Wild Things—Up Close and Personal
| 2016 Q1 | story by PAT MICHAELIS, Ph.D. | photos by STEVEN HERTZOG
Prairie Park
Bald eagles, snakes, beavers, deer, owls and an endangered black-footed ferret. These animals don’t really make great pets, but children and adults in the Lawrence area can encounter them and other wildlife native to northeast Kansas at the Prairie Park Nature Center, 2730 Harper St., in Lawrence. The Nature Center preserve and education building are operated by the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department (LPRD) and financed by City of Lawrence sales tax revenue. The Center has three full-time staff: Marty Birrell, director; a naturalist; and an animal caretaker; as well as five to seven seasonal staff. Volunteers help with special events and projects like planting milkweed or eradicating invasive plants. In 2015, approximately 60,000 children and adults participated in Center events and activities. The Eagle Day events are popular, with more than 1800 attendees at one presented in Lawrence and 350 participants at one in Kansas City.
Originally established to preserve a 7-acre patch of virgin prairie, the LPRD has expanded the park to include 100 acres of wetlands, woodlands and prairie habitats, and a 5-acre lake. Opened in 1999, the education building features natural habitat dioramas, displays and live animals, including a live bird of prey collection with eagles, owls, hawks and falcons. Many of the programs are focused on introducing visitors to wild animals and their habitats. The Center has rehabilitated a number of injured wildlife, and most of those that could not be reintroduced to the wild become part of the live animal programming. Other animals are received from other wildlife rehabilitators or are “surrendered” animals that can no longer be kept by their owners. The Center also receives some nonnative animals that are incorporated into the education programs.
Prairie Park
“We come here often,” says Samantha Lowell, who was here visiting with her son Ian. “Getting to know the local wildlife is great. The staff always seems to have time to talk with the kids and let them handle the animals.”
In addition to the focus on wildlife, Birrell says the Center, “tries to generate serious conservation of the natural world and ecosystems, and preserving them for the future to benefit the children participating in current activities.” The educational programs introduce young people to difficult conservation and preservation issues, and encourage them to learn about all sides. Birrell cites teaching about the pros and cons of wind energy, which is a sustainable energy source but has severe consequences for wildlife. She also indicates the problem of lead from ammunition and in fishing lures could be resolved relatively quickly by using nonhazardous materials in manufacturing these items. A slogan for one of the Center’s programs is “to go from awareness to action,” which is accomplished through personal experiences. The idea is to encourage participants to learn about issues that impact the future of the planet as well as demonstrate the value of taking action as an informed individual and a concerned citizen. One example Birrell shares is that of a young woman who started attending events as a child became a teen volunteer, was hired as a seasonal worker and is now planning to become a marine biologist.
Prairie Park
There are several intriguing weekend adventures coming up in March and April at the Center. “March Madness Raptors” features birds and their prey (Is a Kansas Jayhawk a bird of prey?), while the “Bug Gourmet” explores whether bugs taste good to humans since they are mainstays of meals for thousands of birds. In April, during “Sounds of Spring,” instead of bird calls, participants will listen for sounds of frogs and toads. They hope to hear the male Western chorus frogs calling to attract females, as well as the gray tree frogs and northern cricket frogs. Since this program is for ages 10 and above, it is not hard to imagine the imitations of frog “ribbits” that might be a “take-away” from this weekend event.
Prairie Park
Prairie Park
Other activities at the Center are designed for Boy Scouts to earn merit badges, summer camps and school field trips that are actually in fields of native prairie grass. Center staff take the animals to local classrooms, where students can learn about and interact with various species. Birthday parties can also be scheduled at the Center with several different programs available for the birthday child and friends.
“We love Prairie Park Nature Center because they offer a very different educational experience than the library and other local museums,” says Carrie Wallace, who loves to bring her son Dmitri the Center. “There are so many good exhibits here, and the staff does a great job with kids of all ages.”
Prairie Park
The Prairie Park Nature Center recently lost a black-footed ferret, one of its educational animals, however a 4-year-old male ferret named Gryfalcon will arrive in April. Two prairie dogs, Lydia and Kitty, arrived at the Nature Center in 2015. They were born in Texas and were only 9 weeks old when they arrived in Lawrence. They will be part of the Center’s education animals.
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Prairie Park offers walking trails for bird-watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. The Dragonfly, the Center’s newsletter, provides a variety of articles on the environment and wildlife, as well as a kid’s page. Check out the Prairie Park Nature Center’s web site for information about programs and upcoming special events at www.lawrenceks.org/lprd/ppnc
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