Thirty-five Logan County youth and adults went time traveling recently during a trip to outdoor educational destinations hosted by the Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club and the Logan County Land Trust.
Stepping along the boardwalk at Cedar Bog, they were transported back 10,000 years to the time just after the last ice age.
The landscape features plants such as sundew, northern white cedar, shrubby cinquefoil, and a variety of orchids that are remnants of that time, some of which are found nowhere else in Ohio and contains 40 percent of the state’s endangered plants.
Cedar Bog is Ohio’s oldest nature preserve having been established in 1942. The 450-acre site is also designated as a National Natural Landmark.
Cool alkaline groundwater percolating up through layers of glacial till make the site a fen rather than a bog in
which the water is acidic and does not flow. Naturalists at the site use the phrase, “Bogs clog and fens flush” to help visitors remember the distinction.
Also along their travels, a motor coach transported the group to Glen Helen Raptor Center in Yellow Springs, where participants learned how the center cares for injured raptors.
Raptors are birds whose talons, or claws, are used to catch and kill their prey. Birds of prey are often injured in collisions with vehicles, and it is the goal of the center to rehabilitate and release these injured hawks and owls whenever possible.
Sometimes, lingering effects from their injuries make a life in the wild impossible.
These birds then serve as ambassadors for their species in educational programming done by the center.
The Logan County visitors were able to view about a dozen species including a peregrine falcon, bald eagle, red shouldered hawk, and a very vocal barred owl. The Glen Helen Raptor Center is fully licensed by state and federal agencies to do their work, and they are open to the public.
From the raptor center, the group traveled a short distance to the Agrairia Center for Regenerative Practice, which was founded in 1949 by educator and civil engineer Arthur Morgan.
Five priorities guide the work of the organization: Resilient communities, regenerative land use, community economics, energy democracy, and being the change.
The 128-acre farm and education center’s mission is to educate] people about how to make their communities more resilient and capable of withstanding dramatic shifts due to climate and economic disruptions.
While at Agrairia, the group saw regenerative practices being applied in a number of projects such as stream restoration, invasive species removal and crop research.
Following a box lunch provided by Current Cuisine of Yellow Springs enjoyed at John Bryan State Park, the tour proceeded to the Tecumseh Land Trust, founded in 1990 and serving Greene, Clark, and adjacent counties. This land trust currently protects more than 35,000 acres of agricultural and natural land.
The final stop of the tour was Freshwater Farms of Urbana. Dr. Dave Smith and his staff provided a tour of the state’s largest indoor fish hatchery.
Founded in 1983 by Dr. Smith and his father, the aquaculture operation is Ohio’s only producer of fresh trout products.
In addition, they host an annual fish and shrimp festival in September. While on the tour, the group enjoyed petting the sturgeon and watching the frenzy created while the trout were being fed.
The tour concluded with a relaxing al fresco sampling of some of the facility’s products such as smoked trout and salmon as well as trout spreads.
The trip concluded with a return to the Benjamin Logan campus. This is the second summer that the Logan County Land Trust and Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club have hosted such a tour.
For more information about the Land Trust, contact Bob Stoll at bob.stoll5. For more information about the environmental science club, contact Bruce Smith at smithb.