Alfred
A. Ring Park Bivens
Arm Nature ParkBoulware
Springs Historic WaterworksThe
Conant PropertyGumroot
ParkPalm Point ParkLoblolly Environmental FacilityMorningside
Nature Center
Friends of Morningside
Longleaf Pine
Quarterly - - Spring 1997
Alfred
A. Ring Park Bivens
Arm Nature ParkBoulware
Springs Historic WaterworksThe
Conant PropertyGumroot
ParkPalm Point ParkLoblolly Environmental FacilityMorningside
Nature Center
The Farm & Forest Festival is the premier special event at Morningside Nature Center. Daily activities include nature walks through the beautiful 277 acre sanctuary with environmental displays, exhibits, arts and crafts, authentic turn-of-the-century demonstrators, gardening activities, folk-life demonstrations at our Living History Farm, live entertainment, line-dance lessons, great food, and a whole lot more!
Our children’s area will feature old-time games such as musical chairs, bean bag toss, marble shooting, and horse-shoes. There will be a tent just for children’s activities. Events in the children’s area will be coordinated by volunteers. Pony rides are available for a small fee and the horse-drawn haywagon - free on Friday - can also be enjoyed.
Friday is the special day at the Farm & Forest Festival reserved for school children from Alachua and surrounding counties. Admission is 1/2 off for pre-registered school groups attending on Friday and there will be extra educational staff on hand Friday to facilitate the large numbers of students expected. Friday’s entertainment includes Dora Ann (the lady with the lullaby voice), Sparsely, an old-time band, Kiwi the Clown, Gene Bierbaum teaching line-dancing, and watching staff shear the first sheep in our flock.
Saturday is Family Day. All other activities will go on as usual, but the main stage emphasis will be on folk music. Gainesville’s Patchwork and Fast Molasses will share musical honors this day with Dora Anne.
Sunday is Blues Day, with well-known Blues artist "Blues Man Barry Sides", and as a special treat, award-winning local children’s performing artist ANNA MOO! All other activities will continue, including the shearing of the last sheep in Morningside’s small flock.
The Farm & Forest Festival is the event that allows the City’s Nature Operations Division to really show what it is all about and it is a good way to become introduced not only to Morningside, but to the many activities sponsored by this division of Recreation and Parks. Centered on the authentic 1840 Clark Cabin, Morningside’s Living History Farm has been a much-loved part of the Gainesville scene since 1976. All Nature Operations Division proceeds from the festival are used to sponsor the environmental education programs conducted in the division nature parks throughout the year.
For more information, please contact Nature Programs Coordinator Gary A. Paul at (352)334-2170.
by Larry Johnson, Habitat Naturalist
In the summer of 1982, I began my service to the community at Morningside Nature Center. Back then it was the only nature park in town, unknown to many of the citizens of Gainesville and Alachua County. However, many of those who were aware of Morningside’s charm were introduced to its wonders by Dr. Lawrence Hetrick, professor emeritus, who did not know what it meant to be retired...
It’s a Sunday afternoon and a family pulls into the parking lot on a warm Spring afternoon. Sitting on a bench with a Dogwood walking stick in hand and a cap on his head is a distinguished gray-haired bespectacled gentleman who motions the group over. A young girl holding a jar with a brightly colored caterpillar walks up to Dr. Hetrick and asks, "What is it?" The good Doctor takes a puff on his pipe, eyes the specimen carefully, and carries on a dialogue with the youngster asking her where she found the creature and what was it doing? He then launches into a lengthy explanation that is both informative and captivating. Other visitors stop by to listen and tell stories of creatures remembered...
A scene such as this is how I first remember Dr. Hetrick. He spent countless hours volunteering his time at Morningside. It was from him that I learned about the Bluejack Oak gall (which looks more like a fruit than an insect’s intervention). I learned about who it was that made the strange crunching sounds that emanated from beneath the bark of brown-canopied pine trees. Dr. Hetrick went beyond telling and took time to show and explain in a way that was awe-inspiring. It was from Dr. Hetrick that I picked up many of my tips on how to hold an audience through picking up on what interested them and expounding upon it.
It’s a Sunday afternoon and traffic has come to a standstill on South Main Street. I look up ahead and see a man with a stick poking a six foot long alligator and effectively steering him out of harms way from the highway to the marsh at the side of the road. Curious onlookers stop and cheer as the beloved gator and his senior escort clear the pavement and make way for a more aqueous solution...
When Bivens Arm Nature Park opened up in 1984, a naturalist interpreter was needed to help out on Sunday afternoons. Dr. Hetrick rose to the occasion and agreed to share his experience and wisdom with all those who would take the time to listen. Those that did were greatly rewarded...including the alligators and turtles that he rescued from the paths of speeding vehicles. At Bivens, Dr. Hetrick filled me in on the natural history of the oak tussock moth and life styles of the web worm that are commonly found the Spring. He imparted wisdom about many of the trees and their insect inhabitants.
Dr. Hetrick passed away late this past year but his memory, for myself and many of Morningside Nature Center’s friends and supporters, will linger for out lifetimes as he gave of himself unselfishly and enriched us with his treasures which he shared so freely. He set an example that you can grow old with dignity and serve a useful purpose throughout your lifespan. For myself (as well as others, I’m sure) his spirit is alive and well in the pinelands of Morningside and emanates from the Resurrection Ferns that blanket the sturdy Live Oak limbs of Bivens Arm.
Although I still feel sorrow for not having access to his physical presence, I am inspired and refreshed by his memory. I thank Mrs. Hetrick for the time she gave of herself and her willingness to share her husband with the rest of us and I would like to encourage all those who read this article and have recollections of Dr. Hetrick to give her a call or send her a note sharing your most memorable recollections. If you missed out on meeting the now legendary Dr. Hetrick or would like to do something in particular, I would suggest sharing natural wonder with someone special who might otherwise be denied, or if you are into doing something more profound and can afford it, I would recommend funding a daycamp experience for a disadvantaged child for a week as a memorial to Dr. Hetrick. Your actions will be appreciated by more than you would ever dream of.
Gainesville Sun staff writer Marina Blomberg’s article and Sun photographer John Moran’s pictures had a lot to do with the success of the most recent native plant sale held at Morningside and co-sponsored by us and the Payne’s Prairie Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS). All of us really enjoy her articles and approve of the way Marina consistently promotes environmentally responsible horticulture. After the last sale, everyone involved was spontaneously moved with the desire to thank Marina and recognize the positive contribution she has made to horticultural practice in north central Florida. The decision was made that the Payne’s Prairie Chapter of the FNPS, the Friends of Morningside (FOM), and the City of Gainesville’s Nature Operations Division (Recreation & Parks) would co-sponsor a planting of native plants as part of the landscaping of the planned Summer House at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. Accordingly, a proclamation was drafted and framed and presented to Marina on the last day (Sunday, March 23) of Kanapaha’s hugely successful Spring Festival. FNPS’s Joe Durando did the honors, and a sizable crowd, including members of her family, were on hand to see Marina presented with the proclamation. We who are involved in this are very happy that a way was found to say thank you to Marina for the wonderful work she does in a tangible way that will benefit so many. Have Photo of proclamation
Renovations
by David Kreider, Craftsman/Naturalist Instructor
The "new" animal wall exhibit in Moriningside Nature Center’s classroom will soon be complete. During the past school-year I have been revamping the existing display. The original wall had a dozen small aquaria which housed a variety of native and exotic reptiles and amphibians. The new design eliminates most of the aquaria and divides the space into two sections - "Animals in the Classroom" and "Florida Habitats." The "Animals in the Classroom" section features animals that naturalist instructors use in teaching. The ratsnake, fence swifts, frogs, toads, and turtle often travel to schools for a program or are used outside at Morningside or Bivens Arm Park during a school program. These animals are separated in small aquaria which allow the instructor to quickly locate the animal to take to a program. This section will help the public to learn about our school programs and the animals that help us teach. The "Florida Habitats" section, defined by a backdrop of long-leaf pines, has two large aquaria that can hold a variety of animals in their "natural" habitat. The upper aquarium will contain terrestrial animals---skinks, swifts, toads, frogs, turtles, etc. The lower aquarium will display aquatic animals---crayfish, fish, frogs, shrimp, turtles, etc. These aquaria will be set up to give the viewer a realistic interpretation of animals in their native habitats found in our nature parks. Animals from these habitat aquaria will not be removed for teaching. The entire display has been designed with modular painted panels that can be removed for graphic changes or repainting. Each section will have general interpretive text and specific labels to describe animals found in the aquaria. In addition, "discovery labels" will pose questions that invite the viewer to wonder about the characteristics and habitat needs of a particular animal. The interior lighting is re-done and the storage space behind the animal wall is improved and organized to allow for more efficient care of the animals. The new animal display can both serve instructors better in teaching and help visitors learn more about the animals that inhabitat our nature parks. Come and discover the "new" animal display.
by Grant Clark, Labor Crew Leader I
The Morningside maintenance staff of Stan Harrell, Tom Wynne, Richard Mortensen and myself have been very busy since we last reported. Newcomer Richard is funded through a grant administered by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and spends every afternoon from 1 till 5 at Bivens Arm Nature Park keeping the grounds clean, assisting with trail maintenance, including removal of invasive vegetation, and welcoming visitors to the park. Richard has made a big difference in the level of service we can provide the visitors at Bivens and has brought an increased peace of mind to the maintenance staff who are spread a little less thin because of him. The big "push" the past month has been sprucing up the Alfred A. Ring Park. This has included pressure washing and sealing all the picnic tables, two bridges, the support columns for the pavilion, the border boards for the Wildflower Garden, and all the signs throughout the park; spreading two big mulch piles, cleaning and painting the bike racks, cleaning and painting the trash can receptacles, hand-painting faded letters on one of the "map" signs, and cleaning the water fountain. The team also oversaw some maintenance of the birdblind. Additionally, Habitat Naturalist Larry Walker coordinated a clean-up effort in the creek itself, and contractor John Hill and company, of Woodside Lawn Care, installed the new pergola and bench in memory of Emily S. Ring, drained, cleaned, and repaired the pond, tested the soil of the Wildflower Garden, did several major weedings, and completed the pruning of winter-damaged plants. In other words, nearly 200 hours of work during the past month has put Ring Park into very good shape, thanks to the above-mentioned folks who also were maintaining the eight other locations. By the time you read this, we hope to have begun training our new part-time temporary weekend person, Arnold Legler. Arnold has been hired for at least the remainder of the fiscal year to provide weekend coverage, primarily of Bivens, to enable more of the maintenance crew to be together to function as a crew for the big projects that loom all during growing season. Together with Richard and Arnold, you should begin to see the enhanced level of maintenance that having an expanded work force makes possible. We are proud of all of our nature parks and hope you find the opportunity to enjoy them throughout the year.
Nature Operations Division programs staff have been trying to find a way to share the Living History Farm with more people for several years, now, and think they may have finally found the way to do it. Soon after the Farm’s beginning as a part of Alachua County’s celebration of the Bicentennial back in ‘76, the primary use of the Farm, as the site of a human ecology curriculum-enrichment program for the school board of Alachua County, was established. Since then, literally thousands of area youngsters have experienced the four-hour hands-on program that gives them a figurative and literal "taste" of subsistence Florida farm life of 100 years ago.
The emphasis is on the kind of subsistence farming that the first English-speaking settlers practiced, which depended as much on their intelligent use of the surrounding forest, rivers, and lakes as it did on the products of the farm itself. However, not much has been done to make the Farm come alive for any other visitors, especially the biggest crowds that traditionally make their way to Morningside on weekends. Lots of schemes have been debated, but what the programs staff finally got permission to try was to "block off" the Farm area on Saturdays and provide costumed interpreters to talk to guests while they do the necessary work of "running" a farm, using as much authentic turn-of-the-century technology as feasible.
The first Saturday of each month as fee of $3.00 per adult and $2.00 for children under 12 is charged to cover the cost of the additional Staff and often including a guest expert. The rest of the Saturdays during the month the fee is only $2.00 per adult and $1.00. Despite five out of eleven rainy Saturdays, since beginning in January, 299 guests have enjoyed visiting the fully interpreted Living History Farm at Morningside Nature Center.
Richard C. (Dick) Mortensen, Special Maintenance Worker
Dick was born in 1936 in Minneapolis and raised in Michigan and Northern Indiana. His father was a self-taught Naturalist from Wisconsin who taught his twin brother Robert and him a deep appreciation and respect for the earth from a very early age. His mother was a homemaker who wrote poetry and animal stories. Dick was educated at Indiana University, and, later at Florida Atlantic University - majoring in Music. Subsequently, he traveled the country extensively, playing professionally with bands and orchestras. In 1970 he settled in South Florida where he worked in music, electronics, and booksales - while enjoying camping, hiking, and nature studies in his leisure time. Finally, in 1996, following a commercial venture to Gainesville which failed, Dick found himself in a fine city surrounded by great natural beauty, unwilling to return to the deterioration of South Florida. Through the efforts of the AARP Senior Employment Program and its host agency - Morningside Nature Center - he is currently working part-time to help maintain our lovely city nature parks, studying North Florida fauna and flora, and hoping to become more fully involved in the Gainesville Nature Operations.
Julie Weisberg, Naturalist/Instructor
Meet Julie Shayna Weisberg, our newest Naturalist/Instructor. Julie is a recent (December, 1996) University of Florida (UF) graduate with a degree in Environmental Education. In addition to her work at UF, Julie has also attended the Audubon Expedition Institute where she experienced programs in environmental education. She has worked with children from infancy to pre-teens in summer camp settings (North Shore Open Space Environmental Center in Miami Beach), as an intern at Cispus Environmental Learning Center in Randle, Washington, and even designed and published Family Album, an educational coloring book on Florida’s threatened and endangered animals. Julie is Project Wild aquatic and Project WET certified as well, and we are finding that her combination of youthful energy, experience, and love for the environment, for teaching, and for children make her a welcome addition to our programs staff.
Hallie Dozier, Teaching Aide
Hallie Dozier has been a Naturalist/Instructor with NOD for the past six months and we realized that we had never properly introduced her to you. So... Hallie is currently a Ph.D. candidate at UF working in Forest and Natural Resource Conservation. Her particular interest is in the spread of Ardisia crenata, a pernicious invasive exotic plant that has become "public enemy #1" here in North Florida (although it could lose that distinction to the Tallow tree). Born and raised in Louisiana, Hallie has a B.S. in foreign languages (minor in secondary education) and had, as her MS thesis project a study of domestic fuel use in rural Mexico. Since those days, Hallie has spent time conducting research in Uganda’s Kibale National Forest, serving as an evaluator for AmeriCorps programs across the United States, volunteered for five years as an animal shelter volunteer, and is currently a teaching assistant at UF. Hallie shares her life with a husband, four cats and two dogs and is proving to be an interesting and talented addition to our staff. Have photo
Christopher B. Ryan, Nature Assistant
Chris Ryan, one of the most talented folks ever to work at Morningside Nature Center, recently was made an offer he could not refuse by the Aids Coalition and is now doing wonderful PR, marketing, and special events projects with them like he used to do with us. This represents a nice career progression and we applaud his efforts to better himself. He will be a very tough act to follow, but we will let you know as soon as we find a replacement for Chris. In the meantime, we wish him every success.
There is always a lot to report come Spring from the Living History Farm and Heirloom Garden, so we will just plunge right in. Our animals are easily the most popular feature of the Living History Farm, and there is a fair amount happening here. Daisy has traveled for the third time to the UF Vet School to be bred. We are not sure what the difficulty is, but the doctors are working on it. Dairy goat Sweetpea just gave birth for the first time today (April 8th) to two kids, both does! And we hope to be fully "hogged up" again in time for Farm & Forest, as this is the first time in many years that pigs have not been part of the scene at Morningside. Everyone else is doing fine, and if any of our readers knows of anyone who would be willing to donate or sell a Dominecker rooster, we would like to hear from them. After our trip to the farm at the Tallahassee Museum, we contracted with former staffer Ed Geers to build similar wooden feed troughs for our animals. The first four have just rolled out of Ed’s hop, and not only are they more aesthetically pleasing and historically accurate, they do not require the constant cleaning we used to give the metal ones. The cane press was recently moved to make room for an expansion of the cash crop field, and it now looks a bit more like a FIELD! It has already been planted and you can already see the young cotton and corn, and the tobacco plants are starting to really fill out. We got some of the very hard to find seed for brown and green cotton that we all are very excited about. And these plants will be grown in the Heirloom Garden until we build up our stock of seed. You will be seeing lots more flowers in the Heirloom Garden this year, not just for their beauty, but the marigolds will also help ward off nematodes. Unhappily, our latest "scheme" for ridding the garden of voracious plant-eating deer--an electronic "deer scare" that senses motion and lets out a piercing whistle and burst of strobe lights--failed after the deer became accustomed to it after a very few evenings! Looks like the hogwire fence is going to have to become a reality if we are ever going to raise any plants to harvestable size! Hope all our "Friends" will be pleased with our labors when they join us in celebration of our 19th Annual Farm & Forest Festival.
A Sunday Stroll Through Morningside's Flatwoods
by Patsy McCarty
If you take the trail just beyond the front door of the interpretive building, you will be walking into Morningside's pine flatwoods. Tall pine trees (Longleaf Pine, Slash Pine, and I-don't-know-what pine) tower over an understory of shrubs, grasses, and smaller flowering plants. In areas maintained by frequent fires, the vista is fairly open. In areas burned less recently, the understory shrubs are tall and dense, and young hardwood trees intrude. On March 16, when my daughter, Amy, and I visited, the flatwoods were very dry. The Cypress Dome had no standing water. The Grassy Prairie had lots of little pine trees growing in it, and tall brown grasses from last season, and a Bluebird checking out the nest box (or maybe living in it), but it was quite dry. In the past I have often waded along this part of the trail! Drainage patterns may have changed when Hawthorne Road was widened recently, and we have had low rainfall amounts for a while, which may be part of the story. Typically, however, the flatwoods soil includes a layer of fine, dense particles not far beneath its surface, and water accumulates above this layer after heavy rains. Low-lying flatwoods areas are flooded several inches deep as the rain water slowly drains, and the Grassy Prairie turns into a shallow pond. Probably I will be wading along this trail again after the summer rains begin. Amy and I found a few wildflowers blooming beside or even on the path as we strolled toward the Wildlife Observation Blind. Among the understory shrubs, we found quarter-inch white bell-shaped flowers on the Dwarf Huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa), growing from the leaf axils (attachments) of the light-green bumpy-feeling leaves. Bright yellow, one-inch, four-petaled flowers, growing on stems that were clasped by paired clusters of leaves, we identified as St. Peter's Wort (Hypericum tetrapetalum). Later, close the ground, we also spotted the bright orange flower head of Candyweed (Polygala lutea) and the tiny six-pointed Yellow Star-Grass flower (Hypoxis juncea). Prickly Blackberry plants bearing five-petaled white flowers grew in several areas along the path. We also saw a small early-blooming species of Pawpaw (Asimina reticulata), its fragrant two-inch creamy petals draped around the stems that were only just starting to leaf out. At the Wildlife Observation Blind I was surprised by the number of birds foraging in the midafternoon. We saw lots of Rufous-Sided Towhees, Mourning Doves, Gray Catbirds, and Goldfinches (some sporting a bit of bright yellow summer plumage) and a pair of Cardinals. We also saw some very fat little rodents - probably wild rats. They have obviously discovered a good thing here at the feeding station and foraged peacefully along with the birds. I only wonder how these fat little animals manage to escape from predators. The flatwoods habitat does not have the easy appeal, for some, of some other Florida natural systems, but it richly rewards a closer look. (Note: My reference for Florida habitats is Ecosystems of Florida by Ronald L. Myers and John J. Ewel {Orlando: Univ. of Central Florida Press, 1990}. For flower species names I checked back and forth between several wildflower handbooks and Wildflowers of Morningside Nature Center, the excellent checklist prepared some 10 years ago by staffer Laura Lehtonen and volunteer Mary Swain. Of course, the identifications and interpretations are strictly my own, so be warned - I am definitely an amateur!)
Further Information is available from:
Camp Morningside is a summer daycamp offered by the City of Gainesville’s Division of Nature Operations. Centered at Morningside Nature Center, the Camp makes use of the 278 acre nature sanctuary, as well as resources found within the City’s other nature parks. Summer activities encourage children, through a hands-on approach, to develop an awareness and understanding of the earth’s natural communities. Additional activities examine Florida’s human heritage as we look at Native American life and Pioneer life at the 10 acre Living History Farm recreated within the Morningside sanctuary. A typical week at camp may include outdoor programs within the parks, guest presenters, nature and folklife crafts, and field trips.
For more information you can call 334-2170 and the Morningside staff will be happy to assist you.
