summer 2006 field notes newsletter, friends of creamer's field

8/8/2019 Summer 2006 Field Notes Newsletter, Friends of Creamer's Field

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Friends of Creamers May 2006 Newsletter

Field NotesP.O. Box 81065 Fairbanks, AK 99708 907-452-5162 [email protected] www.creamerseld.org

Our MissionFriends of Creamers Fieldis a community based, non-profit organization dedicat-ed to providing educational,historical, and interpretiveprograms throughout the

year at Creamers Field Mi-gratory Waterfowl Refuge.

Inside this issueAnnual Quilt Rafe ............ 2

Camp Habitat ................... 5

Farmhouse Volunteers ..... 2

Membership Form ............ 7

Migration Celebration ....... 4

Praise for Partners ............ 4

Recycling Reborn ............. 6

Saturdays with Artists ....... 3

Trail Crews Needed .......... 2

Upcoming Events ............. 8

Friends of Creamers Field Presents:

Design Alaska Wild Arts Walk!

Imagine a perect spring day. Swallows dip down to snatch the ew early mosquitoes out othe air, iris bloom in the swales, and music wats out over a winding row o estive canopiesbedecked with ribbons and balloons.

On Saturday, June 3rd, rom 10 am

2 pm, we will kick o our irst

Design Alaska Wild Arts Walk. This

event is a undraiser or Friends

o Creamers Field Nature Center.

Proceeds support this and other

amily-oriented activities. Design

Alaska has graciously agreed to be

our event sponsor.

Artists and musicians will be sta-

tioned along a loop trail that begins

and ends near the Creamers Farm-

house at 1300 College Road.

There will be approximately 40 stations representing a wide array o arts, crats and music.

For those o you who enjoy making crats, paint on rainy Saturdays, or just want to see a

range o talents, this is a chance to meet artist guild members and see them at work. In the

event o rain there will be three large tents set up near the armhouse or those artists who

need shelter.

The general public will pay to attend this event as it is a undraiser or Friends o Creamers

Field. In return or a contribution, the public will receive a cup o coee, cocoa or tea, a lo-

cally-made pastry, and a very attractive git mug rom Design Alaska.

Friends o Creamers Field members receive $5 o the admission price o:

$15 per person; $25 per amily

For more inormation on this very exciting event, contact Friends o CreamersField at 452-5162 or [email protected]. See you there!


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So Close!

Now normally I dont beg. I may whine a little, but begging

is best reserved or housedogs and table scraps. But Immaking puppy eyes and asking or your help here.

During the past two summers we have toiled on the BorealForest Trail, and were so close to nishing it! Weve had great

volunteers, and weve done a great job. Now we need ten ortwelve dedicated olks to pitch in during three weekends inJune (the 911, 1618, and the 2325) and we can knock thisout.

Just think, an easy all-time stroll along a completed trailthat you helped build. Your mother comes to visit, and withouthaving to nd mud boots in a size six, you can take her on a

lovely walk. Even your toddler can navigate this boardwalkonce were done.Please, lit up the phone and call meIll sign you up or

a day or a weekend. Well throw in lunch, and Ill even give

you a great Friends T-shirt. Okay, Ive wiggled and begged.The phone number is 452-5162.

Boreal Forest Trail renovation in 2004 Photo by Jess Ryan

From the director

Farmhouse Visitor CenterVolunteers Needed

I you enjoy sharing what you know and love about Alaskawith area visitors, consider becoming a Farmhouse VisitorCenter Volunteer. Volunteers sta the Visitor Center rom

either 10 am1:30 pm or rom 1:305 pm during weekdaysrom June 1August 31. Most volunteers pick one day o the

week as their regular spot, but were fexible. Its not strenuous,and you dont need a background in history or biology. Wellprovide training to orient you, and were usually available dur-ing weekday shits to help out with questions or concerns.

I youre interested, call Mark Ross at 459-7301.

Taking Refuge Photo by James Barker

Wouldnt this quilt look spectacularin your living room?

Annual Quilt Rafe!

Each year or the past several years, Friends oCreamers Field has received a quilt rom a localquilter or a summer rafe. The proceeds rom the quilthelp pay or the Tanana Valley Crane Festival (August

2527 this year), and each year the winning ticket isdrawn on the last evening o the Festival.

This year we are thrilled to oer a quilt donated by

quilter extraordinaire Karin Franzen. This gorgeousquilt (wait til you see it in color!) is about 4 by 5and currently hangs in a show at the Bear Gallery in

Pioneer Park. It will then be in a quilt show at DenaliState Bank rom June 1 30.

Tickets are currently available at the Creamers FieldFarmhouse and will also be sold at the Tanana ValleyState Fair, August 412.

Tickets are $5 eachor 5 for $20


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Page 3

Saturday Mornings with an ArtistCreamers Field Farmhouse Visitor Center

June 10th

August 12th

, 10:00 am to 2:00pmSaturday Mornings with an Artist: Share the beauty o wildlie and nature by local art-ists paintings, portraits, carvings and sketching media!

The Creamers Field Farmhouse Visitor Center will host displays o these artists par-ticular works, items or sale, and in some cases demonstrations o the artists techniques

rom 10:00 am through 2:00 pm each Saturday.

June 10th Gina Hoppner watercolor o wildfowers o Alaska

June 17th Betsy Bear watercolor, giclee prints and notecards o Alaskan

scenery and wildlie.

June 24th Dee Dee Hammond watercolor and sketches o migratory birds.

July 8th Betsy Chronic carved wooden boxes o chickadees, caribou

and other wildlie.

July 15th Amy Noon pencil sketches o wildfowers o Alaska and Creamers

Field.

July 22nd Ellen Harney oil landscapes o Creamers Field and Seasonal

Pond.

July 29th Judy Farnham Tole Painting

August 5th Brenda Jones portraits o Athabascan Interior people.

August 12th Open

Come join us!Were at the Farmhouse Visitor Center o

Creamers Field, in back o Fish and Game.

Sponsored by Friends o Creamers Field

Inormation at 452-5162


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Praise for Partners

Ducks Unlimited (DU) has long been a contributor towardeducation and wildlie viewing opportunities on theCreamers Field Migratory Waterowl Reuge. In the late

1980s they provided unding or the construction o sevenponds containing numerous small islands or the purpose oincreasing breeding duck populations on the Reuge. Whenthe Farmhouse was renovated in 1992, DU stepped in with asizeable contribution. And again in 1993, DU played a vita

role in waterowl preservation by unding the construction othe crane pond, where cranes can saely rest ater their longmigration.

These improvements have been vital to the overall man-agement plan o the Reuge, and are a ne example o theimportance o partnership.

This years Spring Migra-tion Celebration was ahit despite a cold breeze thathad olks reaching or theirwinter hats. With a colorul

collection o activities at theCreamers Field Farmhouseand at the Alaska Bird Ob-

servatory (ABO), there wasa lot to do. This year we hadinancial support rom theAlaska Conservation Founda-

tion and participation romthe Northern Alaska Environ-mental Center, ABO, DucksUnlimited, the University

o Alaska Wilderness Soci-ety, Calypso Farms, ArcticAudubon Society, the Na-

tional Park Service and theAlaska Department o Fishand Game!

There were activities or all

Photos : Above r ight ,

Addie Willsrud watches a

puppet show at the Spring

Migration Celebration.

At left, Don Pendergrast with the National Park

Service visits with children

after the puppet show.Photos by Jess Ryan

Friends of CreamersField

Board MembersBob Craig

Jim Chumbley (President)

Jeannie Creamer-Dalton

Susie Crevensten (Secretary)

Pat DeRuyter (Membership)

Ray Hadley

Donna Krier

Sherry LewisGail Mayo

Herb Melchior

Joy Morrison

Non-Voting Members

Cathie Harms (ADF&G)

Mark Ross (ADF&G)

Jess Ryan (ExecutiveDirector o Friends)

This issue oField Noteswas produced by Mary Zalar

Spring Migration Celebration in Review

interests and age levels, rom

bird identication, sketch-ing, and live raptors to pup-pet shows, games, and cratactivities. In keeping with

the international theme o theBoreal Forest as an impor-tant birthplace or migratorybirds, Glenn Juday rom UAF

spoke about global warmingand the Boreal orest.

Thanks to everyone who

helped out and everyone whoattended!

The renovation of Creamers Farmhouse is one of several

projects at the Creamers Field supported by Ducks Unlimited.


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Camp Habitat Summer 2006An Outdoor Education & Ecology Camp for Youth ages 4 - 17

Equipment

4 four to six person tents with good rain flies

4 backpacking tents

1 large tarp for camp site to shield rain and sun

6 small backpacks for youth (not day packs)

Water filters and replacement cartridges for waterfilters

Bear spray (2 -3 cans)

Epi pens (6 or 10)

Supplies Needed

Rope of all sizes and lengths

2 small hand brooms for sweeping out tents

Hammer

Bag stuffer for grocery bags

Small paint brushes

Fimo Dough (blue, green, white)

Eye droppers (12 or more)

Feathers (legally obtained)

White yogurt containers/white margarine tubs (20each)

14 gallon Rubbermaid tubs with lids (5-7)

Colored chalk

Colored pencils

Clear and colored 2-liter bottles (lots)

Aquarium nets (5-10)

4-6 kitchen strainers (10 or more)

Paper towel and gift wrap tubes

Toilet paper rolls

Egg cartons

Cereal Boxes

Poster board

Cloth (felt, cotton, etc)

Camp Habitat Wish List 2006Summer Camp Needs

Registration InformationOnline: www.northern.org

Call: (907) 452-5021 ext. 32

Email: [email protected]

Have you heard?! Camp Habitat also has an AfterSchool Program?! At 4 schools in Fairbanks, staff

offered a variety of nature & outdoor education activitiesduring the winter 2006 semester. We look forward tocontinuin the ro ram for the 2006-07 school ear!

Program Schedule

Pre- School Program: 9 am - Noon

Nature Sprouts I (ages 4 - 5) June 19 23 $105 Nature Sprouts II (ages 4 - 5) June 26 30 $105

Day Camp Programs: 9am 4pm

Nature Detectives I (ages 6 - 7) July 17 21 $175 Nature Detectives II (ages 6 - 7) July 24 28 $175

Water Striders I (ages 8 - 9) July 17 21 $200 Water Striders II (ages 8 - 9) July 10 14 $200 Refuge Adventurers (ages 10 - 11) July 10 14 $200

Backpacking Programs:

Backpacking I (ages 12 - 13) June 26 30 $275 Backpacking II (ages 13 - 15) July 10 14 $300 Backpacking III (ages 15 - 17) July 24 29 $300

Backpackers in the White Mountains Summer 2005

To donate, please call 452-5021 or stop by the

Northern Alaska Environmental Center.

NEW!

Hike at Creamer's Field Summer 2005

BothCamp Habitat & Camp Habitat After School

benefit from community support. To contributeor volunteer, please contact Laenne Thompson

at [email protected].


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Beore moving to Alaska,I was a devoted recyclerand prided mysel in how lit-tle reuse I threw away. When

I relocated to Fairbanks inthe early 1990s, I ound thatrecycling options were lim-ited at best and sometimesalmost nonexistent. I recon-

ciled to pitching the bottles(rinsed) and even chuckingthe occasional pop can. Intruth, Ive gone too ar the

other way. In an eort to edu-cate mysel and regain someo my ormer good karma in

recycling, Ive determined touncover just what Fairbankshas to oer or the born-againrecycler.

To Burn or Not to BurnMy rst thought was to set

up a burn barrel in my backyard and dispose o anythingburnable in this way. I hadvisions o wrestling an old

50-gallon barrel out o the

underbrush where it lies onthe edge o my property and

blasting a spray o air holesin it (never mind that I dontown a shotgun). A quickweb search on the subject o

backyard burning, however,reveals that burning thosegreasy plastic bags, Styro-oam meat trays, and glossy

junk mail adds dioxins to the

air. A call to Nancy Frescoat the Northern Alaska En-

vironmental Center conrmsthis. Moreover, plastic onlymakes up about 5% o whatwe landill, and its pretty

inert stu. Paper and card-board on the other hand ac-count or 50% o our landllwaste and release carbon

dioxide as they break down,adding to global warming.

These should be bundled andtaken to the landll. From

there they will be transportedto Eielson Air Force Base

and ormed into pellets to beburned in the power plant onbase.

As a part-time employee othe University o Fairbanks,

I had noticed the paper re-cycling bins on campus.According to Ely Sonarankwho works with the ASUAF

Recycling Center, the Uni-versity saves thousands odollars annually in trash-

hauling ees by recyclingcopy paper and cardboard.The student-run recyclingcenter oversees all other

orms o recycling at UAF,including aluminum, printercartridges, batteries, grocerybags, and Styrooam packing

peanuts, which are reusedlocally. They oered glassrecycling or a short period,

with Lynden Transport haul-ing the glass or ree to PolarSupply in Anchorage. PolarSupply initially accepted the

glass at no cost and crushedit or sandblasting and thelike. But the glass recycling

program ell through whenPolar Supply announced theywould require a tipping eeo several thousand dollars

a month or the glass. Ely

hopes that the FairbanksNorth Star Borough will seet to crush glass locally. And

maybe in time it will.

Borough Recycling Plan

The Fairbanks North StarBorough is exploring thepossibilities o eective recy-cling. Recently, the Borough

contracted with MAXTEC,an independent consulting

rm in Seattle, to assess ourwaste woes and report onpossible means o reducing

mixed wastes and increasing

recycling. The RecyclingPlan and Analysis SummaryReport is available online

at www.co.airbanks.ak.usunder hot topics. Whilewe probably wont see colorcoded curbside bins any time

soon, we may be presentedwith easier ways to disposeo paper and some plastics.

Redemption

As it turns out, recycling inFairbanks isnt impossiblejust a little complicated. TheBorough transer siteslikethose located on Badge

Road, Farmers Loop EastFarmers Loop West, Fox, andChena Pump Roadaccepmetal, batteries, and brush

And i youre lucky, youlhave a co-worker like I dowho keeps an eye out or

specic items on the reuseplatorm she calls TreasureIsland. The Borough landll, which is located at 455

Sanduri, is the place to takemotor oil and ilters, antireeze, paint and solventsalong with those papers

magazines and boxes.K&K Recycling on the

Old Richardson Highway

and C&R Pipe and Steel onVan Horn Road will pay oyour aluminum, along withwire, oil, and other metals

including car radiators.Both Fred Meyers and

Saeway accept clean grocerybags. (O course i Id jus

remember the canvas bagsin my carbefore I get to thecheckout counter, I wouldn

Recycling RebornBy Jess Ryan

continued on page 7

This one-year-old Peregrine

Falcon was handraised and

frequently visits Creamers

Field as part of her falconry

training. Photo by Jess Ryan


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Page 7

Has your membership expired? Please check the date in the corner o your mailing label. I your membership has ex-

pired, or is due to expire soon, this will be your last issue o Field Notes unless we receive your renewal prior to thenext newsletter. Your membership dues support our many popular programs that school children, nature lovers, bird

enthusiasts, and amilies enjoy throughout the year. Friends does not share or rent our mailing list.

______ $15 Students & Seniors ______ $75 Supporter ______ $500 Patron*

______ $20 Individual ______ $100 Contributor ______ $1000 Lietime*

______ $40 Family ______ $250 Steward ______ Donation $_______

*Patron and Lifetime members will receive a historic Randall Compton print of Creamers Dairy signed by the Creamer family.

Name ______________________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

City ________________________ State ______ Zip _____________

Email ______________________________________________________

Phone ______________________________________________________

This is a git membership or the above name rom _________________

I have a new mailing address, phone, or email.

I would like to receive my newsletter electronically.

I am interested in volunteering. Please contact me with inormation on how I can:

______ Become a Volunteer Naturalist ______ Volunteer in the Visitors Center

______ Help with Events & Programs ______ Help in the Vegetable Garden

Membership Response Form

Friends of Creamers FieldPO Box 81065

Fairbanks, Alaska 99708907-452-5162 (oce)

907-459-7309 (Visitors Center)

email: [email protected]

website: www.creamerseld.org

need the plastic bags.)Got dog yard wastes? Dogs

darn near outnumber resi-

dents in the Borough, andeach spring those dog yards

start thawing. The UAF Co-operative Extension has an

online article or compost-ing it. Check out www.ua.edu/coop-ext/compost/dogs.

html.Planning a run to Anchor-

age? Save up your glass andtake it to the One Stop

Recycling Center at the Hi-land Road Landll. You canalso nd a home or old tires

at Alaska Tire Recycling inAnchorage.

Reducing the amount opaper coming into your mail-

box is even better than recy-

cling. You can remove your

name rom mail, telephone,or email marketing lists.Stop junk mail by using oneo the one-stop services such

as www.stopthejunkmailnow.com. I you have more timeand less money, check out

ree services such as:www.optoutprescreen.comwww.dmaconsumers.org/

consumerassistance.

htmlwww.donotcall.gov.

There are always a ew com-panies whose catalogs we like

to receive, although maybe

not every month. Call thesecompanies and customize

your account so you receive aminimum number o catalogseach year.

Recycling Reborncontinued from page 6

If a man walks in the woods for loveof them half of each day, he is in

danger of being regarded as aloafer. But if he spends his daysas a speculator, shearing offthose woods and making theearth bald before her time, heis deemed an industrious andenterprising citizen.

Henry David Thoreau


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FriendsofCreamersField

P.O.Box81065

Fairbanks,Alaska99708

Isittimetorenewyourmembership?

Events at Creamers FieldDesign Alaska Wild Arts Walk! June 3, 10 am2 pm Starting at the Farmhouse

(Friends Fundraiser) $15 or individuals$25 or amilies($5 discount or members o Friends)

Boreal Forest Trail Completion June 911 Individuals and crews needed!June 1618 All skill levels needed!

June 2325 Call 452-5162 or inormation.

Nature Walks June 1August 31 Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:00 pmTuesday, Thursday 7:00 pm

Wednesday 9:00 am

Saturday Mornings with an Artist June 10August 12 10:00 am 2:00 pm

Tanana Valley State Fair August 412

Sandhill Crane Festival August 2527 Schedule available soon!

Farmhouse Nature Center June 1August 31 10 am 5 pm dailyTrails are always open!

See our website at www.creamersfield.org for more information.

summer 2006 field notes newsletter, friends of creamer's field

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