A busy Earth Week!

Friends volunteers and board members were busy throughout Earth Week, as the woods and prairies came alive with spring ephemeral blooms.

Member Steve Davis kicked off a Snake Study in the North Unit of Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park. See the full story on that here.

Thanks to a generous couple among our members who donated $1000 to the Friends this spring, the board of directors was able to give an immediate "Yes!" to purchasing all the equipment for a new Purple Martin house complex to be installed along Wheeler Road in the South Unit. Eagle Scout candidate Elliot will be installing the pole and martin houses soon. Friends board member Paul Noeldner has been recruiting and training adult as ongoing monitors for this martin house and others on the north side of Madison.

Board members Mary Binkley and Ed Snyder captained the park clean-up at the North and South units, respectively. Some of the volunteers were first-time visitors to Cherokee Marsh!

Paul Noeldner was lead organizer for the very well-attended Bird & Nature Festival at Warner Park. Board member Wendy Murkve oversaw folks trying out canoes in the lagoon (canoes & equipment can now be checked out at Warner Park Rec Center). Board members Linda Malkin, Lesleigh Luttrell, and Sheila Leary were indoors for the Festival, talking to adults about the Cherokee Marsh public lands and helping kids craft their own warblers to take home.