Try these eco-friendly, easy to make gifts for the nature lover in your family.

Backyard Bird Feeder

Total Time Needed :        

1 Hour

Spoon-feed your winged neighbors with this homemade birdseed dispenser.

Materials 

Clean 1-liter soda bottle

Craft knife

wooden spoons

small eye screw

Length of twine for hanging

Instructions

1. Start by drawing a 1/2-inch asterisk on the side of a clean 1-liter soda bottle, about 4 inches from the bottom. Rotate the bottle 90 degrees and draw another asterisk
   2 inches from the bottom. Draw a 1-inch-wide circle opposite each asterisk, as shown.
2. Use a craft knife to slit the asterisk lines and cut out the circles (a parent's job). Insert a wooden spoon handle first through each hole and then through the opposite asterisk, as shown.
3. Remove the bottle cap and twist a small eye screw into the top of it for hanging.
4. Finally, fill your feeder with birdseed, recap it, and use a length of twine to hang it from a tree.

Pinecone Bird Feeder

Difficulty: Very Easy

What you'll need:                   

• Pine cone
• Paper plate
• Butter knife
• Smooth peanut butter
• Birdseed
• Ribbon or yarn
• Scissors

How to make it:

1. Cut a long length of yarn or ribbon to hang the bird feeder.
2. Tie the ribbon in a knot around the pine cone near the top (about 3 sections down).
3. Tie a knot in the end of the ribbon.
4. Use the knife to get a large clump of peanut butter on the paper plate.
5. Use the knife to spread peanut butter inside the pine cone and around the edges.
6. Sprinkle the birdseed over the pine cone.
7. Roll the pine cone in the birdseed that is on the plate.
8. Hang the bird feeder on the tree.
9. Enjoy watching the birds eat their treat!

I think that if we start with the mechanics of mounting the sign to the poles and also integrating them with the existing blue street signs, the materials available for mounting and aligning will dictate the sign’s design and composition.

First comes the craftsman or the artisan; after that, the graphic artist or the designer. This project should start at the pole, not at the drafting table, and take into account available mounts and brackets first of all.

Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio City, Bridge Avenue, street sign, historic district, (image preview: FOT788543) | fotoLibra

Felix began planting trees in the late 1990s, and has since cemented his passion for British forestry by setting up The Heart of England Forest Limited charity, dedicated to planting a substantial native broadleaf forest in Warwickshire. Between his personal country estate and The Heart of England Forest, over 1,300 acres of woodland have now been planted. Planting proceeds at the rate of approximately 300 acres per year. Felix often makes a personal donation to the charity equivalent to the tour proceeds.

Planting

Each year we plant in the region of 100 hectares of new woodland comprised of native broadleaved trees. We structure the species mix to mimic the local dominant woodland type as set out by the National Vegetation Communities (NVC) woodland classifications, which are W8 or W10 for our area. Both are lowland broadleaved woodlands with ash or oak the dominant species respectively. These woodland types refer to mature woodland and include ground flora as part of the classification description.  We cannot, of course, create all aspects of a mature woodland but aim to plant the major and minor tree species in suitable proportions to kick start the process and allow the woodlands to develop naturally and take on a character of their own.

Major tree species for our area are English oak and ash.
Minor tree species include sessile oak, birch, small leaved lime, field maple, cherry, hornbeam, aspen, sweet chestnut, rowan, whitebeam and willows.

Our woodlands are designed with a high proportion of open space in the form of wide rides between woodland blocks.  These rides are typically 10 to 15 metres wide with additional more open areas up to 50 metres across.  Wild flower meadow species have been sown in the open areas to increase diversity and aesthetic quality.

The trees are planted at a density of 1080 per hectare in a random pattern between 1 and 6 metres apart.  We do not plant large groups of single species except for coppice areas.  However, where the ground is wet or free draining we plant a higher proportion of tree suited to that particular ground condition.

We use trees grown from local provenance seed sources but also collect and grow on our own seed from the estate.  The trees are planted as bare root whips up to 60cm high usually about two years old.

Our planting season starts in mid November and continues until the following March.

Trees are protected from rabbit and deer damage but either 1.2 metre plastic tubes or 75cm plastic spirals, the latter is also further protected by a 1.8 metre high fenced perimeter to exclude deer.

We maintain the trees annually and more intensively in the first few years.  Work includes maintaining a weed free area around each tree, loss assessment and replacement of trees where necessary and straightening of trees guards where they have blown over in the wind.  We also regularly inspect for the detrimental effects to trees from deer, rabbits, hares, voles, insects and noxious weeds.  Where we can have an influence we do take measures of control.

Following the first few years where possible we remove guards.  This more commonly occurs to the faster growing trees such as aspen, willow, cherry and birch.

The management of the open space is less intensive and currently involves mowing the rides to create 3 metre wide tracks twice a year – early July and October- and where possible we cut and remove the vegetation from the wider open space.  The removal of the cut material will gradually lower the nutrient levels of the soil making it more suitable to wild flower species.

We welcome natural regeneration of trees within our woodlands and respond positively where it occurs.  A hedgerow tree is the usual seed source and nearly always happens near ash trees, field maple and to a lesser extent around oak.  Oak regeneration is unusual in that it can occur just about anywhere in the woodland, probably dropped or buried by corvids (jays, crows, magpies, etc) or squirrels.

The Heart of England Forest | Felix Dennis

FAMILY OPEN STUDIO-COMMUNITY DAY

Join Art House and the Brooklyn Centre Naturalists on Saturday, October 15th, from 1-3 PM in the Art House Studio for a Family Open Studio with “found-object art.”  Create works of art that will beautify the Art House studio and soon-to-come community garden.

Art House Studio

3119 Denison Avenue

October 15, 2011

1-3 PM

((Winter Family Open Studio: November 19 & December 17))

. . . and here is something to read:

BCN Strategic Planning Minutes October 8, 2011

http://www.brooklyncentrenaturalists.net/2011/10/bcn-strategic-planning-minutes-october-8-2011.html

. . . and here is something to foster a sense of true happiness and belonging:

start by befriending the new Brooklyn Centre Naturalists persona on Facebook

Sign in to www.Facebook.com  and then search for “Brooklyn Centre Naturalists,”  and ask to be "her" friend.  We set us up as a person for more flexibility. When we reach the optimal number of "friends," we will switch to being a page, perhaps.

Enjoy your weekend!

Gloria and Sharon

GOAL - Retain/Expand Green Space:

1. Promoting better building practices. We co-hosted a second annual seminar with FOBC (Friends of Big Creek) at the Zoo which featured various speakers who have implemented and are living in homes and areas using green and natural building practices.

2. Educate residences & businesses. We have discovered that we can educate by example, causing people to ask questions and call us for advice and/or information regarding native plants and urban landscaping. Gloria Ferris has written monthly articles which educate the public. And we now have the Zoo partnering with us on our 36^{th street} lot where together we created a learning garden.

3. Create Landscapes. We definitely accomplished this goal with the installation of gardens at Brooklyn Memorial Church, West36^th Street, West 39^th Street and Art House.

4. Create a Blog We have a blog, but decided that we should create a face book page which will be linked to the blog for automatic posting. Tim Ferris will create the face book page.

5. Recruit Scholars. We applied for, but were not chosen for, a Scholar grant program. However, thru our partnering with the Zoo, we have access to their professional naturalists. We also included local BW students and Case Western Reserve students in building the pocket parks.

6. Create a Green Space Committee. Gloria Ferris was asked to be part of the current OBCDC Green space committee. She is also a member of the SCLBCDO steering committee which also has a Green space/Gardening Committee.

7. Get backyards certified. Currently we still need 25 more homes to become Backyard Habitats to achieve our goal of becoming a Certified Urban Wildlife Community. We will continue trying to get more households certified.

GOAL - Adopt Eco-Friendly Practices

1. Link Organizational Libraries. We realized that we didn’t follow up on this goal and that we would contact the library through Laura McShane, Mary Ellen Stasek of Friends of Big Creek and Peggy O’Connor of Western Reserve to link our respective resources. Gloria took on this task.

2. Hold annual collaborative events. See #1 above, we co-hosted an event with FOBC, and for 2012 we will be participating in an April event with Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society and we will be co-hosting a third annual seminar with FOBC.

3. Native Plant Sale. We had planned on co-hosting a plant sale with CSWCD, but we weren’t able to coordinate it so we will go back to having a native plant sale during the spring Archwood street sale.

4. Partner with local Nurseries. We worked with Gales, Rosby’s, Old Brooklyn Green House and South Hills for a number of our projects and plan on continuing our dialogue regarding native plants.

5. Do children’s Programs. We finished with a program thru Brooklyn Methodist Church which met every Saturday for a year and we are in the process of starting a children’s program about Native American culture and the use of native plants as dyes with Art House. Tom Romito has volunteered to help with programming.

6. Recruit Rhodes High School students as stewards. We did use Rhodes students as volunteers for work projects. However, it was decided that we would focus more on Lincoln West students in the future because it is closer and open later. We will be working with the NWF to conduct a Habitat Steward training at the school.

Recently someone asked me this question and I decided that maybe it was time to sit down and write a post that would explain. I also decided to add Why we are who we are and why we do what we do.

Who We Are

In 2007, a group of neighbors and business owners who had the common belief that gardening is a way to foster community and create bonds between neighbors formed Brooklyn Centre Naturalists. The trading of plants in a community builds connections that are not easily broken. As BCN continued to meet, we discovered that another bond held us together- the belief that the health of a community depends on the health of its environment. With that thought in mind, our connection to the National Wildlife Foundation became clear. One of our members researched what it takes to become a registered National Wildlife Community, and the group decided that the designation was achievable. A community Wildlife Habitat is a designated area that promotes and fosters the vigor and diversity of native birds and animals by providing the four basic elements throughtout the community tha all wildlife need: food, water, cover, and places to raise young-in individual backyards, on school grounds, and in public areas such as parks, community gardens, places of worship, and businesses. We have been registered since the fall of 2008, and we are now working to become a certified habitat.

What We Do

The projects we undertake in Brooklyn Centre promote, benefit, and achieve one or more of the goals of our organization. We have seven goals that we focus on in our efforts to achieve a bond between or built environment and the rich natural assets we have in Brooklyn Centre. Our goals are:

To develop public workshops.

To establish educational programs with local schools and community groups.

To promote the used of Ohio Native Species plants for gardens and landscapes.

To eradicate invasive plant species.

To maintain and promote a local resource library.

To implement organic gardening principles.

To preserve our community's unique ecosystem.

We fund these projects with grants, various fundraising efforts, and private funding.

Why We Do IT

Our mission is to educate and involve the community in creating a wildlife and people-friendly habitat in an urban setting.

A group of Brooklyn Centre Naturalists decided to put their hat in the ring and submitted our proposal for: ” Where Nature Meets the City-an Urban Art Gallery”. Our proposal was accepted, and we will be on the town square showing how art, nature, and collectibles can enhance our homes and gardens. We have teamed with local artists and South Hills Hardware to offer art and plants for sale so that instant gratification will be available to our patrons. 10% of each sale will benefit two BCN projects- The West 36th Street Commons and Art House’s Butterfly and Dye Garden. Stop by and see how easy it is to combine the five elements of a backyard habitat, pick up an application, and help us become the first grassroots organization to form an “urban” National Wildlife Community.

Be sure to get there early to be part of the experience because when the light of day gradually turns to dusk and the first star twinkles in the sky “Pop Up Pearl” will vanish to come again when the dreams we dream become plans and actions for a “real” town square. If you want an “exploring” adventure” Pedal for Prizes will be something you will certainly enjoy. Jeff and his crew have a great line-up for raffle prizes and you will get a chance to see some of Old Brooklyn’s “treasures”.

For more information go to www.popuppearl.com or call OBCDC at 459-1000.  Or visit

TREES

by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

"Trees" was originally published in Trees and Other Poems. Joyce Kilmer. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914.

If you enjoy watching all the different kinds of birds flying through our neighborhood during these spring days, here’s one to add to your list of possibilities-a short eared owl.    

A friend of mine shared an email she received from Metroparks naturalist Jennifer Brumfield. Ms. Brimfield saw a short-eared owl while driving north on I-77 through the driving wind and rain of yesterday. The poor fellow was pumping hard against the wind heading west. She surmised that he would find green space at the Ohio and Erie CanalWay Reservation about a mile away. My friend, in reply, said that Riverside Cemetery and Brooklyn Centre on the north bank of Big Creek, and therefore, the Metroparks Zoo gets fallout of owls this time of year. My friend actually said Riverside Cemetery and the entire Big Creek Valley, but I thought I would take the opportunity to promote Brooklyn Centre as a neighborhood where wildlife meets the city.

Two other kinds of owls that can be found in our neighborhood this time of year are saw-whets and screech owls that wake us 5:00 a.m. with their eerie cries. There have even been a few sightings of Great Horned Owls at Riverside and in the valley. Short-eared owls and their friends use our neighborhood as a stop on their migration north. Screech owls and Saw-whets are Ohio birds and can be found throughout the year. Late afternoon until dusk  in the spring is a good time to watch for these birds as they hunt for supper.  Early morning is a great time to search for their roosting nooks. The lack of leaves makes this a much easier task. We have a diverse ecology that enriches our neighborhood. And, while those of us who live here are grateful for what we have we also should spread the word about our wildlife community.

To learn more about this big fellow and his relatives, click here and you will be at the Ohio-Nature website where you will find valuable information on these and other birds.