Siskiyou Field Institute / News
SFI May E-newsletter
Siskiyou Field Institute’s
May 2008 E-mail News
In This Issue:
· DCC Open House
· SOU Service Learning Revegetation Day
· Free Upcoming Events
· Other Regional Events
· Blooms and Birds Weekend Coming Up!
· Story from the Field: Send us yours!
Dear Friend of SFI,
It looks like the weather has finally decided to warm up for good, and the feathered, furry, and not-so-furry residents of Deer Creek Center are thoroughly enjoying the warm sunshine. Groups are visiting with more frequency, bringing a healthy thirst for knowledge that we love to see and encourage. Read on for a review of some recent activities and upcoming events. And if you’re thinking about signing up for a class, there’s no time like the present!
Sincerely,
SFI Staff: Sue, Erin, CeCe, Andrea, Candy and Melina
SFI Board of Directors: Craig Ackerman, Meadow Martell, Kathy Krauss, Kathy Burkey, Bob Litak, Bruce Gibbs, Lee Webb and Kristi Mergenthaler
Deer Creek Center’s Second Annual Open House
Our Second Annual Open House was a great success, with over a hundred people turning out to take tours, go on a guided hike, learn about SFI history, and see a wonderful presentation by Carol McBride on ecological landscape design. We would like to send a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who came to help, and without whom events like these would not be possible.
SOU Revegetation Day at DCC
A group of SOU freshman seminar students recently came to visit Deer Creek Center for a much-needed planting day. We provided shovels and wheelbarrows and they provided the will and the elbow grease to do some valuable revegetation in our recent construction areas. While we have quite a bit more work to do, every little bit helps, and if you visit Deer Creek Center, take a moment to peruse the recently-planted natives and see which ones you can recognize!
FREE Upcoming SFI events:
May 9: Seabirds and Marine Mammals with Keith Bensen (7 pm at Crescent Beach Education Center, Crescent City, CA) - Whales, Sea lions, sandpipers and more! Join Redwood National Park Biologist Keith Bensen as he shares information about the mammals and birds we see along our coastline. Learn more about how these species survive, as well as their unique behaviors and lifecycles. Refine your identification skills, and discover new locations for viewing wildlife.
May 16: All About Owls with Lee Webb, MS (7 pm at Deer Creek Center) - Learn more about these nighttime hunters. Naturalist Lee Webb will share photos and recordings of native owls and offer identification tips and insights into the unique behavior and life histories of these fascinating birds.
SFI’s Blooms and Birds Weekend is coming up May 16- 18th!
Spend the day exploring this unique region with our dedicated instructors, then unwind with one of our free events in the evening at the beautiful Deer Creek Center!
Birding Deer Creek Center with Romain Cooper and Dennis Vroman
May 17 at Deer Creek Center
Hear birds greeting the day as you set out early in the morning to scout avian inhabitants of the Deer Creek Center and the surrounding mountains. Visit meadows, woodlands, riparian and serpentine areas to watch birds who make these habitats their homes as well as those migrating through. Learn bird species identification and taxonomic relationships. For a comprehensive birding experience, don’t miss the FREE presentation, All About Owls the evening of May 17, and Birding By Ear with Pepper Trail (see below). $40
Botany for Beginners: Enter the Botanical Universe! with Kristi Mergenthaler
May 17 at Deer Creek Center
Don’t speak Latin? Don’t know the difference between a conifer and a cotyledon? Explore Deer Creek Center’s botanical diversity and become acquainted with plant morphology, evolution, family characteristics, and both scientific and common names. Meet flowering plants and conifers head on; take a peek at nonvascular plants, the mosses and lichens. This densely packed class will set your head spinning in a new botanical universe. $40
Ferns in the Field: Plant ID with Linda Ann Vorobik
May 17 at Deer Creek Center
Late spring is a perfect time to hike along the Rogue River to learn about ferns and their relatives, such as the horsetails and clubmosses. These lovely plants cling to the canyon walls and nestle along the trail. Learn to identify these ancient plants and understand how their natural history differs from that of the seed-bearing plants who share their riverside habitat. Flowers will be identified along the trail as well. $40
Birding by Ear with Pepper Trail
May 17 (evening) and 18 at Deer Creek Center
Stroll at dawn through fields and along the creek at DCC and hear the birds wake. Add song and call recognition to your visual bird ID skills. Give particular attention to birds difficult to identify by their appearance alone (such as flycatchers) or that may be hard to spot as they sing in the treetops (like vireos). An evening lecture with photographs and recordings of local birds will prepare participants for the next morning's field excursion. For a comprehensive birding experience, don’t miss All About Owls with Lee Webb, a FREE presentation at DCC, and Birding Deer Creek Center with Romain Cooper and Dennis Vroman (see above). $40
Siskiyou Botanizing: Days Gulch and Beyond with Linda Ann Vorobik
May 18 at Deer Creek Center
Explore botanical habitats ranging from intricate serpentine grassland, chaparral, and Jeffrey pine forest, to non-serpentine forest and Darlingtonia fen as you wind your way up Eight Dollar Mountain Rd. to Babyfoot Lake (snow level willing). Learn how soil types affect kinds and growth of plants, how vegetation is recovering since the Biscuit fire, and identify an array of spring flowers during this outing. $40
Check out the full course descriptions for these courses at www.thesfi.org. You can register online or give us a call at 541-597-8530.
Other May Regional Events
May 10 & 17: Garlic Mustard Weed Pull (Valley of the Rogue State Park) - Garlic mustard is blooming at Valley of the Rogue State Park and we need help to control seed production! Please bring gloves and kneeling pads if you would like to use them. Take some garlic mustard leaves home for salad or pesto. For more information go to:
http://oregon.gov/ODA/PLANT/WEEDS/docs/final_garlicmustard.pdf
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/kitchen/2002fa_garlicmustard.html
May 10, 9:30-12:00 -- GARLIC MUSTARD PULL - this Saturday!
May 17th, 9am – noon -- SOLV DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE CLEAN UP –
CONTACT: Gail Perrotti, 261-7796.
WHERE: Valley of the Rogue State Park, meet at the Program Area Parking Lot.
May 14: Oregon Council for the Humanities’ Chautauqua Program: “The Romantic Roots of Environmentalism” by Gail Wells (6:30 pm at the County Building in Cave Junction) – sponsored by the Illinois River Valley Arts Council (IRVAC). The County Buildingis located at 102 S. Redwood Hwy. (corner of Hwy 199 and Lister St, first stoplight). FREE
6:30 socializing
7:00 IRVAC meeting and elections
7:30 on the nose, program
For more information call 592-5296.
May 21st & 22nd: Southern Oregon Arts & Research (SOAR) Celebration of Research and Arts (9am at SOU) – This is the inaugural year of a two-day, university-wide celebration of faculty and student research and artistic activity. The opening convocation is Wednesday, May 21, at 9 am in the Music Recital Hall at Southern Oregon University. The main venue is the Rogue River Room with concurrent events in Stevenson Union, as well as across campus. The closing ceremonies and reception are scheduled for Thursday, May 22, at 5 pm. Admission is FREE. Visit www.sou.edu/soar/ for more information and to view the “Application for Participation.”
June 7th: Chautauqua Program (1:30 pm at Selma Community and Education Center) – Selma Community and Education Center (SCEC) presents "True Stories and Other Fictions in Northwest Oral History" by Tom Nash of Ashland at SCEC, 18255 Redwood Hwy (Selma's old school). For more information call 597-2007. FREE
SFI is looking for Stories From the Field!
Do you have an intriguing story from a past SFI class? Tell it to us! We are looking for a 2-3 paragraph account of our participants’ experiences in SFI classes. If you would like to share your “story from the field,” email it to erin@thesfi.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
SFI’s continuing “Wish List”
As you may know, Deer Creek Center is going through many exciting changes and renovations. However, these can take up much of our precious time and money, so that we are lacking in many basic equipment and supply needs. Here is a “wish list” of items that would greatly help out our projects and campus maintenance. If you would like to donate (or even just let us borrow) any of the following items, please let us know:
Wheelbarrows, loppers, pruners, work gloves, Pulaski’s, soil, mulch, grass seed, compost bins, native plants, frying pan: preferably cast iron (at least not Teflon)
*Please note: while we appreciate any donation, please keep in mind that the equipment needs to be in good condition and working order.
We look forward to seeing you at SFI in 2008!
Let us hear from you…we love your comments and suggestions. And be sure to check our web-site at www.thesfi.org for breaking news about courses and other upcoming programs.
Contact the Siskiyou Field Institute at:
Phone: 541-597-8530
Fax: 541-597-8533
E-mail: institute@thesfi.org
Address: PO Box 207, Selma, OR 97538
Website: www.thesfi.org
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