Nature Camp - Great this Year

Twenty-three youth enjoyed Marguerite Nature Preserve's Summer Nature Camp the last few days. Tom Dale and Karen Demers brought the natural world to life. The preserve became the classroom - the outdoors replaced our tech world for three days.

Above left, Tom discusses the relationship of local names to our local natural world. In this case, Kirtland College named for a scientist who was an important link in the discovery of Kirtland's Warbler. On the right he shows a life-sized model of the American Lion - an extinct animal that roamed our continent in the past. The model was based on fossil remains found in California.
Later, Tom highlighted the remaining wild cats in North America - the jaguarundi, margay, ocelot and jaguar which do not reside locally. The cougar, lynx and bobcat can be found in our Michigan.

The Adventure of Geocaching for Kids

Our friends at the Headwaters Land Conservancy will come to the cabin Saturday, July 31 from 10 am to 12:30pm to start the kids into Geo-Caching. Children: 10-15 yrs.old/Parents Welcome.

Join instructors from HeadWaters Land Conservancy for an exciting morning of navigation and orienteering in the Gahagan Preserve. Compasses and GPS equipment will be provided, but if you have your own, please bring them. There are a number of well-hidden geocaches to be discovered! RSVP @ 989-731-0573 or land@headwatersconservancy.org.

Walking Around

Gahagan Preserve is a reflection of much of natural northern Michigan. A varied collection of plants and organization. As you drive to the parking lot through the Roscommon Industrial Park and the piles of decomposing leaves, it is hard to imagine the beauty that lie behind the cedar post fence at the entrance to Gahagan. The wildflower planting surround part of the parking help pursuade you to take a chance. Once inside, the visitor is greeted by tall pines. A walk towards Tank Creek adds in cedar, hemlock, cattails and fern. The woodpeckers work away and you have the opportunity of viewing an owl. Songbirds chirp in the background. Aspen and small pines inhabit the back portion. The creek gathers more water, slides passed a spring or two. Animals enjoy the quiet by the water and the liquid that they need. Take a trip one morning; one evening and enjoy. - A trail map is found at http://www.gahagannature.org/.

Good Bug – Bad Bug

Something in your garden bugging you? Join Barb Bishoff, Master Gardener and member of the Kirtland Garden Club, for a discussion on Integrated Pest Management at the cabin Tuesday July 27 7:00pm. Identify the good and bad bugs that crawl or wiggle into your floral or veggie garden. Then learn how to encourage the good bugs to work for you!

Bugs in Your Garden?

Join us Tuesday July 27, 7PM at the cabin as Barb Bishoff, master gardener, discusses garden bugs. She'll let you know which ones are harmful and which ones help. Help yourself and your garden. See www.GahaganNature.oorg for all the preserves special programs.

Gahagan "Children's Nature Camp"

Once again Gahagan Nature Preserve presents an outdoor half-day camp for children 6-11. The three-day event is Tuesday, July 20 to Thursday July 22; 9:00am-noon, rain or shine! This year's program is called Tracks & Traces. Skeletons, Skulls, Teeth, Tracks, and Traces. These clues indicate where and how wild animals live. Curious? Join Naturalists/Educators Tom Dale and Karen Demers to make exciting discoveries at the Preserve!

Gahagan Members Free Non Members: $5 per day Registration forms available @ the CRAF Center. Mail to MGNP, P.O. Box 421, Roscommon 48653, or contact Tom Dale @ 989.275.3217 or thdale@core.com.

What a chance for the youngsters to get outside and have fun doing it!

And on the night of the final day - July 22 at 7 pm - adults and children are will want to be at the cabin for Cat Tails as Gahagan's naturalist, Tom Dale pulls interesting things out of his trunk (no not that kind of trunk, he's not an elephant) as he tells tales of the world's cats.

July's Pine Whispers

Check out what was happening around Marguerite's cabin on July 3, 1968. Visit her Pine Whispers article first published in her North Woods Call newspaper by going to http://www.gahagannature.org/. Each month there is "new one from the past."