The next time you look out of a winter window, pay attention to what you see. Birds, and lots of them! Watching and feeding birds has become our number one form of interaction with wildlife. If you have the winter doldrums, mark your calendar for the six-part workshops sponsored by the Illinois Master Naturalists, and learn how to identify, shelter, feed, and protect our feather friends. All of the sessions will be held at Black Hawk State Historic Site, Watch Tower Lodge, 1510 46th Ave., Rock Island, Il. Join us for all of the classes of pick those that interest you.

• Bird Identification -- id birds through sight, calls, tracks, and behavior. Thursday 1/26/06 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speaker: Mary Lou Peterson. A birder with 45 years experience, Mary Lou has conducted numerous classes, workshops, and field trips in the bi-State area.
• Natural Habitats -- become familiar with the major bird habitats in the QC area, and the birds that live here. Thursday 2/2/06, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speaker: Kelly McKay, local biologist and avian consultant.
• Bird Watching -- learn where, when, and how to watch birds. Thursday 2/9/06, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speaker: Bill Bertrand. A bird enthusiast for over 32 years, bill has birded in 40 states and 6 Canadian provinces, compiling ABA life lists of over 670 species
• Backyard Habitats and Houses --create an avian oasis in your backyard by choosing and organizing the right plants. Thursday 2/16/06, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speakers: Alec Schorg, respected local landscape designer,and Master Naturalists Ed Rathjen, Kathleen Lee & Sheri Colman.
• Feeders, Food and Water -- Select bird food and profer feeders for feather firends. Learn the water needs of birds. Thursday 2/23/05, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speaker: Mickey Prosise. A certified bird feeding specialist, Mickey has been employed by Wild Birds Unlimited for seven years.
• Wild Bird Protection and Conservation -- meet individuals who are sponsible for helping us save and protect wild birds. Thursday 3/2/06, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speaker/Topic: Al Frohlich (Nat Resource Specialist, US Army Corps of Engineers) / Neotropicals; Scott Schaefer (Ill Dpt of Nat Resources) / Game Birds; Bob Motz (Retired R.I. High School Biology Teacher, Leader of Bald Eagle Tours) / Eagles and Tourism; and Mickey Prosise (Certified Bird Feeding Specialist) / SOng Birds and Backyard Conservation.

Fees are $ 5 per class or $25 to attend all six. All handouts, materials, and supplies are provided. A special price of $4 per clas or $20 for all six is offered to any Illinois Master Naturalist or member of Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park Foundation.

Registration deadline January 21, 2006.

Consider giving workshop registration as a holiday gift!

Interpretive writing offers to explain or expand on an issue or topic for the common person. It might be as simple as a sing, "Protect Nature's Fragile Bueaty: Stay on the Trail," or as complex as a book!

In every park and historical site, there is signage. It keeps you moving in the right direction, answers questions, and keeps drawing you forward. To work, this kind of interpretive writing takes a master. To the other extreme, John Madson wrote a captivating book on the North American Prairie. Where The Sky Began is a masterpiece. Read it. That is an assignment that will help you learn interpretive writing.

Making the Right Connections by James Heintzman is part of the Interpreter's Handbook Series published by the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point Foundation. It offers some exceptional ideas and guidelines usable in any style of writing. Let us look at some of them.

Keep it interesting. First and foremost, it has to be interesting to you, the writer. If it is not, it will not be interesting to anyone.

He recommends a technique that opens and closes an article with matching statements. It is a trick that ties things together in the readers mind. Those matching statements tend to stick in the reader's brain just like weed seeds stick to your socks.

Do you remember my reading to you about the tree frog in the basement on the family farm? The first paragraph ended, "And I heard a sound that reminded me of a time when summer lived in the basement." After explaining the experience, I ended the paper with, "A sound capable of transporting a late middle aged man to a time when, in the winters of his youth, summer lived in the basement." It works.

Anecdotes (memories or stories) are also useful tools. A tehcnical paper on the weapons used in the Civil War would interest a weapons buff. More readers would enjoy reading a couple pages of your Great, Great Grand Dad and the weapons he carried in the War Between the States.

Find a creative way to describe the commonplace. Who would have thought John Madson would call a cahpter about the development of prairie soils "Prairyerths?"

Keeping a journal will help. Just acouple paragraphs a day on a theme of your choice is all it takes to keep the creative joices flowing! Maybe you sketch or write verse in your journal. They too can be developed into an interpretive piece.

We could go on for some time, but we will not. Give it a try. You may not like your first effort. That is ok. Interpretive writing takes a great deal of editing. Keep working till it explains the topic at hand.

- Donald Bardole

Congratulations are in order for our first ten Certified (Active) Master Naturalists - the first in the state! THis is a tremendous accomplishment, especially since they completed all requirements in six months or less. A graduation ceremony was held the evening of November 17th at the Quad City Botanical Center, Rock Island, where a certificate and a pin were presented to each new naturalist. The ten certified individuals from the Spring 2005 class are:

• Norm Anselmi
• Linda Boardsen
• Sharon Colman
• Sharon Fleming
• Gretel Hengst
• Sherrie Hood
• Marshal Johnson
• Kathleen Lee
• Edwin Rathjen
• Juile Werthmann

In October, I participated in a Sierra Club archeological dig in the Shawnee

National Forest.The dig was located at Miller's Grove, which was the

homestead of a freed slave family.We visited several other sites related to the

dig, such as the cemetery where the family is buried (where the public rarely

goes), and Sand Cave, used as a hideout on the underground railroad for

runaway slaves. Another area we visited was Millstone Bluff with an American

Indian burial ground and an Indian "fort."We also climbed Crow Knob, which

rises above the entire valley and is a site believed to have been used to light

signal fires for the slaves.The majority of the artifacts we uncovered were

pottery shards, hand-forged nails, common household items, hog bones (they

loved their barbecue even in the 1830's) and wheel rims.The most exciting

"find" was a rust-encrusted pistol.We camped at the group campground in

the Lake Glendale Recreation Area. I spent a lot of time crawling on my

knees, which gave me a new appreciation of arthritis rubs.The trip was a

national outing with two leaders, 11 participants and one trainee (me).The

trip was geared toward vegetarians, making menu planning a challenge. Meal

preparation for a group that size is definitely a challenge with only propane

camp stoves and a wood fire, but we had delicious and hearty fare. Evenings

were spent around the campfire with a number of guest speakers and a

surprise visit from an old tramp who wandered up to our fire.The tramp

turned out to be the reincarnation of John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club.

He kept us entertained for well over an hour with tales of his many

adventures in the wilderness and of his philosophy of nature.

If any naturalists would be interested in a trip of this type or some other

type of service trip or outing on a national level, they can go to the Sierra

Club website at www.sierraclub.org and go to the "outings" link. I will be

leading a trip next September called "Wild Things of Minnesota in Panoramic

Color." It will be on the website in December.

- Sheri Colman

The following plants are

good sources of seeds

for birds:

• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
• Forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.)
• Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale)
• Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
• Roses (Rosa spp. – especially those that produce lots of hips)
• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
• Sunflowers (Helianthus spp. – the birds will love you for this one)

All ornamental grasses are also a good source of seeds for birds:

• Broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus)
• Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides)
• Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
• June grass (Poa pratensis)
• Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
• North American sea oats (Uniola paniculata)
• Switch grass (Panicum virgatum)

Other plants to consider include:

• American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
• American holly (Ilex opaca)
• Azalea (Rhododendron spp.)
• Birch (Betula spp.)
• Grape (Vitis vinifera)
• Maple (Acer spp.)
• Snowberry (Gaultheria hispida)
• Spruce (Picea spp.)
• Sweet gum (Liquidambar spp.)
• Virginia creeper
• (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Don't forget a source of water!

–The American Horticultural Society

Hummingbirds will appreciate a sugar solution to supplement their regular

diet of flower nectar and insects.They are greatly attracted to the color red, and

most hummingbird feeders have red on them.You do not need to add coloring

to their food-many experts feel that this can be harmful. Fill the feeder with a

solution of one part sugar to four parts water. It is a good idea to change the

solution and clean the feeder every three days so that the sugar doesn't ferment,

which can make the birds sick.

–The American Horticultural Society,

a nonprofit educational organization based in Alexandria,VA

Applications will be accepted between December 15th, 2005 and February

15th, 2006. Class size is limited to 30 participants. Cost is $125 and must be paid

in full by March 1st.Trainings are held on eleven consecutive Thursday evenings

from March 9th through May 18th from 5:30 - 8:30pm and two Saturdays field

studies on April 1st and May 6th from 9am - 1pm. Class and

field trainings are held in various locations throughout the greater Quad Cities

Area and are yet to be determined. Contact Liz Haynes or Jody Patterson

(309-796-0512) for an application. Once training is complete, Master Naturalists

continue their education with eight hours advanced training each year and 40

hours of volunteer service in local activities. All applicants will participate in a

phone interview prior to acceptance into the program.

How much radon is in your home? This colorless, odorless radioactive gas may

be present in high concentrations.You won't know the radon level in your home

unless you test for it.

"Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, after

smoking," said Elizabeth Haynes, University of Illinois Extension natural resources

educator. "Inhaling radon gas is the number one health risk in the home, above

falling, poisoning, fire and burns, and second-hand smoke."

The history of radon began in the 1400's when many miners died of an

"unknown" lung disease. It wasn't until the 1980's that radon in buildings became

a concern.

The gas is emitted from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and

water.The gas enters homes and buildings due to pressure and temperature

differences between the indoor and outdoor air. Sump pumps, crawl spaces,

cracks and openings where the floor and wall meet are common radon entry

points.

The northern half of Illinois is considered by the U.S. EPA to have a greater

potential for high levels of radon concentrations than the lower portion of the

state. Still, high radon levels have been discovered in every county in Illinois.

Radon is always present in low concentrations in homes and buildings, but it

should not exceed 4 pCi/L. If test results reveal high levels, homeowners can

contact IDNS licensed mitigation professionals to reduce the radon levels.

"The only way to be sure that your home does not have high concentrations

of radon is to test for it," Haynes said. "IDNS found that 52% of the homes

tested in Rock Island County had indoor radon levels above the U.S. EPA's

acceptable level.Therefore, I advise homeowners to test for radon every two

years to ensure good indoor air quality."

Homeowners can conduct their own radon tests, or hire an IDNS licensed

professional. Radon test kits can be purchased from the Rock Island County

Extension office through March 2006 for a reduced rate of $10, which includes

the cost of processing the test kit. Homeowners who purchase radon kits will

need to use six stamps to mail the radon test kits to the lab. Home testing is

recommended during the cooler months when doors and windows are kept

closed.

For more information about testing instructions, radon test kit sources, and

the names of radon measurement professionals, visit the IDNS web site,

www.state.il.us/idns. Information is also available by calling their toll-free number

(800) 325-1245.

For more information about purchasing a radon test kit, contact Elizabeth

Haynes at the Rock Island County Extension office by calling (309) 796-0512 or

by email at ehaynes@uiuc.edu.

We will be having a Master

Naturalist Potluck and Planning

Meeting on Tuesday, January 10th

at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at

the Rock Island County Extension

Office in East Moline. Be sure to

bring a dish to pass and your 2006

calendar. This will be a working and

socializing event! Extension will

provide drinks and table service.

From The Wilderness Society

comes this information:

"Arctic Refuge drilling probably

would reduce the price of gasoline

by only about a penny per gallon 20

years from now. That's less of a

difference than you would find

between two gas stations across the

street from one another – and we

would not see it until 2025. This

figure is based on data from a July

2005 report by the U.S. Department

of Energy."

"In the end we will conserve only

what we love.We will love only what

we understand.We will understand

only what we are taught."

–Baba Dioum quotes

"You will find something more in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters."

--St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Volunteer and advanced training opportunities, calendar events, articles, featured organizations, book reviews, website suggestions, journal entries, photos, or any items of general interest may be emailed to Gretel at ghengst@qconline.com