Natural History Field Trips
Greetings to all you lovers of Nature,
It seems as though our winter weather has finally given way to balmier days…perhaps. This makes one yearn for field excursions and the camaraderie of our Nature explorations. To begin the season, in May we have two field trip programs planned for you, the public, courtesy of the Extension Department of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College. The programs are as follows:
Saturday May 14th: Nature’s Salad Bar: The Hardwood Forest
10:00 a.m. until approximately 2:00 p.m.
Join other inquisitive people as we wander thru a lovely mesic hardwood forest filled with wildflowers. A mesic forest consists of trees like sugar maple and basswood that like medium soil moisture conditions. Over time the soils there develop into rich black loams, as the trees pump nutrients to the soil surface via their fallen leaves and this in turn favors tender delicious spring greens. We shall identify and taste a number of these edibles (and identify the ones that aren’t) and collect enough of them to stuff an omelet. By then everyone should have an appetite, so we’ll travel back to the college kitchen and prepare scrumptious omelets for lunch. Everyone should have a great time and no one will leave hungry.
Wednesday May 25th: Morgan Falls & St. Peter’s Dome
10:00 a.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m.
Seventy foot-tall Morgan Falls is possibly the prettiest, most magical waterfall in Wisconsin. It lies in the heart of the Penokee Range, the roots of an ancient mountain range that was once as lofty as the Himalayas. The trail to Morgan Falls is 1.2 mile long round-trip and is wheelchair-accessible. Those who so desire will hike up to St. Peter’s Dome, a rugged 3.6 mile round-trip. Flip-flops or high heels are NOT recommended! With an elevation of around 1600 foot, on a clear day one can view Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay and the Apostle Islands and see ravens flying below us from the overlook.
Morgan Falls and St. Peter’s Dome are part of a State Natural Area. The hemlock/hardwood (northern mesic) forest is unfragmented, which nowadays is a rarity. It provides the necessary conditions for deep woods songbirds along with rare species of ferns and other plants. Dutchman’s-breeches and other abundant spring wildflowers provide a colorful and interesting display in the rocky, Appalachian-like scenery.
We will meet at the main entrance in front of the LCO College. The field trip programs are sponsored by the Extension Department at no cost to the participants. This includes registration, transportation in the college’s new touring van and omelet-making supplies (May 14th) and tasty bag lunches (May 25th). Once the van fills, you can carpool or follow us in your own vehicle. Please feel free to bring the entire family to enjoy Nature and learn more about its wonders. However, neither of these hikes is fully handicapped-accessible.
Please make sure that you register ahead of time at this link: https://www.lco.edu/lcooc-extension to register for May’s field trips. Since the website is updated at the beginning of the month (May), you will need to wait to register until that time. If computer access is unavailable or you are having trouble with the registration form, please contact Cali Quaderer, LCO College Extension Program Coordinator, at cquaderer@Lco.edu, phone 715-634-4790 ext. 137.
Für unsere Exkursionen sind Deutsch sprechende Teilnehmer herzlich eingeladen. Erläuterungen in Deutsch stellen kein Problem dar.
Hope you can join us!