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1782 N. 400 E. Lafayette, IN 47905 NICHES Land Trust NICHESLandTrust.org Junior Ranger Activity Booklet

Great Blue Heron

(Ardea herodias)

Name:

Date:

Ranger Signature:

Explore Learn Protect

Be a Junior Ranger

Welcome to the NICHES Land Trust Junior Ranger Activity Booklet! As a Junior Ranger, you become part of an American tradition. Your effort shows that you’ve made a commitment to explore, learn about, and protect NICHES natural areas. This booklet is designed for nature enthusiasts ages 5-12, but all ages are welcome.

Junior Ranger Pin and Certificate Requirements: • 8 years and younger complete 5 activity pages • 9 years and older complete ALL activity pages

Look for a NICHES volunteer or staff or bring your book to NICHES headquarters at Clegg Memorial Garden. We will check your work and award you with the Junior Ranger Wildcat Creek Certificate of Completion and the Junior Ranger Wildcat Creek Pin!

NICHES Land Trust 1782 N. 400 E. Lafayette, IN 47905

Meet Benny the Eastern Box Turtle!

Remember Safety First! Always take an adult with you and complete the activities together. Remember your sunscreen, water bottle, and first aid kit. Don’t forget to wear your lifejacket when paddling.

Watch

Senses Out!

NICHES Land Trust Stewardship Managers record their observations through writing and drawing. Junior Rangers can do this too! Find a quiet spot to sit near the Wildcat Creek (or on a gravel bar!) and in the space below, write or draw what you see, hear, feel, smell, and touch. Poison ivy can cause your skin to break out in an itchy painful rash. Remember: leaves of three, leave it be!

Tracking Tracks!

Can you identify these by matching them to their tracks?

Did You

Know? Beaver The primary use

of webbed feet is paddling through water. Webbed feet have more Raccoon surface area to push water backwards and thus propelling the forward.

Great Blue Heron HINT: Beaver, , and have webbed feet!

Sandy areas by Mallard the creek can be a great area to look for tracks!

Garter Snake

River Otter Wildcat Wildlife

Word Bank C O P V V N L N S H E V M G H D K R B N Bald Eagle S E J V O L E L Z T D R O D R P E A A O Beaver B B U W P G W S I X H R H A F D H N L R Bluegill L E S O Q X Z X N G F N G N W F O X D E Dragonfly R H J K R F B F U E E O J I R O N T E H Gerridae Great Blue Heron R I V E R O T T E R N U N D C O O U A E Small Mouth Bass E U L M N H D R E F J G L C E M K C G U Snapping Turtle Y L O F R M T F L N E I A B Z O C X L L Green Tree Frog King K T T F Q N I Y Q D F R D R K R O A E B Mink R I K R E S S A B H T U O M L L A M S T Muskrat M V N E U U U L Y U M E P S K U B T W A Mussel R U R G X T A Z M T D C W U T F T A R E Raccoon Red Q G S C F C G W Z U L V K U X G Y R E R River Otter V V T S K I E N M E A D I R R E G K D G Red-winged Blackbird E V R B E X S K I B E A V E R T M S F D B M I H M L H H A P B F H Y Y I Z U O Z D R U P A N H D E G P J J J N Q S M X L D E E D G W L W R R V A Z K Z C H I Y V W V G R G E R Z R Z J Y N B L K V T P O W K N I D C A E T V J C K S X K I W D X

Gerridae

Common Snapping Turtle

American Green Tree Frog

Mink Kingfisher Red-winged Blackbird

Can you help Benny paddle through the Wildcat Creek maze? Take breaks at paddling access points along the way!

Sketch by Jason Rakoczy

The Wildcat Valley and much of Indiana was covered by a sheet of ice 15,000 years ago. As the ice moved down from northern portions of North America, it brought rocks that had been scraped from the surface. As the ice melted, those rocks were left behind across the landscape. Many of those rocks have ended up in our creeks and gravel bars over time.

Can you match the granite rocks from the Wildcat Creek gravel bar to the area in North America that they came from?

typical granite specimen Hook That Fish!

Bluegill

White Crappie

Did you know…

The Wildcat Creek has Small Mouth Bass one of the most diverse fish populations in northern Indiana!

Walleye

Shortnose Gar Show Me Your Mussels!

America's Mussels are a group of animals so Fill in the name of each inconspicuous they are often mistaken for freshwater mussel ! rocks. Laying on the bottom of lakes, rivers, and creeks, they rarely move, and eat by filtering water for microscopic food particles. Hint: Check the porch outside the NICHES office at Clegg Memorial Garden.

Word Bank Threeridge, Pistolgrip, Plain Pocketbook, Wabash pigtoe, Fatmucket

Amphibian Fun

2

3

1

4

Sketch by: Spencer Siddons

Can you match the Ribbit… egg masses to the correct amphibian? Write the correct number in each box.

Hint: Frogs have shiny and glossy skin whereas toads often have a dryer rough textured skin with warty bumps.

Stop the Invasion!! Asian Carp

A G E L W H Q U G Y K G X D A S X C P Y M L R R V E R C P N C I Q P M D A Y M R E E R I P D S L F B S M U W P R A R E C A H X V S H O R Y F C T C J G K K C C E M N U V D T L R B F A G A G C R F I A J A A Z X D D R C R Z K C E C J C K A E L P U S R Q L H A F X D E X T F L C G X C G U D R J L S M T I X D N F I W K H H P I U L B N M G C B I S F M L U W W A N T W A B A S H R I V E R T L M N Q R N K Z P P R A C K C A L B B B R Y B F Y H T C O Q H A I

Word Bank Bighead Carp, Black Carp, Grass Carp, Great Lakes, Silver Carp, Wabash River, Wildcat Creek

There are four species of Asian carp that are considered invasive and a threat to the Great Lakes: the bighead, silver, grass, and black carp.

The presence of Asian carp in the Great Lakes could cause declines in abundances of native fish species. Asian carp will compete with native fish for food.

Scavenger Hunt Bingo

Watch for these animals, plants, and landmarks on your exploration of Wildcat Creek! When you find one, mark the square with an “X”.

Red-eared Slider Turtle Muscrat

Adams Mill

Great Blue Heron Dragonfly (Widow Skimmer)

Wildcat Creek Rock

Bald Eagle Kingfisher Sycamore Tree

“A river cuts through a rock not because of its power but its persistence.”

Keep working! You’re almost done!

Remember! Don’t collect, feed, or touch the wildlife. History of the Wildcat Creek

Word Bank Wea Peter’s Mill Landing French Nine Shawnee Mills British Yeoman Bridge Scenic Dam Wildcat Creek Clegg Mis-So-Lah

Across Down 4. There are _____ access points on the Wildcat Creek. 1.Clegg Memorial Garden resides next to 5. Between the 1960-70’s advocates of the natural ______. Wildcat waterway protested the construction of a ____. 2. NICHES maintains access point ______. 9. One of the Indian tribes that had settlements near 3. One of the Indian tribes that had settlements near Wildcat Creek, particularly in the Lafayette area. Wildcat Creek, particularly in the Lafayette area. 11. The Shawnees were considered the fiercest Indian 6. NICHES maintains access point ______. tribe in the which is now the State of Indiana 7. The Wildcat valley experienced ______and were continuously at war against the Americans influence from the coureur de bois of Canada, who and ______. lived and traded with the local Indian tribes. 12. Wildcat Creek is an Indiana ______River. 8. NICHES owns and maintains ______13. The public garden began as private property, owned which is the final access point on the Wildcat before the by Harold and Ruth ______, purchased in the late Wabash River. 1930’s as a country retreat. 10. Between 1829 and 1877 at least 12 ______were built on the Wildcat forks.

Dragonflies

Can you complete the maze through the wings of the dragonfly?

When first hatched, the larva or nymphs live in the water for around a year. Once they leave the water and begin to fly, they only live for around a month.

They have been around for 300 million years! FINISH

Sketch by Jason Rakoczy

START

One of the best things about dragonflies is that they like to eat mosquitoes and gnats. They are carnivores and eat all types of other insects too including cicadas, flies, and even other smaller dragonflies.

Explore, Learn, Protect!

Can you FIND and CIRCLE the people using the natural area incorrectly?

Sketch by Jason Rakoczy Explore the Scenic Wildcat Creek!

NICHES JUNIOR RANGER PLEDGE

As a NICHES Junior Ranger, I promise to explore, enjoy, and protect habitat for native plants and animals, continue to learn about our Thank you for visiting Wildcat Creek shared natural and cultural and participating in the NICHES Junior heritage, and Ranger Program! share what I learn with others.

Come visit us again!

Thank you to our See You Soon! generous sponsor:

This is to certify that

Has completed the requirements of a

NICHES Junior Ranger As a NICHES Junior Ranger, I promise to EXPLORE, ENJOY, and PROTECT habitat for native plants and animals, continue to learn about our shared natural and cultural heritage, and share what I learn with others.

______

Date NICHES Staff