Alex Palmer's Natural History Notes and Thoughts

So you want to date a naturalist.  Or perhaps you are already dating one. Who can blame you?  Naturalists have a dreamy and wondrous sense of the world.  They are always observing what's around them, taking time to look at each flower, each rock, every bird that passes by, often expressing colorful admiration for every butterfly or moth that flutters past.  And more often than not naturalists are an open book, happily telling you about the amazing natural wonders around them, and opening your mind to things you might have never have known.  And naturalists are always eager to get outside, rain or shine, to explore a new trail or to try and catch a new frog species with a child-like sense of enthusiasm and excitement. Yes, we naturalists are dreamy, free-spirited, and curious creatures.  But unless you too are naturalist , you may find some of our behaviors a little bit excessive at times.  Perhaps an 8 mile hike up a steep ravine isn't necessarily ...

In a picture-perfect world, I would only deliver picture-perfect interpretive programs at my site on subjects I am deeply knowledgeable and passionate about.  But as a close colleague of mine bluntly stated to me once, "Sometimes as interpretive naturalists we don't always have the luxury of doing only the programs that we like to do." Most naturalists that I've worked with would consider themselves generalists who know a little bit about everything, from plants, to insects, to local history, to everything in between.  However, there are some topics that are more of a specialty or some than for others.  For example, I know a lot about salamanders, but I would actually consider my coworker more of the "herp specialist" since he has studied herpetology more extensively than myself.  As such, he is often the one to lead our reptile and amphibians programs at my nature center.  In contrast, I am generally considered by others to be more well-versed on  the su...

One aspect of my profession as an interpretive naturalist is that I love is that there are never-ending opportunities to learn new things. And it's often the visitors of the nature center where I work that ask the most interesting questions.  Below is my response to a question a recent visitor asked.  A common sighting on a warm, sunny day in the Chicago region is Painted Turtles ( Chrysemys picta ) basking on a log in a shallow pond or slow-moving stream.  These stoic critters can appear rather lazy as they slouch in the sun, but as cold-blooded reptiles they must fire up their metabolism by absorbing heat from the sun.  An admirer who approaches too close to a basking turtle will witness an otherwise motionless creature plunge into the water and out of sight in a split-second.   But during the spring and fall, Painted Turtles are often encountered in rather unexpected places, such as along a trail, across a grassy field, and unfortunately along ...

When I was first informed that we were now going to be asked to submit official program plans for our nature center education programs, I couldn't help but cringe a little bit.  Another piece of paperwork to fill out?  I even noticed my coworker roll his eyes a bit.  But when I thought about it for another moment, I began to understand why the agency I work before was taking the initiative to have their staff develop written plans for their education programs.  Program plans , or program outlines , offer a summary of what you have planned for your interpretive program, including themes, materials, where you'll conduct the program, and other pertinent information.  A good program outline allows someone to pick it up and know right away what the program is about and what materials and preparation tasks are necessary to conduct the program successfully.  But what is a program plan supposed to look like?  It seems like all of my coworkers have their...

This blog post consists of my notes from the Chicago Wilderness Congress gathering at the University of Illinois Chicago Forum, held on November 2, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois.   Lecture 1: Restoring the Wetlands of Calumet Nat Miller, Chip O'Leary, and Gary Sullivan. The former area of glacial "Lake Chicago" are now lowlands that make up the Calumet Region .  This flat and sandy area of land is dotted with various lakes and marshes and has numerous creeks and rivers passing through it.  In some areas, dune and swale topography is present.  Historically, the Calumet Region was very open with scatterings of oak trees along with scattered pockets of marsh.  There were 16 species of reptiles and amphibians, and large marshes provided habitat for marsh birds and wetland passerines. The Calumet Region has undergone many changes within the last 200 years.  There is been a lot of habitat fragmentation, although most of the original plant communities are "ha...

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.                             -Eugene Lonesco As a professional naturalist I am filled with heartwarming stories I can tell of seeing a child's eyes light up when he learns something new, or the amazement of a young girl's eyes when she find a butterfly, or the comical screams of startled visitors when they pop the spring-loaded seeds of jewelweed ( Impatiens capensis ).  Our role as an interpreters is not just to recite the names of different plant or animal species, but to connect those "resources" to the people and places who are impact by those resources.  Our hope is that people will not only learn about nature, but will reap the personal and emotional benefits of the "awe"someness that Paula Spencer Scott elaborated on in her recent Parade Magazine article (2016), which highlighted some of the key positive psychological effects findings of people...

This blog post consists of my notes from a presentation on oak ecosystems of the Greater Chicago Area.  The presenter was Kim Blaszcak, Resource Management Project Manager with the Forest Preserves of Cook County.  The presentation was delivered on October 6, 2016 at Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland, Illinois.   Oaks as a keystone species Oaks ( Quercus spp .) are a keystone species in the Chicago Region.  They support many organisms and ecosystem functions.  Oaks are important to wildlife through acorn production and habitat.  Oaks exhibit a periodic massive yield of acorns known as a mast year  that compensated for periods of scarcity.  Oak germination and timing of acorn production are important factors.  Red oak acorns are produced in the fall and germinate the following spring.  white oak acorns produce acorns which germinate in a single season (in the spring). Oaks are a critical food source for wildlife in North A...