Each workday will include routine cleaning inside the Wild Center house and garage areas. During warmer months, typical outside work will encompass tidying demonstration gardens around the house and garage, taking care of the turtle nesting site, and performing seasonal weeding and invasive species control on the property. Some of the common invasives found at the Wild Center include garlic mustard, thistle, buckthorn, wild parsnip, motherwort, and phragmites.
In addition to ongoing cleaning and grounds maintenance, this spring we are planning for several projects that will benefit our wildlife friends. These are as follows:
March:
- – Construct wire nest protectors to protect turtle nests from predators. This will done in the basement if it’s too cold to work in the garage.
- – Erect refurbished purple martin house in new site.
- – Close existing bird boxes and make note of ones needing replacement.
April:
- – Resume enhancements at turtle nesting site under Sharon Duerkop’s leadership.
- – Begin bird house repairs/replacements.
- – Begin monitoring programs for turtles, martins, and other birds.
- – Install turtle nest protectors as nests are found.
May:
- – Continue bird house repairs/replacements.
- – Continue monitoring programs and installation of turtle nest protection.