To Ride …

Proceeds from those of you who register to ride, support The Ridges’ efforts in research, education and preservation. Route lengths and levels of difficulty vary.  Find the one that best suits the experience you seek.  Register at www.RideforNature.com/register1.

To Sponsor …

Bike to Benefit is an additional way for Ride participants and supporters to fundraise for a specific Ridges project each year by obtaining sponsorships. Last year, this program helped raise money to support the restoration of the historic Lower Range Light, a project that is now nearing completion.

In 2013, Bike to Benefit funds will support the first phase of an important conservation initiative – the reintroduction of the Showy and Yellow Lady’s-slipper orchids to the restored ridges and swales behind the future site of The Ridges new interpretive center. Reintroduction of these key species in their natural habitat will create a living exhibit for the new center and provide an opportunity study orchid ecology and the preservation of the species. The restoration project will take place over three years with the first year focusing on germinating plants. The estimated cost for the germination phase is $15,000.

The Cordon Family Foundation has generously agreed to match, dollar for dollar the first $1000 in sponsorships.

Cyclists participating in any distance of the Ride are eligible to participate. After raising at least $250, participants will receive a Ride for Nature jersey. Prizes will be awarded to our top three fundraisers. To get started and begin enrolling your sponsors, download a pledge sheet at www.RideforNature.com/Bike-to-Benefit.

To Donate …

Not riding this year? Don’t have a cyclist to sponsor? No worries! You can still support the Ride and our orchid project by donating online. It’s easy! Go to www.RideforNature.com/Bike-to-Benefit and follow the Crowdrise link.

To Volunteer …

It’s no exaggeration to say that it takes a village to pull off an event of this size and importance. Volunteers – and lots of ‘em – are needed to staff the Ride for Nature as well as several areas for the Door County Beer Festival. RFN – Volunteers – 2013

 Can you readily identify feathers from birds found here in Door County?

 Do you know which two State politicians worked to establish the Outdoor Recreation Act program, the forerunner of today’s Stewardship Act?

 If you answered these questions without  breaking a sweat (or Googling), you may want to consider testing your mental mettle at The Ridges Sanctuary’s first Nature Trivia Night on Thursday, May 23, 6:30 – 8:00 PM,  at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall. 

Guaranteed to get this year’s Door County Festival of Nature off to a spirited start, Trivia Night will challenge your nature know-how. Prepare to be quizzed on natural sights, sounds, places, observations, designations and histories. You can form your own team (2-8 people) ahead of time, or stop by the Town Hall Thursday evening, and we’ll find a team for you to join. Contact Marne at The Ridges for more information: marne@ridgessanctuary.org or 920-839-2802.

All are welcome! Admission is free, and the winning team gets bragging rights!

Trillium

Sure, it’s a song from Camelot, but just where do you suppose Lerner and Lowe got their inspiration? We’re pretty sure they took their cues from Mother Nature.

After a few days of warmer temperatures and life-giving sun, May is busting out all over! Frogs are serenading, birds are nesting, deer are venturing out of the woods and flowers are pushing up through the earth.  There’s new growth everywhere.  We’ve had reports of hummingbird and dragonfly sightings, and of course the cranes are back in the county – as are the swans and pelicans.

Mute & Tundra Swans (T. Cooper)

A picture is worth a thousand words – especially this month – so here are some photos of the lovely flora and engaging fauna that you’re likely to see as you traipse the trails here at the Sanctuary and down at our Logan Creek property.

While you’re walking, don’t be surprised if you find yourself warbling a few tunes of your own … it’s May!

Lee Traven

Those of us who work for The Ridges had the privilege of knowing someone who was living proof that an early connection to nature impacts the adults we become.  Lee Traven passed away on April 22 at the age of 82, but anyone who knew Lee knew that as a young boy in the 1930s, he had accompanied his mother, Olivia Traven, many times as she took visitors on hikes through the unique landscape that would eventually become The Ridges Sanctuary. Because Olivia was one of the local advocates for the preservation of the Sanctuary, Lee also found himself – somewhat less willingly – at a great many organizational meetings where he had the opportunity to observe the Ridges’ founders in action.  Many years later – after a career that took him to New York – he returned to Baileys Harbor where he spent the remainder of his life serving, supporting and advocating for the cultural and natural assets of the area he loved so much.  In 2011, he was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Door County Community Foundation.

Lee’s story is not unique.  Many of our members have found their way to The Ridges through personal connections to nature made in childhood.  All their stories stand as powerful reminders that by connecting with the natural world, children develop and grow into adults who care about the environment, and will continue to nurture it.

So tell your kids to take a hike.  Better yet, go with them. You just never know where those trails will lead.

We also salute the 175^th anniversary of the birth of John Muir. Known as the one of the first conservationists, Muir exhorted people the world over to “keep close to nature’s heart.” Acknowledged as the Father of our National Park System, he has inspired many generations to cherish and preserve our planet’s natural resources.

Finally, it has been over 135 years since J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day which we celebrate this Friday, April 26. His simple idea of setting aside a special day for tree planting is now more important than ever to revitalize our forests and transform our cities and towns.

So hug a tree … or better yet, plant one.  Renew your commitment to recycle, reuse and repurpose. Be creative. As John Muir said, “The power of imagination makes us infinite.”

Each year in mid-April, thousands of volunteers – including those at The Ridges – participate in the Annual Midwest Crane Count to help biologists gauge not only the number of cranes, but also the health of our wetlands.  Once close to extinction, the crane count population has rebounded, benefitting from their federally protected status as well as numerous habitat restoration projects around the state.

Crane on Nest

This year’s Count was held on April 13, and by all reports the cranes are back and honing their courtship skills.  Cranes mate for life and pairs return to the same nesting area each year, so we are waiting with great anticipation for the twosome that makes their home here in the Sanctuary.

We’ll keep you posted, but in the meantime, be on the lookout as you pass open fields. You may be lucky enough to witness these tall stately birds engaging in their courtship dance, a series of bowing, jumping and stick-tossing movements. You can also listen for their distinctive call, a sound that Aldo Leopold once referred to as “… the trumpet in the chorus of evolution.”

Wood Frog

Frogs that live in colder climates survive by hibernating, a pretty amazing process. Some frogs hibernate under water and get their oxygen from the water through their skin. Some dig holes or find cracks in logs or rock areas. Their heart rates and breathing slow, their body temperatures reach close to the outside temperature. Wood frogs not only can freeze their entire bodies, but can stop their hearts for days and weeks at a time.

Once the soil thaws and temperatures creep above 50 – look out! The stage is set for love! The frogs emerge from their winter slumbers, the males begin their raucous serenade and the swales at The Ridges fill with peeping, whirring, chirping and … well … romance.

So while we agree that groundhogs are cute, furry fellows, we’ll wait until the lusty little amphibians that populate the Sanctuary give us the signal before unpacking our sandals!

Registration is open now.