Take it Outside!

Connecting with the natural world has been shown to positively influence both physical and mental well-being for kids.

The average child today has fewer and fewer opportunities to enjoy the experience of unstructured outdoor play that is so essential for forming those connections.

Our New York Field Office helped launch a landmark project called the Hands-on-Nature Anarchy Zone, in collaboration with Ithaca Children’s Garden.

Getting dirty digging in the mud at Ithaca Children’s Garden

Featured on the Katie Couric show and recognized on NPR, the Hands-on-Nature Anarchy Zone integrates models of nature play, adventure playgrounds, and city farms from Germany, Scandinavia, and the UK.

Ithaca Children’s Garden is the first example in the US of integrating playwork and nature-based learning into a children’s garden setting.

Ithaca Children’s Garden is where children of all ages and abilities are free to explore, experiment, and connect with the natural world. In collaboration with Ithaca Children’s Garden, The Service helped establish one of the first adventure playgrounds in the US, along with natural playscape designer Rusty Keeler and early childhood development specialist Elizabeth Stilwell.

Creating climbing structures using found objects, Ithaca Children’s Garden

At the heart of the Hands-on-Nature Anarchy Zone is the philosophy and practice of free play, meaning children get to decide what they do (and don’t) want to do.

In other words, this is one of the rare places where kids are in charge.

They get dirty, take calculated risks, build and destroy things. It also means that kids will make decisions, solve problems, generate creative ideas, and navigate social situations independently.

Kids are encouraged to take calculated risks as part of Ithaca Children’s Garden

Free play empowers kids to explore and connect with nature in ways that are most meaningful to them. These experiences are likely to stay with kids for a long time and stimulate greater respect and love for nature.

On site, a storage shed houses tools and materials to be used during programs. Locust logs, straw bales, topsoil, river clay, cardboard, sand, and boulders, invite children to play, create, destruct, work together, work alone, solve problems, and have fun.

Free play allows for new friendships to be formed at Ithaca Children’s Garden

Though the idea is straightforward—letting kids play the way that they want to play—the execution can be difficult for the uninitiated because it is so far removed from what many families are used to.

Adult Playworkers staff the Hands-on-Nature Anarchy Zone to provide a safety net without dictating how kids should play. In this way we are working to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards in a free play environment.

 

A Passion for Piping Plovers: Annie Larsen, 2017 Refuge Biologist of the Year Award Recipient

Today we recognize Annie Larsen, a wildlife biologist at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, who is the recipient of our regional Refuge Biologist of the Year Award. Annie has worked for the Service for 26 years and has spent the majority of her career at Prime Hook.

The award recognizes Annie’s dedicated efforts in the spring and summer of 2017 to document and protect piping plovers on the refuge’s recently restored barrier beach. The restoration was part of a $38-million project supported by federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery that also rebuilt 4,000 acres of tidal marsh. The project enhances habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife and makes the coast more resilient to future storms and sea-level rise.

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Annie and learning about her work.  Here’s what she had to say.

Annie Larsen, Credit: Maddy Lauria/The News Journal

Prime Hook NWR is in a unique position to help piping plovers, which are listed as federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Why is this?

Delaware has so little undeveloped barrier beach habitat left. The State manages some areas, but they are not as strict as we are. The intensive management we do on the refuge in closing the beach and prohibiting a lot of activities gives the birds a chance.

We also were fortunate to receive the Hurricane Sandy funding to create almost two miles of beautiful beach strand parallel to the Delaware Bay. It’s very inviting to migrating and nesting shorebirds and spawning horseshoe crabs, and unusual for our location and situation.

One of the back barrier salt marshes at Prime Hook NWR, Credit: USFWS

Tell us about your first time seeing piping plovers on the refuge after Hurricane Sandy. What was going through your head? What made these sightings unusual?

The tidal marsh restoration project was still underway in 2016. The spectacular thing was, as we restored the beach —  lo and behold, we saw American oystercatchers and least terns setting up territories and nests! Then, along came a piping plover, and we said “no way.”

I was always told piping plovers wouldn’t nest on a beach with little wave action like on the Delaware Bay because they like the Atlantic coast for habitat. We were shocked. There were still construction crews and equipment out there, and we had a pair of piping plovers set up shop.

The pair laid four eggs, and we enclosed the nest with fencing. It was a late nest and, unfortunately, the eggs were eaten by predators. The pair abandoned the nest, but it was just incredible. That was the first time ever we had piping plovers nest at the refuge. The next year, we had eight pairs of nesting plovers who laid 27 eggs, hatched 18 chicks, and raised 12 to fledging. This was totally mind-boggling to us.

Annie Larsen (far left) works with Service partners to collect data during the Hurricane Sandy Saltmarsh Restoration Project Fish Characterization Study, Credit: USFWS

What fascinates you most about piping plovers?

I was surprised to see the tenacity with which the pairs do all kinds of tricks to protect their nesting territory. It’s astounding to watch the males chase terns and laughing gulls away. This adult bird, a small fuzzy ball on two sticks, can chase these larger birds away. Watching the male and female work in tandem to build their nest and protect it against other birds and other piping plovers is  stunning. They accomplish so much in such a short time to propagate the species.

A piping plover and its chicks, Credit: USFWS

Two piping plovers feigning broken wings to protect chicks, Credit: USFWS

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?

My biggest joy is sharing what I experience, especially with wildlife and conservation, with the public. I have such a special job — not everybody gets to experience or know about the work happening on the refuge. It’s always a pleasure when people stop me in the field and say ”Hey, what are you doing?” I love to show them the equipment and what I’m working on. It’s rewarding to see how much people truly appreciate the work we do.

I think it’s important for people to have a sense of place. No matter how many seasons I spend at Prime Hook Refuge, every season is a new and exciting thing. With that sense of place, you know how the seasons progress and what comes and goes.  It becomes a neat foundation for a lot of the biological work you do.

What does receiving this award mean to you?

I work for my own satisfaction and the joy it gives me. My career with the Service has given me the opportunity to experience a lot of things. Receiving this award is the culmination of all those experiences, and it’s so heartwarming to see people appreciate my passion. You don’t look for it, but when it happens it’s the greatest thing in the world.

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https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2018/05/21/endangered-piping-plovers-delaware-beach-restoration/623541002/

 

 

Women in the outdoors give hunting a shot

 

 

 

Scenic view of Wallkill River NWR

On a warm autumn Saturday, three women gather together at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge with their crossbows and archery equipment. Reminiscent of Katniss Everdeens’ from the Hunger Games Trilogy, these women may also inspire more youth and adult women to take up bow hunting. Mikalia, Maria, and Tanya are participating in a Women in the Outdoors hunt, and members of the refuge staff and National Wild Turkey Federation are ready to guide them in the field.

The three women are novice or inexperienced bow hunters, and the dedicated refuge hunt for women, by women, offers a unique opportunity for them to ask questions and get hands-on experience with experts. It is the second annual Women in the Outdoors hunt at the refuge, offered through a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wild Turkey federation.

 

 

Mikalia, Maria, and Tanya pose with National Wild Turkey Federation banner

The refuge is closed this day to everyone else. In the quiet, Refuge Law Enforcement Officer Mike McMenamin looks for signs of deer. Like a biology detective, he points out a broken branch where a buck rubbed his scent, hoof scrapes on the ground, and other places where deer had left a mark.

Chelsea Utter, wildlife refuge specialist and a National Wild Turkey Federation hunt mentor, sits patiently and quietly with Mikalia. Chelsea explains the sounds to listen for to track deer. The women will spend hours through the afternoon until dark in the blind.

 

 

Hunter in the blind with her equipment

For a Women in the Outdoors hunt, each participant is paired with a more experienced mentor. This one-on-one allows for a strong personal connection and comfortable relationship for learning. Mentors provide guidance on all aspects of the sport, including hunting safety, wildlife tracking, taking a first shot, and processing a deer for food.

Chelsea was a mentor for the first time the previous year. Her first mentee aimed her bow and her arrow hit her mark, a buck. Chelsea confessed that after hunting for six years, she had yet to have a successful hunt. The hunt was a proud moment for both women.

Sitting this year with Mikalia in the blind, Chelsea hopes that today she might experience that feeling of accomplishment again. Mentoring has become her favorite part of the women’s hunt program, and she hopes that her mentees might become mentors themselves some day.

Tanya is an example of how this unique program can foster a love of hunting. On the recommendation of a friend, Tanya decided to try out the Women in the Outdoors hunt in 2016. She loved the event so much, she’s returned this year. Today, her hunt will prove successful…a milestone!

 

 

Tanya in the blind with her son during the youth hunt

Wanting to share her newfound pastime with her son, Tanya encouraged him to enroll and participate in the refuge’s youth hunt. “It can be difficult for new or non-hunters to gain access to the knowledge, guidance, places and opportunities to gain the confidence and experience to safely, ethically, and successfully go into the field. The women’s mentored hunt provided all of those resources openly and wholeheartedly to me. The refuge hunts are special opportunities that are appreciated so much more than the mentors will ever know,” she says.

Chelsea says there’s nothing better than seeing the excitement of the participants and their eagerness to continue hunting. She says that she hopes that after participating in the program women aren’t as intimidated to get out into the woods by themselves, become part of a community of hunting enthusiasts, and feel comfortable with all stages of the hunting experience. She hopes to share with others how hunting can be a favorite pastime, an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, and a way to provide food for your family and friends.

 

 

Jesse Mihatov and Chelsea Utter, staff from Wallkill River NWR, accept the Robert E. Eriksen Conservation award

In recognition of their hunting programs, Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge was recently awarded the Robert E. Eriksen Conservation Award by the board of directors of the New Jersey chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.