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Winter at Shawnee Bottoms

 

While you may not be outdoors as much as you would like, there is a lot going on this season! Board member Lori Marcum shares her suprising observations at Scott Pond in this post for our blog.

I recently took a hike at Shawnee Bottoms in Fountain County. Located along the middle Wabash River, this landscape of floodplain and upland oak woodland is a perfect spot to watch and listen to flocks of Greater White-Fronted Geese. In this moment of stillness and natural beauty, I felt a wave of gratitude for NICHES and those who have entrusted the organization with their land. Isn’t it uplifting to know you have nearby places where you can find serenity and enjoy nature in all its seasons?

I went to Shawnee Bottoms intending to run the trail, but the moment I got out of the car, I could hear what sounded like hundreds of geese coming from the direction of the Wabash. I cancelled my plans to run and decided to take a mindful hike, taking in the sounds around me and excitedly hoping to catch a glimpse of the source of the calls.

It was a cloudy, misty day – a favorite of mine to be out on the trails. I was surprised to see how full Scott Pond had become, stopping not too far from the trail. There were several small streams to negotiate, my favorite thing to encounter on a trail.  Most required a little hop, but some required a bigger jump or other means to cross.  What fun! 

As I was heading back to the car, I could hear geese flying overhead that I didn’t recognize. I looked up to see large flocks of them flying together. They would later be identified by NICHES Stewardship Director Bob Easter as Greater White-Fronted Geese, a new-to-me species! I stood in place for a good while, watching and listening to the flocks come and go. There is always something exciting to experience out in nature, but I wasn’t expecting to experience something like this.

On the drive home, I was feeling thankful for NICHES staff, board, volunteers, and those who have entrusted NICHES with their land, for places to get away and enjoy nature, and experience what I just had. I was also feeling proud to be a part of an organization that works to preserve natural places that migratory birds can call their “home away from home”. 

The winter months at NICHES have brought both peace and preparation for warmer days. Native seeds are stratifying in the cold as the stewardship team is off to the races getting the land ready for new plantings and the spectacle of prescribed burns.

Over the next few months, acorns will be planted, invasive plants will be cleared, prescribed fire will enrich the soil, and new life will sprout. All of this work would not be possible without the organization’s dedicated staff, volunteers, and generous individuals like you. NICHES has worked throughout all seasons to protect, restore, and sustain our local environment for almost three decades. Today, the organization manages over 4,600 acres of forest, savanna, prairie, and wetlands – all of which are open to the public for free and are seeing record use (even on cold days!)

Your generous support makes high quality stewardship of the land possible. As NICHES looks forward to the year ahead, there are so many possibilities! Please join me in supporting the important work NICHES is doing so that you can enjoy nature throughout 2024 and beyond.

- Lori Marcum, NICHES Board Member