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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-08-01, Page 13 (2)• • Nattaiits 'interpret` Pineryfor campers' "On the twelfth day of hiking, my naturalist showed to me - twelve loads a -twitching, eleven lizards leaping, fen tourists ten- ting, nine naturalists napping, eight alewives rotting, seven snappers snapping, six skunks a - stinking, five vultures retching, four furry beavers, three freshwater clams, two mating birds and a terminal case of poison ivy." That's the theme song of the naturalists on staff at Pinery Provincial Park. Head naturalist Terry Crabe says that the song is pretty well self-explanatory but he adds that the eight alewives rotting is a "June joke." Each year in June small fish called alewives die and wash up on the Pinery beaches to rot.It's a natural.occurrence, cif, PEACE AND QUIET=A canoe tripalong the old Ausable River is an excellent way to see the flora and fauna of the Piner.Park. Mmes Advocate rji Page 1 A but not really the kind of thing that a park naturalist would point out. Despite the songs and the jokes, the naturalists take their work at the Pinery seriously. They sometimes call themselves "Inter- preters" in the 6,000 acre park. Terry Crabe and Case Vandenbygaart are full- time, year round naturalists. There are four people working on the, interpretive staff during the summer, and two students leading a program for children. As well, they have an audio visual technician and a secretary. • Crabesay$ that their fob is to "provide peopie with an opportunity to gain un- derstanding of natural and cultural features of . the park." Crabe goes on to say that the naturalists let people enjoy the features of the park, but protect them at the same time. They also try to explain park regulations and policies to the public. They have several ID) J11 AUGUST 1, 1979 Price Per Copy 25 Cents Sewer installation ahead of plan Sewer installation in Grand Bend is progressing ahead of schedule, according to engineer Clive Cresswell. Cresswell says that the main line is moving down Elm- wood Avenue. and the health ' service connections are close behind on Woodward Avenue. Labour Day was the date set for_ the completion of the installation on the streets north of Main Street. Workers now predict that they will be finished that area well before Labour Day. Cresswell speculates that the crews will work on restoration on those streets Two accidents in Iinxed.spot 'Two accidents occurred within four hours of each other at the same location inside Pinery Provincial Park Saturday. Provincial Constable W.B. Scott of the Pinery OPP detachment investigated both accidents. A car driven by Douglas Janson of London collided with a car driven by Joseph Behan_ of Southfield, 'Michigan. There were no injuries and damage was estimated at $1400. Just four hours later a vehicle driven byJerryRuelle of Dearborn, Michigan was in collision with a car driven by Michael Nowc of St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Again there were no injuries but damage was estimated_ at $1550. Pinery OPP detachment laid 41 charges under the highway traffic act during the week of July 22 to July 28. Twelve people were charged under the liquor licence act. and 27 under the provincial parks act. Grand Bend detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police reported a fairly quiet week. They laid about 40 charges under the liquor licence act. and handled a few noise complaints They located one missing person, and found the driver of a car involved in a hit and run accident. A car parlld in front of the Village Inn was damaged at about $200 in that accident. before they start on Main Street after Labour Day. Cresswell says they are having no problem getting the streets vibrated, packed and covered with gravel after. the pipes are laid. Early in April, crews were having difficulty with sand compaction. but now they understand how to replace the sand. Cresswell is an engineer with Dillon consulting firm. Sandercock construction is putting the sewers in. Village Clerk Louise Clipperton says that there have been very few com= plaints about the sewer work. Only eight people have approached her with dif- ficulties since the sewer work began. "And all of these were resolved before they came before the monthly sewer liaison committee meeting," she says. Cresswell says he has been impressed with the co- operation from the residents and cottagers in the village. Many of them have been very friendly. and have stopped to ask him questions about the work. he says. Cresswell says that people will stand and watch the big machinery in action. The constructsg provides en- rtainment Tor older people d children. he says. •CHECKINIGIT OUT—Construction worker Bob Alton of Sarnia stops work to look over the sewer in3tallation progress in Grond Bend. T•A photo He s"ys he has received very few complaints and in most cases it's just because the restoration work hasn't yet been done. The com- plaints are usually about brt5ken fences or .hedges,gjte says. Cresswell says the only time they fiaven't received full co-operation is when week end visitors remove barricades and park their cars on streets which have not _yet been properly compacted. The visitors sometimes find themselves. stuck in loose sand, he says. 7larv's insisifigs BY MARY ALDERSON Well, it's that time of year again --you see them gathering at picnic tables in parks. It's time for family reunions. Bah. Humbug! There are two kinds of people who like family picnics -kids. and parents. I have reached the in-between age where I fit neither category. Kids like family picnics because there are always contests and races organized for them. When I was a kid, I thought I liked them. Now 1 can't understand why, because 1 never won any of those races. They always put kids in categories by age when it should have, been height. My legs were usually several inches shorter than my so-called peers. But on the other hand, short legs were ad- vantageous in the peanut scramble. And the prize for that was a handful of peanuts which was better than the plastic sand bucket they gave as first prize in the race. It was always bad when they held the races before the peanut scramble because then the kids who won buckets could fill them.with peanuts. Parents like family reunions because it gives them the opportunity to brag about their wonderful family. You hear all about cousin Freddie who graduated from university on the dean's honor list, and now has a wonderful job in Ottawa as assistant to the assistant, to the . deputy isler on Parliament Hill. Later yotk...learn from an acquaintance who was in good old Freddie's class at school that he barely scraped through third year and now he's on a govern- ment make-work project. But in the meantime at the family reunion Auntie Dottie has your mother bothered because you can't top cousin Freddie's achievements. Have you ever noticed that at family reunions nobody knows your name? Even though I carefully pin on the name tag that reads "Hello, my name is Mary" I'm still called "Hazel's youngest" all day. That's if. It's a reunion of my mother's relatives. If it's my Dad's clan that's gathering, I'm labelled- "Bill's baby". And that's at age 24. Family reunions.are also a time to "welcome" new members into the family. I mis ` this year's big picnic bees se 1 was away on my honeymoon. 1 can hardly wait until next year when I get to introduce my new husband to all the relatives. Can you imagine telling a group of great uncles who have never been anything but farmers that you've married a hairdresser? I might as well tell them that I've married Mork from Ork; he'll be as foreign to them. • After the introductions the judging will begin. All the relatives will size up the new spouse to see if you've "done alright." And of course, the next most important question to "What does he do for a living?" is ''How much , does he make?' Eventually he will be asked if he'd like a second glass of Kool-Aid, and then he's accepted into the flock. And you know for sure he's alright when U ncle.Herb, the, geneologist, pencils him in on a far limb of the family tree. And then when they've decided your husband is alright. they begin to question you or, wren you'll be putting new little bran- ches on the family tree. "Naha'."` you laugh, "It took ten years of dating before we - got married --kids will take another ten years." And the great . uncles - shake their ,heads Sb there you are -too old for the pea ut.scr'"t"~s.7 too young to I tag erc,ev kids. .For the in-betweeners family reunions are boring. There is. however, one big redeeming feature. The food- t -all those home made delicacies that taste so much better out doors at a picnic table make talking to p relatives worthwhile. Aunt n Marg a ays brings delici potato salad, and n somebody's Grandma bakes e perfect pies. There's usually i watermelon, and blueberry cheescake, and crisp fried chicken, and creamy cole slaw, and chocolate brownies, and home made dill pickles, and fresh tomatoes, and baked beans, c and... programs which enable them to speak to the cam- pers. Leading hikes is of course the easiest way for them to get their message across. - There are several trails in the park on which the naturalists lead hikes. Some take the tourists through, the park's beautiful sand dunes. Others run along . the old Ausable river bed and feature entirely different kinds of vegetation and small animals. The trails are covered with wood shavings to protect them from eroding under the many feet. The first thing that the naturalists point out when they take a group of campers out for a hike is poison ivy. The three -leafed plant gives off an oil that makes many people break out in a rash and has to be shown to most visitors. Preserving the natural environment is of utmost importance in the Pinery and so no attempt is made to kill poison ivy. The plant is found in all areas of the park. Crabe explains that there is no select spray that just kills poison ivy -any weed killer used would destroy all other vegetation in the park. If poison ivy is cut with a mower it just spreads the oil` around and makes it that much easier for people to catch. " Poison ivy is also vital to the sand dune formation, and without it there could be an erosion problem, Crabe says. He adds that the deer eat the poison ivy and the berries on it provide food for - many other animals• The best advice the naturalists can give to someone who knows they have come in contact with the plant is to carefully wash with soap and water. Because it's a natural environment park, they don't spray for bugs either. However,• Crabe says they have never really had a problem with insects. There are seven different kinds of oak trees in the park, Crabe says. This is an unusual number to have in one area, but the great variety in terrains make it possible. Many other kinds of rare vegetation. are protected in the park. A wild flower named "bluehearts" is found in one of their wet meadow areas. This plant \only flowers once every seven years and at present there are three in flower at the Pinery. It is so rare that it is seldom found in ordinary flower books. Another unusual plant is the "blazing star." This mauve flower, which is usually found only on - the prairies, can be seen•along some of the Pinery's nature traits. The trails are also used by the naturalists to take campers on bird watching excursions. The bird hikes leave early in the morning and many rare and unusual birds can be seen. Canoe hikes are another means of getting close to nature in Pinery Park. The naturalists invite canoeists to go on a guided trip down the old river bed from time to time. The Nature Display Centre is se up in the building used as a ski chalet in the winter A naturalist is usually there in the afternoons to show visitors the exhibits. ' and answer any questions they may have on park flora and fauna. Snakes. turtles and frogs call the Nature. Display Centre home. The hog nose snake or puff adder can be seen. and he will perform his act of playing dead when visitors get too close They also have several of the Pinery's trees and bushes growing in the centre. A giant size jig saw puzzle featuring a photograph of a deer taken by Terry Crabe is available for children to play with in the centre. Behind the nature display entre. the resident artist es her work. Colleen Kinohan of Sarnia is spen- ding the summer sketching and drawing realistic pic- ures of plants,, animals and birds found in the park. Many of her drawings can be found in the newsletter ut out each month by the aturalists. This little magazine tells visitors about ature programs, sports vents or specific animals or nsects. - The children's program is one of the most popular events organized by the naturalists. Summer staff members Nial Wilson and Ruth Hawkins lead the hildren's pragram which is held each morning except . Sunday and Monday. Nature oriented games and crafts are put on for the children. Usually a theme such as flowers or snakes is followed. Adults are included in the evening programs. The top of a sand dune provides space for an outdoor theatre and different events are held on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Movies and talks are given along nature or safety themes. The interpretive staff takes time to visit tourists at their campsites. Again they try to explain park policy to the campers and make them feel welcome.. Sometimes a giant frog even visits the campsites to shake hands with the children. -Frankie Frog" has been known to take strolls along the beach to explain the what's hap- pening in the children's program. Sometimes he even shows up during the sessions. Underneath the grean speckled suit is naturalist Mark Turnbull. Mark says the frog costume is popular with children, and gives him a chance to tell them about the small creatures in the park. Besides helping visitors in the park, naturalists have many other duties. At present. the interpretive staff is conducting a bird breeding census. and studying dune erosion - control. They are also keeping a herbarium of unusual plants in a house owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources across the road from the park. Keeping the trails in shape is another part of their job, as well as developing new trails. Recently they opened. the Carolinian trail in the Burley area of the park. This trail features shag bark hickory trees and tulip trees- -vegetation that is usually found in southern United States. Of course, the job of the naturalist changes with the season. This fall they will be busy preparing the trafls for cross country skiing. Crabe says the altitude of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the public has changed over the last 10 years. A few years ago they were concerned only about packing as many people as possible into the park. Now, he says, they realize the importance of preserving the park for future generations to visit. On Monday August -6, the naturalists are planning some special events. In honor of the year of the child, families with youngsters under the age of 18 will be given free entrance to all of Ontario's provincial parks. That day in the Pinery there will be a corn roast followed by a campfire and a singalong at the Nature Display Centre. HIKING—Naturalist Scott Lindsey leads a group on Sun- day morning hike along Lookout Trail. T -A photo BIGGER AND BETTER --Frogs in the Pinery ore bigger than ever this year "Frankie", alias Mork Turnbull hopped on top of o picnic table r T -A photo : • :'Pft r 5;1' NATURALIST INDOORS—Head of walks and hikes. A the interpretive staff Terry Crabs checks the schedT•Aulephoto for 1