Today we had our second to last field experience in the Indiana Master Naturalist program. Like most classes, the last class was about “putting it all together.” We learned about context and history. We learned about intersectionality: culture, politics, and worldviews. We were integrative using our skills to identify wildflowers, birds, animals and to understand geological events. In other words, we hiked downtown Fort Wayne. Our instructor was Angie Quinn.
 
Angie is currently the executive director of Michigan Legacy Art Park in Northwest Michigan. However, her knowledge of Fort Wayne history is extensive. She has an M.A. in Anthropology for Indiana University. She was the Executive Director of ARCH for 15 years. For five years she served as development director of Fort Wayne Trails, INC. She served on the board of both the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society and Bicycle Indiana. Today we benefited from that experience.
 
We began our hike in Lawton Park. First, we were introduced in eBirds and we listened to bird calls. We then spotted birds.

As we hiked, we learned about the Miami, the Potawatomi, and the Delaware. We learned about the interactions of the French, the English, and the American colonists during the mid to late 1700s. We learned that while the French viewed the area as marked by three rivers the indigenous peoples viewed this as an area of two rivers.
 
We viewed the area as micro environments with different plants, animals, and birds. We walked past the 1930s water filtration plant that takes water from the St. Joseph River and makes it drinkable for the citizens of Fort Wayne. We also saw the statue of the unknown Frenchman who gave the three rivers their current names.
 
As we walked we paid attention to elevation. This explained why forts were built in certain areas. It reflected the impact of ancient geological events. It also explained transportation routes. Part of that transportation included the rivers. However, electrical power also meant trolley cars and continental trains that supplied  coal. We walked past the sites of electrical power creation, and hubs of transportation.
 
We walked past reclamation of land such as an extensive rain garden and new trails. 

We learned about people who impacted the area. This included Chief Little Turtle whose memorial we visited. It also included Anthony Wayne who eventually claimed the area for the young United States. We learned about William Wells, who was raised by the Miami, became close friends with Little Turtle, and became a spy of the United States. Most of our walk was on the original land that made up the 320-acre land and farm that was granted to Wells by the United States Congress. This substantial gift was in appreciation for his military service, his interpretive service, and his service as an appointed Indian Agent. .
 
We learned how to put a talk together. That included how to keep hikers safe on the trail (from traffic) and how to adapt to a changing field trip.  The field experience was a perfect way of being reminded that naturalists deal with animals and plants, with cultures and peoples, with history, and with the physical environment. It was a perfect way to launch us into being master naturalists. 

As we inch toward summer Fort Wayne experienced it’s third Eco FEST. The event had been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and it appeared people had missed it. ECO FEST’s mission is simple; increase awareness and educate about sustainability, celebrate businesses and organizations whose mission push forward sustainability, and encourage community involvement in making sustainability accessible to all. 
 
The festival was held at the Headwaters Park east pavilion. The site was full of tables of agencies, vendors, and art. The hall was aromatic as the air filled with the smell of plant-based street tacos, kombucha, sour dough, and spices.  While the hall was loud with the buzz of excited attendees it was also filled with the sound of local musicians.

Vendors included green cleaning products, resale clothes, art, fabrics, foods and garden and landscaping supplies. Agencies and organizations included many of our familiar friends, Little River Wetland Projects, ACRES Land Trust, L.C. Nature Park, Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rehabilitation, and the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indian. There were agencies focused on the health of watersheds including the St. Joseph and the Maumee (two agencies). Agencies focused on permaculture, conservation, forests, organic gardening and native plants.
 
One of the goals of ECO FEST is to keep the momentum of the event going throughout the year. That is possible by composting, eating local, recycling, using alternative transportation, and getting actively involved and committed to a greener tomorrow.    The day was inspiring. The sponsors, the activities, the foods, and the camaraderie highlighted why this festival was missed and why attendees and volunteers are looking forward to ECO FEST 2023.

This week the focus of the Indiana Master Naturalist program was on wetlands. Our teacher was Kate Sanders. Kate has a M.S. in Biology with a focus on stream ecology, fish communities, and ecotoxicology. She has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service. Beyond that she has worked in aquaponics and restoration. It was clear that Kate knows wetlands.

Our study of wetlands was in two parts, classroom instruction and field experience. Both were enlightening. In class we were introduced to Indiana related history, to definitions, and to the issues related to todays’ wetlands. We learned that since the 1700s Indiana has lost 85% of its original wetlands. This is important because wetlands provide home and food for rich, diverse, biological communities. However, it is also clear that the wetlands were not drained because we were driven to destroy native ecosystems. Rather, the “Swamps” of the day were impediments to progress. Transportation was difficult. Farming was difficult. Disease in the form of mosquito born illnesses were rampant and deadly. Wetlands were not viewed as life-giving. Instead, they were associated burdens. Their impressions weigh upon us today. Kate Sanders pointed out that we get “bogged down” at work, we work the weekend because we are “swamped”. Draining the wetlands was seen as real progress. Agriculture and forestry became a boon for Indiana. That is, until it wasn’t.
 
Channelizing rivers or ditches, draining wetlands, increased agriculture and related fertilizers into watersheds have all lead to threat to our water. The Indiana Aquatic System consists of lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, and wetlands in the form of marsh, swamp, and bog. All are polluted and diminished. The class focused on identifying the various watersheds of Indiana. They include Lake Michigan, the Maumee River, the Ohio River, the Wabash River, and the Illinois River. The watersheds are compromised because of both agricultural pollutants related to farming and urban pollutants. Beyond that, the loss of wetlands and the channelization of rivers and streams (ditches) have reduced biodiversity and the ability to purify water. We are not however without solutions. This includes wider buffer strips along ditches and two stage ditches. It includes increased water treatment plat holding capacities, (the projects currently underway in Fort Wayne), rain gardens, and deceasing use of lawn fertilizers.
 
Not surprisingly we learned what a wetland is. The Army Corps of Engineers uses three criteria; hydric soil, hydrophytic plants, and wetland hydrology. We were able to see examples of all of this on our field experience at Fox Island Park. We were able to identify wetland plants in an almost Dr. Seuss manner. We learned “sedges has edges, rushes are round, and grasses are hallow, all the way down.”
 
I spend a great deal of time at Eagle Marsh, part of The Little River Wetland Projects. So I am familiar with the functions and values of wetlands. They clean the water and improve water quality. They reduce sediments. They reduce flooding. They provide homes and food for plants and animals.
 
We also learned that “Wetlands” is a general term and that in fact there are numerous types of wetlands. These include floodplain forests, wet forests, bogs, fens, Shrub-Carrs, Shallow Open Marsh, and Sedge Meadows. Finally, the reoccurring theme, we learned more about the threat of invasive species to the ecosystems. One of the biggest values of wetlands is the biodiversity it provides. Invasive species reduce that diversity and in some cases reduce the environment to monocultures.
 
During our field experience we saw various wetland ecosystems at Fox Island County Park. Bowman Lake was formed as a Borrowed lake, the land borrowed for highway construction. The Frog Pond was formed as a test pond, the sand was tested for road construction. The sand was not usable, it was wind pulverized glacier sand that was too thin to be useful. We saw sycamore, sedges, rush, grasses. We saw Eagle Marsh across the waterway. We saw a field of Pawpaw’s trees in blossom. We saw tadpoles, a salamander larvae with gills, a bull frog, and we saw lots of smiling future Master Naturalists. This was a great class and it will help me in my work at Eagle Marsh.

I am currently a member of the class of 2022 Indiana Master Naturalist program in Allen County. I am one of twenty-five students. The purpose of the training is to make us well-rounded, generalist, naturalists who can then serve our communities as volunteers. The program lasts from February 22 until May 28. During that time we are taught by experts and experienced naturalists. The classes take place at Fox Island and Metea County Parks and the University of Purdue Fort Wayne’s Environmental Research Center. We learn about Native American history, soil and geology, insects, birds, retiles and amphibians, mammals, plants, and how to be a naturalist interpreter. The classes are both data driven and hands on. To become certified as a Master Naturalist we must also complete 24 volunteer hours.
 
Today was our second class on birds. We met at Fox Island and spent four hours “birding”. This required us to model birding ethics, to become familiar with our binoculars, and to use our guide books to identify birds. We had to utilize SCAN or Size, Color (including field marks), Actions or behaviors, Note, (their song) and Setting or their habitat. We broke into three large groups and slowly hiked the park which consisted of woods, fields, and wetlands. We assisted one another in our developing skills and recorded our finds. Afterward we gathered in the nature center and shared our findings. All together we had spotted 45 different species of bird. This included:

• Canada Goose
• Barred Owl
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Eastern Crested Flycatcher
• Great Crested Flycatcher
• White-eyed Vireo
• Blue-headed Vireo
• Yellow-throated Vireo
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Tree Swallow
• No. Roughed-winged Swallow
• Carolina Chickadee
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Tufted Titmouse
• House Wren
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Eastern Bluebird (my favorite)
• Veery
• Wood Thrush
• American Robin
• Gray Catbird
• Nashville Warbler
• Yellow Warbler
• Black-throated Blue Warbler
• Yellow-rumped warbler
• Palm Warbler
• Black-and-white Warbler
• Mourning Dove
• Eastern Towhee
• Field Sparrow
• White-throated Sparrow
• Northern Cardinal
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Indigo Bunting
• Red-wigned Blackbird
• Common Grackle
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Baltimore Oriole
• American Goldfinch
• House Sparrow

 
Now to be sure, none of us saw all of these birds. There are 17 species on this list that I did not see today but my peers did. What is amazing to me is that practically next door at Eagle Marsh are a number of different and larger birds. At the marsh I have spotted Bald Eagle, Great Horned Owl, Mute Swans, Herons, Egrets, Red-tailed Hawk, and Turkey Vultures. In fact, 250 different species have been spotted in the wetlands.  
 
Last week we identified wildflowers. I felt ignorant and identifying the plants and using the field guides was a laborious challenge for me. Well the same could be said about today. However, I found this to be fun. I love using my binoculars. I love looking at habitat, behavior, color. Just like with the wildflowers, I simply need more practice and I will enjoy getting that practice.
 
Field work and hand-on exercises with the Indiana Master Naturalist program must be seen in context. Yes, we were looking for birds. However, along the way we also saw flowers, trees, squirrels and chipmunks, land snails, and thousands of tadpoles. Perhaps the best part of the morning as getting to know our peers and instructors in a different setting. It was fun to enjoy one another’s gifts, knowledge, and humor on a bright sunny day in a preserve. The IMN program is a great program.

​As I begin to immerse myself into the local green community I am surprised at how much overlap there is. One site or preserve will call out for volunteers and folks from different parks, universities, land services or communities will show up. We all have our favorite places where we invest the majority of our time. However, we all appreciate the variety of programming and events and especially the diversity of nature that is offered by all of the sites.
 
My main focus at this time is the Little River Wetlands Project and specifically Eagle Marsh. I love all the very different trails, the diversity of plants and animals and the stark contrast of the seasons. However, I also love the nearby environs; Fogwell Forest, Fox Island, Oubachie State Park, L.C. Nature Park, and Lindenwood Preserve. So just like my growing number of green friends, I have a favorite site but I am not exclusive. This helps me stay in a state of wonder and get excited about the next new experience.

So why have a primary focus? To know a place, to listen to it, learn from it, to let it become a part of you takes time. To have something to give back to a place takes practice, patience, and growth. I now know where to go to watch the mink, I know where the swan nests are, I know the changing contour of the land. I am learning from Eagle Marsh and I will have something to give back to others visiting the wetlands.
 
One of the things I am learning is that service and education does not happen exclusively at a park or preserve. Some time you must force yourself to go to a Brewry! The first Wednesday of each month volunteers for LRWP gather at Hop River Brewing Company. Again, I was not surprised to see folks from other parks and services gathering to help. This is an evening of Volun-beering. Some of us gather outside and planted native plants to give away at tours and for the upcoming Eco Fest. Others gathered inside. They projected photos from the iNature app site. This past weekend was the City Challenge in which 200 cities around the world capture photos of plants, animals, insects and then work together to identify the photos. Our group had folks who were experts on plants, insects, and fungi. We did not have any bird folks tonight. We confirmed a number of identifications. I was surprised to see six of my photos as part of this global effort. That is a very modest contribution, but it is also a beginning for me. If you are interested in supporting the environment but really do not want to go out into nature then this might be a compromise you could enjoy. You can also bring your children because there is a child menu and the focus is on getting your hands dirty, planning for a healthier environment, and having fun learning.