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Newsletter>
The Millstone
June 18, 2010
June 2010 The Millstone
www.CochranMillNatureCenter.org Palmetto, GA
Volume 1, Issue 1
00/00/2008
The Millstone
COCHRA N MI L L
NATU RE CEN T ER
T he Millstone is a publication
of Cochran Mill
Nature Center.
To receive print copies contact
Cochran Mill Nature
Center at 770-306-0914 or
cmnc@bellsouth.net
Our Mission is to encourage
community awareness and
active environmental stewardship
through education
and wildlife rehabilitation
programs.
Board of Directors:
Ray Hannah, President
Denise Grove, VP
Denise Best, Secretary
Dieter Franz, Treasurer
Larry Thomas, Past President
Mark Accetturo
Becky Carpenter
Ronnie Chance
Louie Deaton
Myrna Fleeman
Chris Germany
Joe Harris
Carlos Montano
June Montjoy
Tom Reed
Lorraine Sanchez-Hayes
Teri Taylor
Jim Williams
Tim Williams
Barry Wolfe
CMNC’s CFO:
Dennis Brannon
Meet Olive…..
Cochran Mill Nature Center has
had resident birds of prey since its inception.
Our birds are all permanently injured and
have been used to teach visitors about their
importance in the natural scheme of things.
Our birds are not tame and have been used
purely as visual teaching tools
with visitors observing them in
their exhibits. We have always
wanted a bird that we could use
for educating that we could
actually handle and allow our
students to have a closer encounter
with. Well, our wish
has been granted! We now
have a bird that we can take out of its enclosure
and show the students while holding it
on our gloved hand. This enables our students
and visitors to get a much more
memorable and impactful up-close-andpersonal
experience with a bird of prey.
The new bird that I am referring to
is “Olive” our new barn owl. Barn owls are
a beautiful, distinctively marked and colored
bird. The most noticeable feature is their
overall light appearance and their white facial
disc bordered by a dark heart-shaped
ring of feathers. With their small dark eyes,
they somewhat resemble a primate, giving
them the common nickname of “monkey
faced owl”. Barn owls have one of the widest
distributions in the bird world. They can
be found pretty much everywhere in the
world with the exception of some desert and
polar areas. As their name implies, they often
occupy man-made structures and frequently
roost and nest in barns, attics, towers,
mineshafts and abandoned buildings. In
the wild they rarely survive past their second
year due to accidents and predation. Larger
owls are one of their biggest enemies. In
captivity they have been reported to live up
to 25 years.
Olive came to us through the Southeastern
Raptor Center in Auburn Alabama. She was
originally found by someone that had cut a
tree down. When they were chopping the
tree up they found two baby owls. They took
the babies home and tried
to raise them, feeding
them a diet of raw liver.
After a period of time one
of the babies began to go
downhill and eventually
died. This prompted the
people to take the remaining
baby to the raptor
center. Upon examining the baby it was
found to have fold fractures in the bones of
its legs and wings. These broken bones were
the result of an imbalanced diet. The raptor
center was able to get the bone problems
corrected and continued to raise the baby on
a proper diet of rodents and mineral supplements.
Unfortunately during the lengthy
process of rehabilitation the baby became
imprinted on its human caretakers. This is a
condition where the baby animal, due to so
much exposure to humans, loses its natural
fear of people and actually craves and depends
on human attention. Imprinting is
something that rehabbers are very careful to
avoid, as our main goal is to be able to release
our patients back into the wild where
they belong. However there are some rare
instances where, no matter how careful we
are, imprinting will occur. This is how and
why Olive came to live and teach with us.
So the next time you get out to the
center make sure you mosey on up to the
bird of prey compound and say “Hi” to
Olive!
Rick McCarthy
June 2010 The Millstone
2 www.CochranMillNatureCenter.org Palmetto, GA
From the Director:
It is not unusual that we get offers of volunteer labor.
We appreciate each and every volunteer and the services
they perform. Recently we got a call from Convergint
Technologies out of Norcross. They have a
company-wide volunteer day once a year and wanted
to send some folks to us for that day. “Sure. Would love to have
them” , I said.
Well, not since the construction of the building in 1993-1994
have I seen a group of individuals work so hard and for so long as
these folks. They descended upon the building at 7:00 a.m. with chain
saws, wheelbarrows, trowels and drills. They dug, mowed, sawed and
sprayed. From 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. they worked non-stop on the
grounds and the building and did the work that it would take the staff
weeks to accomplish.
Fifteen folks gave to the Center many, many hours on a very
hot Friday. The Convergint Technology folks surprised us at the end
of the day with hundreds of dollars of new outdoor equipment. That
was the perfect end to a perfect day.
Thanks, guys, for your generosity and kindness. You know
where to find us next year!
You Know you’re a
Naturalist or An
Environmental Educator
When……..
• You decorate your home with rocks,
skulls, pinecones, and lichens.
• Your binoculars cost more than
your car.
• You know all the words to “Bats
Eat Bugs”.
• You come up with a lesson plan
every time you go for a walk.
• When someone says “you’re
outstanding in your field”
and they literally mean that you
are out standing in your field.
SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT, A SUCCESS?
January of 2009 marked the beginning of what was at the time
referred to as our Saturday Adult Programs. Now called Saturday
Spotlight, we are in our second year of this program which has offered
many great family programs on Saturdays such as Rain Barrel workshops,
Composting workshops, Bats, and more.
With 2010 halfway through we are wondering if our Saturday
Spotlight program will make it into a third year or not. Even with the
incredible programs being offered our participants just aren’t there.
We have even offered a few programs and had zero participation!
Hopefully this is temporary.
Saturday Spotlight programs are geared toward environmental
issues and projects that you and/or your family might be interested in
learning more about. They generally last about an hour and include a
question and answer period at the end. Some of the programs include
field work, hikes, and PowerPoint presentations. Some, like our Rain
Barrel workshop or our Beekeeping presentation have you taking
things home with you.
Another great thing about Saturday Spotlight programs at
Cochran Mill Nature Center is that 100% of the proceeds earned from
them goes to funding wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education!
CMNC is a non-profit organization that relies on donations and
grants to stay around.
So check out our line-up of great programs for the rest of 2010
on our website under the environmental education link.
Volunteers of The Month
January Carlos Montano
February
Bobbie Laminack
March Linda Mann
April
Stephanie
Tobacco and
The Saturday
Rebels
May Ted Wansley
Please support those who support us!
Carlos Montano of Casa Montano in Fairburn has donated
beautiful garden statuary items to the Nature Center for years
now. Please visit his shop next time you’re in Fairburn.
His number is 770- 969-6466.
Dr. Justin Verner of Sweetwater Creek Animal Hospital in
Douglas County has been an invaluable help to CMNC and its
wildlife rehabilitation program. Please consider him as your
veterinarian if you are on the south side of town.
His number is 678-838-7387.
Jim Reis of Event Photographer of Fayetteville has photographed
two of our annual events just beautifully. Jim and his
staff are extremely professional and easy to work with. Please
consider them for your next event or family portrait. Their
number is 678-491-6222 or you can find them online at
www.besteventphotographer.com
Dr. Brad Wilson of Veterinary Clinic West in Marietta has
assisted us with injured animals for years. If you are on the
north side of town, please consider giving Dr. Brad your business.
His number is 770-424-5484.
www.theveterinaryclinic.net
One More Generation founded by Olivia (7) and Carter (9)
Reis is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of
endangered species. Their goal is to ensure all endangered
species survive at least One More Generation...and beyond. We
have been very fortunate to partner with this great organization!
www.OneMoreGeneration.org 1-877-OMG-THANKS
June 2010 The Millstone
3 www.CochranMillNatureCenter.org Palmetto, GA
CALENDAR
CMNC Summer Camps
Cochran Mill Nature Center has presented
kids fresh out of school with the chance to
escape into nature during the summer for
countless years now. Children spend the
greater part of their time here outside in
nature. Each week they have the opportunity
to hike, play in creeks, canoe,
fish and have water fights
with our local Chattahoochee
Hills Fire
Department. Each
week also has a
different topic so
repeat campers
are never bored.
In fact many of
our campers attend
the entire summer!
Being outside, in nature
is crucial for every child’s
development and CMNC’s summer
camp program is a great way to meet
that need.
This year we have implemented a
few changes. First I would like to introduce
our new camp director, Vicky Smith.
Vicky’s name or face may be familiar to
some. She is also lovingly referred to as the
“bat lady” not to be confused with batty
lady! Vicky is the creator of A-Z Animals
and owner of the charming Egyptian Fruit
Bats on exhibit in our reptile room. She has
lead and taught summer camps of her own
on a large number of occasions and has
brought a lot of energy, resourcefulness, and
imagination to the table. Along with a handful
of CMNC volunteers Vicky has transformed
the basement classroom into an exciting
environmental summer camp learning
and exploring zone. The campers won’t be
spending much time in there though; Vicky
has planned an exciting program that will
keep them on the go outside. That brings me
to another change, our camp programming.
Vicky has taken our tried and true method
of having a different topic each week of
camp and made it even better. She has
freshened up the list of topics
and brought in some
entirely new ones as
well. For instance,
Session 2 is
titled Record
Setters and
Rule Breakers.
The
campers
learned about
animals that set
records. Who are the
largest, smallest, or fastest?
They will learn about animals
that are different from what we expect
them to be such as egg laying mammals,
insects that give birth, and birds that don’t
fly. Campers will also dissect an owl pellet.
These changes have us very excited! Come
check them out for yourself!
Cochran Mill Nature Center summer
camps are separated into three camps
based on the camper’s age. We offer a
Camp Cricket for rising Kindergarten campers,
a Teen Adventure Camp for rising 6th-
9th graders, and our original, Junior Naturalist
Summer Camp for rising 1st-5th. Our
Camp Cricket is the only camp that does
not continue until 3:00pm; it dismisses at
1pm.
So come, let your child spend their
summer outside with us at Cochran Mill
Nature Center! For more information and
pictures you can visit our website at
JULY
17 - Saturday Spotlight
“Raptors in Flight”
AUGUST
14 - Saturday Spotlight
“Water Quality
Monitoring”
23 - Home School Day
“Ecosystems in Action”
28 - Snake Day Festival
SEPTEMBER
19 - Home School Day
“Granite Rock
Outcroppings”
OCTOBER
18 - Home School Day
“ Reptiles”
22 - Halloween Hayride
NOVEMBER
13 - Saturday Spotlight
“History of
Cochran Mills”
DECEMBER
4 - Saturday Spotlight
“Amphibian ARK”
20 - Home School Day
There is new life in the soil for every man.
There is healing in the trees for tired minds
and for our overburdened spirits, there is
strength in the hills, if only we will lift up
our eyes. Remember that nature is your
great restorer.
CALVIN COOLIDGE, speech,
Jul. 25, 1924
Great Nature Books for Families and Children
A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky: The Story of the Stars, Planets, and Constellationsand
How You Can Find Them in the Sky, Michael Driscoll (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2004)
Best Hikes with Children series, guides by geographic region (The Mountaineers)
Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife, David Mizejewski (Creative
Homeowner, 2004)
Backyard Bird Watching for Kids: How to Attract, Feed, and Provide Homes for Birds,
George H. Harrison (Willow Creek Press, 1997)
June 2010 The Millstone
4 www.CochranMillNatureCenter.org Palmetto, GA
Come Out and See Our Bog Garden
What’s a bog garden you ask?
There are different types of bogs in nature.
For the most part they are usually
moist to wet areas with soil that is often
lacking in nutrients. Due to the special
qualities of these bogs, many plants and
animals have developed unusual adaptations
in order to survive and sometimes
thrive under these unique and, often less
than optimal conditions. In order to
compensate for the lack of nutrients in
the soil many plants have
gone so far as to develop a
hankering for a little meat in
their diets! Many of the
plants that we know as
“carnivorous” plants happen
to inhabit these nutrient poor
bogs.
Our bog garden was
built by first choosing the sunniest
location we could find on our
property. Then we dug a large hole
approximately 15‘ long by 8’ wide
by about 18” deep. This hole was then
lined with a heavy duty commercially
made rubber pond liner. The next step
was to fill the lined hole with a 50-50
mix of river sand and peat. This was a
bit of a lengthy process as the peat tends
to be real dry and “floaty” until it has
time to absorb water. Therefore the next
step was to saturate the sand/peat mix
with water and let things settle down for
a bit. We then contacted our friends at
Atlanta Botanical Gardens and were
graciously given many flats of carnivorous
and other associated bog plants.
This initial planting took place early in
the spring of 2009. The plants took root
and prospered beyond our expectations.
The bog was actually quite
impressive in its debut summer. Our
only problem of note was that once the
pitcher plant flowers started shooting
skywards, the deer would nibble them
off and we were not able to enjoy a single
flower! Once the summer wound
down and winter began to creep in we
c o u l d see the plants finishing
u p their strong summer
growth as
they began to
die down for
their winter
dormancy.
W e l l ,
this spring they
all sprang back
up with a
vengeance and
came back in
numbers that
were totally surprising!
There were
plants that started with perhaps
a half a dozen individuals last summer
that came back with perhaps fifty
plants this spring! Also there are plants
up this year that we didn’t even know
we had!
So, if you find yourself with a
little spare time on your hands and
would like to get outside and enjoy nature
a little bit, stop on down and visit
CMNC and check out the wonders of
our bog garden. We have nearly 20 different
species of carnivorous plants such
as pitcher plants, butterworts, sundews
and Venus flytraps (which are blooming
as I write this) as well as some orchid
species and other interesting plants.
Rick McCarthy
"Flowers are beautiful hieroglyphics of nature, with
which she indicates how much she loves us."
--Wolfgang von Goethe
1. For a carnivorous plant bog,
choose a spot where there
will be at least 5 or 6 hours
of direct sunlight. The more
sun, the better.
2. Once you choose the size
and shape of your garden,
dig out the space to a depth
of 12-14”. The bottom of
your hole should be flat and
level or slightly sloped.
3. Line your hole with a commercial
plastic pond or a
rubber pond liner at least 4
mil thick. (If you are using a
liner, it is good to leave an
excess of 10-12” of extra
liner around the outside top
of the bog. This can later be
covered with mulch, rocks,
etc.)
4. Cover the bottom of your
bog with 2-3” of wet river
sand.
5. In a wheelbarrow or other
container, mix river sand
with peat to a 50-50 mix.
6. Add water to the container
and mix until the peat/sand
is thoroughly saturated. (It
is easier to do this in smaller
quantities in the wheelbarrow,
as the peat is hard to
get saturated).
7. Add the saturated peat/sand
mix to the bog until it is
about 1” from the top of the
bog.
8. Allow a week or so for the
mixture to settle and you are
ready for planting.
Important tip: Although your bog
doesn’t have to be constantly
soaking, you really don’t want
your soil to dry out. You will
need to monitor the moisture
levels during hot summer months
or prolonged periods of drought.
Installing a soaker hose is a great
way to avoid over drying. Rain
water is the best way to go, so
installing a rain barrel nearby to
collect rainwater from a roof and
hosing it to your bog could be the
optimal solution.
Tips for Planting
Your Bog Garden
June 2010 The Millstone
5 www.CochranMillNatureCenter.org Palmetto, GA
Symptoms Problem Solution
Bad Odor Too Wet Add Browns
Bad Odor Not Enough Air Turn Pile
Center is Dry Not Enough
Water
Moisten and
Turn
Pile Only Warm
In Middle
Pile Too Small Mix Into Larger
Will Not Heat Up Lack of Nitrogen Mix in Nitrogen
Source
Your Basic Compost Recipe:
1. Chop compostables.
2. Mix 2/3 dry brown material with 1/3 moist
green.
3. Add water as you build your pile.
Uses For
Compost Include:
• soil amendment
• mulching
• potting mix
Potting Soil Recipe
• 1/3 Compost
• 1/3 Coarse Sand
• 1/3 Ground Pine
Bark
DO Compost:
grass clippings
leaves
shrub prunings
flowers
sawdust
fruit scraps
vegetable scraps
coffee grounds
tea bags
shredded uncoated paper
pine needles
egg shells
DO NOT Compost:
butter
lard
mayonnaise
oil
meat
milk
peanut butter
salad dressing
fish scraps
dog manure
chicken
cheese
cat manure
bones
Georgia Gardening
with Native Plants
Composting Tips
Why grow native
plants? What plants are native
to this area?
What exactly
is a native
p l a n t ?
Where can
I find
plants that
are native
to my area
for my
p l a n t i n g
needs?
So what are native
plants? Native plants are
plants that grew naturally in
an area before humans began
to bring in outside
plants. These native plants
have adapted to the climate
and particular conditions of
an area and became a part of
the ecosystem. Of course a
plant could be native to the
entire area of North America
or it could be native to just
one little town.
Why should I grow
and garden with native
plants? I really like some of
the non-native varieties! One
great reason is that they are
easier! Native plants are already
accustomed to your
soil, temperature, rain or lack
thereof, and predators. They
will also not require as much
fertilizing if any because they
have already adapted their
own methods of getting the
nutrients they need to survive.
A native plant is rarely
invasive. And anybody that
has sighed at the amounts of
kudzu in Georgia knows the
destruction of a non-native
invasive species. Native
plants have natural predators
that keep
them in check
So how do I
find out what
plants are
native to my
area? There
are many
websites on
the internet
today that are geared toward
the native gardener.
There are also plant nurseries
springing up all over the
place that specialize in native
gardening. Please make sure
that you are purchasing from
a reputable plant dealer
though to ensure you are not
buying plants that are endangered.
It is illegal to harvest
endangered plant species!
Check out these websites
for more information.
www.enature.com
www.plantnative.org - Find
Out What Plants Are Native
To Georgia
www.gnps.org - Native Plant
Society of Georgia
Melissa Laughner
June 2010 The Millstone
6 www.CochranMillNatureCenter.org Palmetto, GA
Our Vision is to be the dynamic resource center for outstanding environmental
education and wildlife rehabilitation, serving our diverse
communities within the Atlanta Southern Crescent region.
CMNC will also be recognized for providing fun, flexible, thoughtprovoking
programs and exhibits.
Our Values: CMNC priorities are to:
1. Instill environmental stewardship in future generations
2. Educate our communities and members in environmental conservation
and protection
3. Support dedicated Volunteers, Staff, and Board of Directors, who
possess a desire to serve our diverse community
4. Provide humane treatment of the wildlife under our care
COCHRAN MILL
NATURE CENTER
P.O. Box 911
Fairburn, Ga 30213
Non-profit Organization
PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. Postage Paid
Fairburn Georgia
Permit No. 65
The Millstone
About Our Organization….
Our Staff:
Maribeth Wansley, Executive Director
Rick McCarthy, Wildlife Specialist
Melissa Laughner, Environmental
Education Coordinator
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
cochranmillnaturecenter.org
Become a member today!
http://
www.cochranmillnaturecenter.
org/membership_app.htm
Cochran Mill
Nature Center
6300 Cochran Mill Rd
Palmetto, GA 30268
PHONE:
((770) 306-0914
FAX:
(770) 306-8463
E-MAIL:
cmnc@bellsouth.net
"A true conservationist is a man who knows
that the world is not given by his fathers but
borrowed from his children. "
-- John James Audubon
Cochran Mill Nature Center 6300 Cochran Mill Road Palmetto, GA 30268 Phone (770)306-0914
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