************************** NEW MEMBERS The following people have recently become members of the St. Louis Chapter of NABA since March 1: Bonnie Gayton, Donna Reinholdt, Father James Sullivan, Audrey and Jim Foley, Margaret Gilleo, Carol Gronau, Linda Virga, Leslie Lihou, Mark Peters and Bruce Davis. Welcome to all of you! MEMBER SPOTLIGHT One of our informal objectives is to get to know each other while we get to know the butterflies. In an effort to give our members a little more personal information about one of us, this newsletter's spotlight is shining on KRAIG PARADISE. Kraig was raised in Jennings as one of fourteen children. He works as an occupational therapist for the Special School District. Animals have always been of interest to him, and the visit of the Ross' Gull to St. Louis really got him hooked. Kraig has been very active in maintaining a butterfly garden at New View School. He is forty-six years young. Kraig is also active in the Webster Groves Nature Study Society and started WGNSS's first butterfly garden 3 years ago at the North County Recreational Center. Kraig single-handedly planted, watered, and cared for that garden. The center's manager was so impressed that he asked Kraig to expand the garden last summer. Kraig's large North County back yard is completely filled with wildflowers, most of which attract butterflies. No mowing needed here! His garden has been featured in an article in the North County Suburban Journal and was chosen by the Wild Ones for one of their outings. By popular demand, Kraig has agreed to host a tour of his garden for NABA in August. His butterfly yard list is impressive. His garden is an example of what can be done in a suburban setting to make it attractive to wildlife and enjoyable for humans. We will notify you later of the date and time. You will not want to miss this outing. Say "hi" to this enthusiastic member. *********************************************************** TRIP REPORT, BUTTERFLY WALK, May 13, 2001 Location: Valley View Glade, Jefferson County Butterflies Seen: Dusted Skipper (rare) Flowers in Bloom: Orange Puccoon Plants in fruit: Ground Plum CONGRATULATIONS Our President, Yvonne Homeyer, has received the Conservationist of the Year 2001 Award from the St. Louis Audubon Society. Congratulations, Yvonne, on a job well done! YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS President: Yvonne Homeyer If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Yvonne Homeyer BALTIMORE CHECKERSPOT *********************************************************** BOOK REVIEW - GREEN PHOENIX An uplifting book to add to your summer reading list is Green Phoenix: Restoring the Tropical Forests of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, by local author William Allen. Bill presented a slide show and talked about his book at a recent event sponsored by the Rainforest Alliance. Green Phoenix tells the story of a group of dedicated scientists determined to restore the destroyed tropical forest in northern Costa Rica along the Pacific Coast. The effort was driven by a conservation biologist named Dan Janzen of the University of Pennsylvania who has worked in Costa Rica since the early 1980s. The restoration of the tropical forest in the Guanacaste Conservation Area is proof that we cannot only stop the further destruction of tropical forests but actually restore the forest in areas destroyed by farming, fire, and development. Bill is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch whose current assignment is environmental issues. *********************************************************** AND MORE! BOARD MEETING The next Board meeting will be Thursday, August 23, 7:00 P.M. at Yvonne Homeyer's house, 1508 Oriole. VISIT OUR WEB SITE at http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm. It has lots of useful information, thanks to Dave Larson, our Webmaster. TIP FROM TOM KRAUSKA (ARTICLE ON MONARCHS) For a good article on Monarchs, visit ZOO TRAVEL TRIP ("MONARCH MANIA") TO MEXICO, February 3-8, 2002 The St. Louis Zoo's curator of invertebrates (and NABA member), Jane Stevens, will lead a trip to the wintering grounds of the Monarchs in Mexico. An extension is available to Puerto Vallarta where one can see Humpback whales, birds and other creatures. For more information, call Zoo Travel at (314) 781-0900, ext. 394. NEWSLETTER ITEMS WANTED If you have a newsletter item (announcement, article, useful information, funny story, etc.), please pass it on to the Newsletter Editor, Scott Marshall at (314) 961-0977, Scottmarshll@cs.com. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION If you or someone you know would like to become a member of the St. Louis Chapter of NABA, please fill out this application: Name _____________________________________________ *********************************************************** *********************************************************** |
Back to: Current Newsletter
