Celebrate Earth Month Photo from Facebook Vol. 7, No. 5. The Internet Site for Environmental Information in Oklahoma April 2019 - May 2019 The Vigil for Earth will be held Enjoy a pleasant evening commemorating Earth Day at the Heart in each Monday through April, from the Park Labyrinth at Centennial Park in downtown Tonkawa. 12:15 to 12:30 p.m., at the same This family-friendly celebration promises a myriad of activities includ- location, across from Penn Square ing live music, food vendors, kid’s crafts and an art exhibition. This Mall, sponsored by The Peace Earth Day celebration will be capstoned by two exciting events in- cluding a pet fashion show, Deck the Dog and the Trashion Fashion, House in Oklahoma City For more information: recycled/reusable fashion exhibition. and endorsed by OCC’s https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.23843/event.22403 Environmental Committee. The Tulsa’s Earth Day Festival will Reaves Park be held on Saturday, April 20, Norman, Sunday sponsored by the Tulsa Earth Coa- April 28, 2019 lition and Oklahoma Sierra Club. Featured speaker will be Michael See Poster on Page 7. Brune, National Executive Director of Sierra Club, the nation’s largest environmental organization. On Monday, April 22, an Earth The free Tulsa Earth Day event will Day Parade and Student Festi- take place at val are planned from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Tulsa on the OU South Oval. For a Arts District in Tulsa on Sunday, April 22 from complete OU Earth Month events, noon to 9:30 p.m. visit the website. http://ou.edu/ cas/earthmonthatou. or see Page 8. Join Sequoyah State Park (Hulbert, OK) on Earth Day (April 20, 2019 11:00 AM-1:00 PM) to help keep the park beautiful and enjoyable for all. Pick up trash while exploring the great outdoors -- hike, walk along roadways and explore camping loops. In this issue ... Quiz!! Quiz!! Quiz!! Celebrate Earth Month in Oklahoma! Cover This bird was probably just passing Editorial Page 2 through on its way north. It likes to mi- Not an Endorsement, but ... 2 grate at night which may be a clue to its Quiz!! Quiz!! Quiz!! 2 name. Golden Algae and Fish Kills 3 OK City Zoo Supports Turtle Research in Belize 3 Virtual Spring BioBlitz! In Oklahoma 4 Mushroom Identification 4 Pollinator Backyard Activity Guide 5 Oklahoma Gardening’s School Garden Contest 5 Do Your Part(y) For the Planet 6 Earth Day in Reaves Park Norman 7 Earth Month @ OU 2019 8 Red Slough Birding Convention 9 Conserve Water With a Rain Barrel 10 Citizen Science Day 2019 10 OKC Waterway Cleanup Event! 10 For more information and a treat, find the ScienceFest 2019 11 answer to this quiz on Page 9. Blue Thumb Newsletters 11 Riverology 101 11 Selenite at the Salt Plains 12 Wildcare Foundation 12 An environmental education newsletter for The Lost Cricket Project 12 the citizens of Oklahoma sponsored by the Department of Biology at Oklahoma City Forest Science Needs New Editor 12 University. Items appearing in this newslet- Party For the Planet 13 ter do not necessarily reflect the opinions or endorsement of the sponsoring organization. World Turtle Day 2019 13 Oklahoma 2019 Travel Guide 13 Editor: Beth Landon [email protected] Wetlands Mapper 13 Grazing Management for Healthy Soil - Healthy Food 14 Please send any submissions to The EnvironMentor Newsletter WildCare Baby Shower 15 or The Calendar to: OKC Garden Fest 16 [email protected] A Pecos Bill Tall Tale 17-18 Published bimonthly each year. Green Words for All Ages 19 The next deadline is May 20, 2019. Upcoming Events at the Hackberry Flat Center 20 If you wish to receive an email Sustainable Bioenergy Workshop 21 announcing when a new issue has been uploaded, please send Monarchs in the Park -- Save the Date 22 an email to [email protected]. The EnvironMentor on Facebook 23 QuikLIST 23 Download your EnvironMentor Newsletter in pdf form from: Calendar Form 24 http://www.okcu.edu/environmentor Visit The EnvironMentor Calendar at Not an Endorsement , but ... http://www.okcu.edu/environmentor/ Scroll down from The Newsletters. Regularly updated as information becomes available. For this issue is on Page 4 2 From the Department of Wildlife Conservation: “Golden algae is a microbial organism often associated with fish kills. But even when golden algae blooms aren’t large enough to cause major fish die offs, they can still negatively impact the amount of zooplankton available for fish to eat. Golden algae were first rec- orded in Oklahoma’s Red River in 2001 and the Canadian River in 2003.” Read about Golden Algae 1 micrometer (um) = 0.001 millimeter (mm) on the ODWC website: https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/ fishing/ans/golden-alga There is even more information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website: https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/ (Prymnesium parvum) environconcerns/hab/ga/ The Oklahoma City Zoo is Supporting a Turtle Research Project in Belize “Elyse [Ellsworth] is capturing wild hicatee and placing radio- transmitters on them to track their movements. … Ellsworth’s project focuses on a spatial ecology study and assessment of the Hicatee Conservation and Research Cen- ter (HCRC) captive breeding and hatchling head-start program in From BFREE this is the Central American River two major watersheds in Belize.” Turtle (Dermatemys mawii aka Hicatee). For more information about the Hicatee from the Belize Foundation for Research To read the entire article click on the URL below: and Environmental Education https://www.okczoo.org/blog/posts/conservation-update- click on the URL below: field-report-from-okc-zoo-supported-turtle-research-project- in-belize?fbclid=IwAR2FXngCGKrg1XUQ64N- http://www.bfreebz.org/hcrc/ tSSe_HswvJ_bfondskT48nVJOFLoUSiUgDKxQHw why-save-the-hicatee/ 3 South Central United States Mushroom Identification We encourage posts from anyone in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. *Anyone outside of those states please make sure you note where you found your speci- Locating and identifying Oklahoma's plant and men. animal life with four weeks of fun challenges. (This is group knowledge Project requirements your questions are not just for admins mushroom identification is up to the whole Observations in this project must meet the fol- group.) lowing criteria: For the identification of all mushrooms com- Taxa All Taxa mon and rare, edible and poisonous. Everyone Location Oklahoma, US who is interested In learning or teaching about Users Any mushrooms, so that everyone who wants ac- Quality Grade Research Grade cess to the information can have it. Take pic- Needs ID tures, post them, then we can all have a nice Casual time learning about them. Media Type Any Learn proper etiquette to identify, harvest, eat, Dates April 1 to May 1 preserve, and propagate mushrooms, and much more! Establishment Any This is meant for mushrooms only, and has no For more information and to upload your ob- room for disrespect, so please be respectful servations, click on the URL below: constantly. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/spring-virtual- I bid you good mushroom hunting!! bioblitz-ok-2019?tab=about Not an Endorsement , but ... Lots of cool info! The map also gives the latitude and longitude of Oklahoma. https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ cropmap/oklahoma/default.html Oklahoma CropMAP A New Crop Information System for Oklahoma 4 Pollinator Backyard Activity Guide Check out this and other activity guides at : https://www.neefusa.org/resource/pollinator-backyard- activity-guide?fbclid=IwAR12LNuqAI9r7oyB90pE6TQNupc4rr-KQ7_nnmrV_w_F4z9bijSd-QNDcBo Oklahoma Gardening’s School Garden Contest Oklahoma Gardening is here to announce our School Garden Contest! We want to see kids learning about gardening. So if you've attended a contest in the past or if your child is involved in a school garden, we would love for you to come check this out! SUBMIT Information by MAY 24 Tell us: how many students are attending what type of plants you'd be showcasing the age group some photos of the project. You can submit by emailing us: [email protected] or through facebook messages. https://www.facebook.com/Oklahoma-School-Garden-Network- 244190922270770/ 5 6 7 8 2019 Schedule of Events Saturday May 4th Registration - 5:30 p.m.-6:30pm Dr Walt Frey-Welcome and Introductions- 6:30 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Keynote Speaker - Dr. John Abbott- 6:45 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. "The Wonders of Southern Africa and Madagascar " Sunday May 5th Red Slough Tour 6:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Monday May 6th Little River NWR Tour 6:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Red Slough Tour 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Lunch on your own 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Little River NWR Tour 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Dragonfly Tour Red Slough 1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. MCWA Tour 6:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Wildflower Tour 1:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. Lunch on your own 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Champion Tree Tour to LRNWR 1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Dragonfly Tour Red Slough 1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Dinner on your own time 5:00 p.m.- 6:30p.m. Wildflower Tour 1:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. Champion Tree Tour to LRNWR 1:30 p.m.-5:00 Speaker- Dr. Chris Butler p.m. "Working on the Rail Road: Yellow and Black Rail Dinner on us in the Red River Museum Ecology" 6:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m Keynote Speaker - Dr. John Abbott - 7:45 p.m.