- Photo on our 2013 card provided by Andrew Gibson. More of his
fine work can be found at : The Natural Treasures of Ohio blog.
Master Gardeners and Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists
may use these events for their educational requirements.
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The Flora-Quest Trips are more eco-friendly than ever! Complete Agenda for 2013 Download the Quest descriptions as a printable PDF or scan the 2013 Quest descriptions below. Flora-Quest registration includes two expeditions— A choice on Saturday and our choice on Sunday. The Quests listed below are your choices for Saturday May 3rd. ALL Sunday field trips will focus on Shawnee State Park's fabulous flora,especially orchids, and every field Please bring along rain gear, extra walking shoes,guidebooks, binoculars, flashlights, and cameras. |
You'll never struggle with maps and directions our guides get you directly to the plants you want to see! a donation to the Carbon Offset Birding Project. |
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- Trips will be filled on a first-come first-served basis, so be sure to register early!
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TRIP FULL Taste This / Biting Botany guides Kevin Bradbury / Jenny Richards
Taste this- biting botany and then some. Discover nature’s wonder on this fabulous forage through the
forest with friends. This tour is sure to please with a Taste of the Wild Picnic prepared by Kevin and Jenny in
a cozy location on the edge of Shawnee. Invigorating stops to wander the roadsides and appreciate
Shawnee’s biodiversity will be enjoyed along the way. Learn more about edible native plants, including
Sassafras, spicebush, wintergreen, sweetbirch, slippery elm, basswood leaves, and tuliptree.
Difficulty level: Relaxed Distance: 2 miles Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Sunshine Birding Boys guides: Pete Whan / Jason Larson
Join Pete “Sunshine” Whan, and Jason “Tick-man” Larson, both excellent botanists and birders, on this
tour- we know not where. We do know the birding and the botany will be in great. This exclusive trip will
explore some of latest acquisitions that The Nature Conservancy has made in the new Sunshine Corridor
project and beyond. We can't tell right now where we will be going or what we will see, but
we’ve had such past success- we’ll try it again!! Pete will be scouting right up to the day of the walk to find
the best experience he can in this new untraveled land and good birds. If you like mystery, botany, birds and
new things, this is the walk for you.
Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: 2.5 mile Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Beyond Buzzardroost guides: Chris Bedel / Bob Scott Placier
Travel off trail on the Buzzardroost Rock Preserve to slump blocks festooned with Solomon’s seal,
columbine, rue anemone and ebony spleenwort, knee-high displays of blue cohosh, celandine poppy, the
beautiful red form
(f. walpolei) of drooping trillium and the co-national champion dwarf hackberry tree. A new purchase by
The Nature Conservancy adjoining Adelaide’s Cliffs is our ultimate destination and will allow for eye level
views of migrating birds from atop the cliffs as well as spring prairie flowers like hoary puccoon and heart-
leaved golden alexanders.
Difficulty Level: Difficult, off trail, some uphill sections Distance: 2 miles Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Wilderness guides: Rick Gardner / Marjie Becus
This is a true flora quest! This trip is 2.5 mile hike off trail through the remote and rugged area of Whipple
State Nature Preserve. The group will see 50+ feet dolomite cliffs with a beautiful vista, seeps, a waterfall,
and cedar barrens. Spring wildflowers are abundant, plus numerous rare and uncommon species including:
Carolina whitlow-grass, shooting star, cross-vine, and yellow lady’s-slipper orchid. This is a serious hike.
Good hiking boots and poles are highly recommended. Guides will make some additional stops to and from
the Preserve to show the group other rare species found in this biologically rich area.
Difficulty Level: Difficult, steep terrain Distance: 2.5miles Limit 10
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TRIP FULL Spring Glen Private Preserve guides: Paul Knoop / Steve McKee
Every year something new is experienced in the unique Adams County cedar glades, which includes Spring
Glen Preserve. Here in these small, dry, limestone prairies one can experience a bit of original Ohio. The
spring season brings forth new prairie grasses, spectacular wildflowers including the showy Indian
Paintbrush, Shooting Stars, hog nose snakes, prairie warblers and cob web skippers. This is a rare
opportunity for an intimate view of this closed private preserve with its owner, and one of Ohio’s most
revered naturalists- Paul Knoop.
Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: 1 mile walks will be taken Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Botany and All Creatures Great and Small guides: John Howard /Janet Creamer Martin
An adventurous field trip in the wilds of Adams and Scioto counties to find beautiful rare plants and flowers,
plus a lot of rock-flipping, butterflying and warbler-necking. Expect to get dirty knees and to go places off
of the usual beaten path. Locations will be determined by your leader’s careful pre-event scouting. You can
expect to see and hear many warblers and spring birds, plus great butterflies, reptiles and amphibians,
insects, and of course, some great rare plant species. No living thing is out of bounds on this trip!”
Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: short walks will be taken Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Ohio’s Little Smokies w/Cleveland Museum of Nat. History guides: Judy Semroc / Larry Rosche
Join CMNH naturalists for a trek down to the magnificent Shawnee State Forest. This 63,000 acre forest is
known as "Ohio's Little Smokies" and boasts of nine endangered, sixteen threatened, and nineteen potentially
threatened species of plants. In addition, the birds and butterflies inhabiting the area will have a distinctive
southern flavor, and be could be "life-sightings" for many of our participants. Be sure to bring your check-
lists, as there will be too many species to remember!
Difficulty Level: Moderate Distance: short walks and time in the field Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Flowers of the Grasslands guides: Eric Davenport / Martin McAllister
Most people wait until summer to visit the globally rare prairie grasslands of The Edge but they miss the
unique spring flora like Seneca-snakeroot, waxy-leaved meadow rue, yellow star grass and shooting star.
Rushing to beat the tall summer grasses the spring flowers bloom early and set seed before the onset of
summer composites and asters. These grass “islands” are surrounded by forests so woodland edge
ephemerals like long-spurred violet and lyre-leaved sage will be bountiful as well. Led by the renowned
prairie naturalist and former ODNR Director, Guy Denny and Cincinnati Museum Center’s new Chief
Naturalist, Eric Davenport, a genuine herp enthusiast- all things reptile and amphibian will also be fair
game.
Difficulty Level: Easy – Moderate Distance: 1-2 mile Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Through a Lens guides: Ian Adams / Andrew Gibson
If you love to study nature, you may find it is even more enjoyable when you frame it as a photograph.
Whether it is the entire landscape that catches your eye, or some little detail you would like to examine with
macro photography, today's "point and shoot" cameras do it all. This isn't some difficult class filled with talk
of F-stops and apertures! You don't need a fancy camera, your cell phone will even do. This is a nature
class. Let the experts teach you how to get those photos you will want to share with friends. Learn how
we sneak up on butterflies or bees. Get down on the ground for some exciting perspectives! Ian Adams
and Andrew Gibson will help you understand nature, and see it in a new light.
Difficulty Level: Easy – Moderate Distance: 1 mile Limit: 10
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TRIP FULL Spring Falls of Cherokee Cliff guides: Joan Maloof / Rich McCarty
Be the first to visit this new Nature Conservancy property to survey the spring flora of Cherokee Cliffs. Two
seasonal waterfalls grace the property and with spring rains should provide the perfect backdrop for spring
flower viewing. Forests below the dolostone cliffs at The Edge are the prime sites for spring ephemerals like
large-flowered trillium, toad trillium, blue cohosh and celandine poppy so this site should follow suite with
outstanding flower viewing. Be the first to know on this first-ever trip for Flora-Quest.
Difficulty Level: Difficult, Steep terrain, no trail. Distance: 2 mile Limit: 10
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― Guides and Field Trips could be subject to change to offer you the best experience ―
Concerned About Rain?
Have no fear; we have plenty of great speakers and back-up programs in case of rain.
Many of Ohio’s best naturalists are prepared to present indoor programs.
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Optional Field Trips & Programs
Morning Field Trips:
Are extra offerings for those who like to “get going” bright and early.
Enjoy the morning air with a bonus field trip or use this time for an extra hour of sleep.
Be sure to mark this on your registration form.
Saturday 6:30 –7:30am Bird in the Hand with Bob Scott Placier
Join Master Bander Bob on the side porch to seek out spring warblers, the neo-tropical jewels migrating
from their winter visit to southern climes. You’ll be amazed at the species we will find right outside the
Shawnee Lodge’s front doors.
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Moonlight Field Trips:
Will be a late night foray, after the evening program—casual and easy trips either on foot or by bus.
Participants are encouraged to bring along flashlights, warm clothes, guidebooks, and cameras.
Be sure to mark this on your registration form.
Friday Only 9:00pm – 10:30pm Sounds of the Night, Campfire, or Birds of Prey (inside)
Take your pick! At Shawnee, lots of interesting things are happening at night. Each year we offer a walk
through the forests and hollows near the lodge, but this year we’re amping up the night programs to provide
something for everyone. We’ll be lurking through woods in search of owls, particularly Eastern Screech-Owl
and Barred Owl, and amphibians which can be especially vocal this time of year. We may even get a peek at
the much more limited Mountain Chorus Frog. Hueston Woods naturalists will present Birds of Prey inside
the lodge. Caesar Creek and Cowan Lake naturalists will be doing a moonlight canoe trip on Turkey Creek
Lake, and Camp Oty’Okwa environmental educators will be entertaining around a campfire in the cabin
area. It will be hard to choose!
Sign-up sheets will be available at Check-In on Friday. Canoeing limited to 14, and Sounds of Night limited to
20. Moonlight trips fill on a first-come-first-served basis.
See us on YouTube!
| May 3-5, 2013 |
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