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Our booth at the Baxter Street Fair was both fun and productive. We gained one new Friends member...Welcome Diane Glasgow! The booth was a popular stop on the tour with our popsicle tree and Holly and her snakes. Holly did a wonderful job in her presentations. Little girls who had been afraid to touch the snakes ended up with them draped around their necks and learning to appreciate their place in the scheme of nature. We had a good crowd and a good time. We hope to participate in more of this type of events in the future. We have been invited to have a booth at a similar rally in Monterey next month.
Don't forget our regular quarterly meeting next week...September 15 at 6:00 pm at the Hospitality Hut. This is a very important meeting as we are rapidly approaching the History Hayride on October 10. We have a lot of work to do to get ready for this major event. This is our main fund raising event and we need everyone to pitch in to make it a productive affair. Please make this meeting a priority on your calendar!
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We will be setting up and maintaining a booth at the Baxter Street Fair on September 5, 2009. This will give us another opportunity to get our Friends Group exposed to the area...There are actually people in Putnam County that don't know where Edgar Evins State Park is located! We plan to have a visual display, brochures for both the Friends and EESP, and a cheery word and answers to questions about the Park and/or the Friends Group. The booth will be open starting at 9:00 am and stay open as long as there are interested people coming by.
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We have received the OK from the Central Office to use the boxes that were used to collect access fees for donation boxes for the Friends...We are in the process of getting them ready for that purpose...Cornelia Overton has volunteered to do some painting and decorating before she has to leave for college. This can be a valuable asset to us...I'll keep you up to date as to our progress on this project...
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The registration forms for the 6th Friends of Tennessee State Parks Annual Conference are now available. If you are going to the conference, contact me and I will send you a form. The $25.00 registration fee will be paid by the Friends...The only cost to attendees will be room, meals and any extras you may want to buy...The dates are November 6-7-8 at Fall Creek Falls State Park.
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The Butterfly Garden at Edgar Evins State Park
The idea for the butterfly garden was approved by the park manager during the summer of 2007. Phase 1 of the garden was installed in the spring of 2008, and phase 2 during the spring of 2009. Seasonal Naturalist Holly Taylor and Park Ranger Mark Taylor and Wayne Morrison have been undertaking the design, planting and maintenance of the garden. The plants are all native species and were chosen to attract not only nectar feeding butterflies, but also their larvae. Included in the plantings are Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), Wild Monarda (Monarda fistulosa), wild sunflower (Helianthus atrorubens) and verbena (Verbena canadensisi) for nectar. Also included are Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis), Wooly Dutchman’s pipvine (Aristolochia tomentosa) and butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberose) as food plants. There are plans for further expansion of the garden, and ultimately it will cover all of the current grassy areas surrounding the Visitor’s Center. It has already been very successful in attracting butterflies. A few species seen visiting the garden are Great Spangled Fritillaries, Zebra Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, Monarchs, Cabbage Whites, Clouded Sulfurs, Sleepy Orange, Southern Dogface and Silver-spotted Skippers to name a few. The butterfly weed was covered in Monarch caterpillars this spring. There were so many in fact that they had to be relocated to wild milkweed growing in the park. It has been a great crowd pleaser so far, with many park visitors stopping to view and take pictures of the visiting butterflies. The theme is continued inside with Butterflies of Edgar Evins State Park brochures, butterfly coloring sheets, information pamphlets and a mounted butterfly collection in the Nature Center. Butterfly and moth caterpillars are raised on display in the Nature Center as well.
Future plantings will hopefully include more species of native milkweeds, asters, Black-eyed Susan’s, spicebush, pussytoes, phlox, Golden Alexanders, and much more. There are also plans for scenic walkways, water features, benches, arbors and possibly picnic tables. This year’s plantings in the garden have been graciously provided by the Friends of Edgar Evins State Park. Those who wish to donate money or volunteer their time to help with future construction should contact ranger Mark Taylor at Mark.Taylor@tn.gov.
The June 15, 2009 Smithville Seniors Boat Cruise was a huge success! We had a good turnout for a leisurely cruise on the lake and a delicious meal afterwards. Many thanks to Earl Conatser and crew for grilling the hamburgers and hot dogs and to the Smithville Seniors for providing the food. We had a total of 28 Seniors, Friends and Staff participating...
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Here are some pictures from Holly's day at the Children's Museum in Cookeville. She will be conducting a class there each Tuesday during the summer. We are very proud of Holly and the job she is doing to promote Edgar Evins State Park and the State Parks in general! Let her know how much you appreciate her efforts...
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures...
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Very productive meeting last night...Here are the minutes from Margaret Waggoner, Secretary...
Friends of Edgar Evins State Park, Inc. Quarterly Meeting
June 16, 2009
Persons Attending:
Fount Bertram Carl Halfacre, Park Manager
Anna Bertram Mark Taylor, Park Ranger
Phyllis Shaw Holly Taylor, Seasonal Naturalist
LaDonna Sorenson Randy Hedgepath, State Naturalist
Margaret Waggoner
The meeting opened with Park Manager Carl Halfacre’s report. Efforts to secure extra summer help for Edgar Evins was unsuccessful due to an insufficient number of applicants in the surrounding areas for the summer worker force funded by President Obama’s stimulus funds. There were also an insufficient number of applicants for the over 55-summer program. Edgar Evins lost another full-time position and currently has three (3) other vacant positions that may possibly be lost due to the State’s budget crunch. Due to a large chunk of tile being broken out of the floor at the Hospitality Hut a credit card number will be secured and charged during future rentals if clean up is needed and if damages occur. Due to new gun laws, handguns can be carried in Tennessee State Parks. Possible future fundraisers for our Friends group will include raffling off a porch swing patterned after a 1940’s version along with other items. Our Friends and Park’s programs represent Sustainable Tourism programs. Volunteers are needed on September 5, 2009 to man a Friends booth at the Baxter Depot fundraiser. Park Manager Carl Halfacre will be in charge of the construction of a stand for our Friends display board. Edgar Evins Senior boat ride program was a success with twenty (20) seniors going on the boat ride and twenty-eight (28) being served at lunch.
Schoolteacher Suzanne Halfacre sent her thanks for the Friends sponsorship of her attendance at the Tennessee Outdoor Symposium. The topics addressed were attracting and marking Monarch butterflies and biodiversity classes. One of the instructors at the Symposium taught that anything could be used as a teaching aid. An interesting fact introduced at the Symposium was the 6, 000 species of slime mold in the Smokies some of which had not been catalogued.
Seasonal Naturalist Holly Taylor was complimented for her efforts in getting Edgar Evins State Park and Friends of Edgar Evins State Park, Inc. information listed on Facebook. Holly also does a weekly program at the Children’s Museum in Cookeville, TN. Both Holly and Park Ranger Mark Taylor were complimented on the beautiful butterfly garden at Edgar Evins Park Office/Visitor’s Center. Holly and Mark’s ongoing efforts toward the Nature Center located in Edgar Evins State Park Office/Visitor’s Center were discussed. Hands on exhibits geared toward children are housed in the Nature Center. Friends of Edgar Evins State Park, Inc. agreed to pay $450.00 for the mounting of a red tail hawk and a pileated woodpecker to be placed in the Nature Center. Future plans for the Nature Center includes a fish cycle of life and various animal/bird/etc. mounts. The mounting plaques will be made from the American chestnut tree that Edgar Evins lost to the blight. Friends of Edgar Evins also agreed to fund the framing of ten (10) informative/teaching posters provided by TWRA in the amount of $100.00. These posters will be placed in the Nature Center. Using snake replicas versus actual snake mounts were discussed for future displays due to excessive cost for the mounts.
Our Celebration of Spring is set for April 10, 2010. Anna Bertram, Suzanne Halfacre, and Seasonal Naturalist Holly Taylor will be discussing and organizing children’s activities for this event.
Rhino linings for the Park owned pontoon boat was discussed due to the constant need to replace the carpet. Worn carpet is unsafe and unsightly. Park Ranger Carl Halfacre will be in charge of getting specifics such as cost, etc. for the rhino linings.
The Color Cruise is set for October 24, 2009. The cost will be $10.00 per person regardless of age. Number of participants will be determined by number of boats and their capacity. We will hold firm at these numbers.
The Waterfall Tour was discussed. All participants will be charged regardless of whether or not they drive their own vehicles.
Our Recycling Project was discussed. Betty Henley helps keep an eye on it and will let Fount Bertram know when to pick up cans. A wire fence enclosure at Edgar Evins maintenance shop will house the cans until pick up. Our goal is to promote recycling and help reduce Park litter.
Plans for the Hospitality Hut includes blinds for the large windows to reduce glare during programs. Fount Bertram is in charge of this project.
Due to changes at DTC Phone Company our website has been down but is now up and running. We are approaching 6,000 hits in the two (2) years it has been active.
Our History Hayride is set for October 10, 2009. Park Manager Carl Halfacre is working on two (2) new characters. Jennifer Waller has volunteered for one of the two roles. Seasonal Naturalist Holly Taylor has volunteered for the other role. Park Manager Carl Halfacre is in the process of securing a grant to help offset the expenses for this program. The Sept./Oct. issue of The Conservationist will feature our History Hayride program. We need volunteers to do props for each character. We will hold future meetings just to discuss History Hayride details.
The Galley Restaurant at Edgar Evins Marina is offering a 10% discount to Friends Members and Program participants during various programs.
The Friends purchased a new coat rack for the Hospitality Hut thanks to the efforts of Fount and Anna Bertram.
The Annual Friends Conference is set for November 6, 2009 at Fall Creek Falls State Park. We hope to have a good turn out from our Friends group. Lots of great programs will be held during the Conference.
Our Senior luncheon will be held on December 3, 2009.
Meeting was adjourned. Our next meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2009
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Holly Taylor, Seasonal Naturalist, has come up with an exciting outing that takes participants around the bluff shoreline on the park pontoon boat. The response has been excellent and it is very informative and entertaining. As long as there is an interest, Holly will do this on a weekly basis. Call the park office to reserve your spot...Anna and I went on the one today and had a very good time...We were able to see lots of plants and animals...Wood ducks, Mallards, Great Blue Heron, water snake. Blooming Western Wallflowers, Yucca, St John's Wort, Spider Wort...
Click on the above pictures for an enlargement...You may have to reduce the size to fit your screen...