Volume 40, Issue 1
Table of Contents
Calendar
Please sign up to volunteer or attend these walks or events. Visit beavercreekwetlands.org/event
January
Wellness Walkers
Thursday, Jan 29, 9:30am – 10:30am
Dave Nolin Wetland Reserve
February
Great Backyard Bird Count
Friday, Feb 13 – Monday, Feb 16
Great Backyard Bird Count Walk w/Bethany Gray
Sunday, Feb 15, 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Cemex Reserve
BCWA Booth at the Adventure Summit
Saturday, Feb 21, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Student Union, Wright State University
Volunteer Rally
Saturday, Feb 28, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Peace Lutheran Church, Beavercreek
March
Wellness Walkers
Thursday, Mar 12, 9:30am – 10:30am
Pearl’s Fen/Oakes Quarry
Doug Tallamy
Meet & Greet – Friday, Mar 13, 6:00pm
DoubleTree Hotel
Presentation – Saturday, Mar 14, 10:00am
Beavercreek High School
Snow Trillium & Skunk Cabbage Hunt
Sunday, Mar 15, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Pearl’s Fen
Bluebird Nest Box Training
Sunday, Mar 15, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Critter Cove Nature Center
Planned Giving Event
Monday, Mar 30, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Beavercreek Golf Club
Great Backyard Bird Count
The Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by The Cornell Lab, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada, is your chance to be a citizen scientist! Counting birds helps ornithologists monitor and protect bird populations before their spring migration. On Presidents Day weekend, February 13 through 16, join the global four-day event. Participate with Bethany Gray at Cemex Reserve (see calendar) or right from home. Learn how to participate and submit data by visiting birdcount.org/participate.
Mike Mushala captured a colorful northern shoveler (left) and green-winged teals (right) at James P. Amon Biodiversity Reserve last November. Ohio serves as an important migration stop for both species and this marsh provides a resting place along their long journey.
President's Message
Just before Thanksgiving, I took a walk through Siebenthaler Fen with fellow board member Ken Moran to see the progress on the new boardwalk. Less than half a mile in, the finished section ended, giving way to water and mud, and we continued carefully along a temporary path of boards laid across open water. It was a reminder of both how far we’ve come and how much work remains.
Siebenthaler Fen is a critical stage of the Spotted Turtle Trail Project. Once renovations are complete, the last remaining hurdle will be the Beaver Creek Wildlife Area. Although that phase of the project is not yet funded, we are hopeful that it can move forward in the near future.
I was also able to experience the wetlands in a different way during the Great Ornament Hunt, this time as an ornament hider. Talking with participants as they explored Beaver Creek Wetland Reserve was a joyful reminder of why access matters.
As we begin the new year, BCWA continues its work to protect and care for 2,400 acres of land through trail maintenance, invasive species removal, and habitat restoration. I look forward to the progress we will make with your continued support.
– Eric Marcus
iNaturalist Bioblitz 2025
Bioblitz numbers
1,184 observations recorded in iNaturalist
298 species identified across the property
A huge thank-you to all who participated in our iNaturalist Bioblitz on September 13, 2025, at James P. Amon Biodiversity Reserve! Whether you were one of the 38 nature lovers who joined us that morning, explored later on your own, or helped identify species from home using the iNaturalist app, we truly appreciate your support.
Your curiosity helps us better understand the biodiversity of the Beaver Creek Wetlands. Thank you for exploring and observing with us. We also appreciate the donation of free ice cream cone coupons from Dairy Queen of Beavercreek for all September Bioblitz participants. We look forward to doing more Bioblitzes in the future
– Shandah Brannen
Explore the data at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/9-13-25-bcwa-amon-reserve-beerman-fen-bioblitz.
Congratulations to volunteer Charlie Doran for documenting 100 species at Amon Reserve, the most recorded by any observer that day.
Volunteers documenting plant and animal species at the BCWA Bioblitz
Photos by Shandah Brannen
Ferguson Land Lab: An Old-Growth Forest
Our wonderful Beaver Creek Wetlands are a living reminder of a time when our region was a vast quilt of wetlands, prairies, thickets and especially forests. Forests in our area have had nearly as hard of a time as wetlands, and very few tracts that remain resemble forests that were here before Ohio became a state. Such a forest is what is known as an “old-growth” forest, and contains a rare set of characteristics:
- Large, commercially valuable trees that have had the chance to reach their maximum size and age
- Abundant fallen trunks, limbs and branches on the forest floor
- Many standing dead trees
- Little or no evidence of past logging
Fortunately, the Beavercreek area has a fantastic example of an old-growth forest, the Ferguson Land Lab, owned by the Beavercreek School District, just east of the High School. This 44-acre tract was donated to the District by Ida and E.J. Ferguson in 1959, “for the educational benefit of the youth of Beaver Creek Township so that they may study nature in what is one of the best preserved wood tracts now remaining in Ohio… ” The Fergusons had continued a tradition of protecting the woods that went all the way back to its “original” owner, a Revolutionary War veteran named Andrew Schmelzer, who acquired it in 1808. The forest canopy today is dominated by very large and old white oak and black walnut, while most of the younger trees are sugar maple. The oldest tree is a white oak, 51 inches in diameter, estimated to have begun growing in 1578. The woods have some issues that need to be addressed, like excess erosion, overbrowsing by deer, and some invasive species, but overall, it is in excellent condition.
On October 1, 2025, the Beavercreek School District enrolled the woods into the Old-Growth Forest Network. This program, run by a non-profit, seeks to bring awareness and recognition to the few remaining stands of old-growth forest in Ohio and the rest of the United States. Kudos to the Beavercreek School District for protecting the woods all these years and arranging for this dedication!
– Dave Nolin
What’s Your Carbon Footprint?
For those of us concerned about climate change and its potential impacts on natural systems, 2025 was another challenging year. Among all of the year’s environmental news—some of it heartening, some not–the shift of the US Federal government away from environmental protection and renewable energy was particularly discouraging.
In the face of that shift, efforts to mitigate climate change fall to less centralized entities—states and municipalities, industries, and individuals. And that might leave many of us pondering, even more than previously, what we as individuals can do to help. One place to start answering that question is to consider one’s own environmental impact. Commonly, this is framed as assessing one’s “carbon footprint.” The idea is that human activities cost energy whose generation leads to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which then contribute significantly to planetary climate change.
How might one evaluate one’s carbon footprint? Not surprisingly, a small industry has grown up around this question. Fundamentally, what is required is to translate one’s actions and lifestyle to a CO2 equivalent. Many websites generate such estimates. Alternatively, for a more detailed analysis, a number of apps are available that tally the contributions of daily activities and decisions.
Recently, I completed the surveys at several of the online sites (links at end of article), including those hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy, Climate Hero, and some others. Each site asks for a slightly different set of inputs, commonly including questions about one’s living space (what sort of home or apartment, how big), utilities (monthly expenditures, sources of energy), travel (on land and by air), and consumption habits (of “stuff” and of food). Outputs typically are framed in terms of equivalent tons of carbon dioxide released per year to support one’s lifestyle, though sometimes they include other metrics like the equivalent acres of deforestation, or the number of Earths needed to support your lifestyle if it were universal (See Figure). The sites yielded a range of answers for my own inputs, but the broad picture was pretty consistent—and not terribly surprising.
Bottom line, these calculations confirmed that I lead a “first world” lifestyle; I live in a single-family home, in a suburb where I must drive to shopping or my workplace, and all of that has consequences for energy use. My individual carbon footprint is only slightly below the US average of ~14 tons/yr, but substantially above the global average, which is about one-third of the number of tons/year than the US. I have adopted some changes that reduce my carbon footprint—for example, I drive as little as possible, especially since I retired, and I consume almost no red meat (production of which drives substantial deforestation and greenhouse gas emission). However, I continue to drive a gas-powered (albeit relatively efficient) car, occasionally visit my child who lives overseas, and live in a stand-alone home.
For me, the most important information to emerge from this exercise was the strong predominance of two factors. The first (no surprise) is my home. I might be able to reduce that impact with additional insulation or more efficient appliances, but a single-family home with heating and cooling simply uses significant amounts of energy.
The second major contributor is travel. I consider that I am conservative about driving and an infrequent air traveler. But airplanes continue to be huge emitters of CO2, and even a small number of trips amass substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
I have yet to engage with one of the apps that tracks the impacts of daily activities, but I have read reviews. Basically, the apps require one to track one’s life – driving, shopping, cooking, etc. – on a frequent basis, which then translates to CO2 equivalents. I will admit, I am unlikely to be a good candidate for those apps; I am a social media minimalist and not inclined to track my life on a device. But my guess is that the outcome would not be much different than the broad picture provided by the websites; for most of us, housing and transportation will be our major sources of emissions. Still, using one of the apps might focus one’s attention, and daily reminders about impacts might induce reflection and lifestyle changes.
Of course, one might also try to offset one’s impacts. The concept of environmental offsets—actions that compensate for environmental harm—is well recognized for business and industry. Programs ranging from tax payments to reforestation to wind farm construction, done either voluntarily or by mandate, allow industries to compensate for environmental damage or CO2 emissions. As a local example, developers can purchase credits at the Great Miami Wetland Mitigation Bank, operated by Five Rivers MetroParks, to compensate for damage to existing wetlands. As individuals, we can implement related actions. Knowing our carbon footprint, we could attempt mitigation by, for example, planting trees, or supporting environmental conservation (including wetlands!!). The websites I have explored do not define equivalencies between an individual’s carbon footprint and potential offsetting actions, but the concept holds.
In the end, I do acknowledge that my personal carbon footprint significantly reflects elements of personal choice. So, I need to ask myself which of those choices I might be willing to adjust. Change the home thermostat settings? Trade in for an electric vehicle? Move to an apartment? Eliminate air travel? Clearly, some choices are easier than others.
Surely, if enough individuals made such changes, the benefit could be significant. Still, though, my own feeling is that to induce millions of individuals to change their lifestyle choices will require large-scale incentives, either in the form of governmental policies (e.g., tax incentives) or market forces (e.g., relative prices of different power sources). We’ll see how those forces evolve in the years ahead.
– David Goldstein
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/carbon-footprint-calculator
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/
Figure: According to the Global Footprint Network website, “In 2025, Earth Overshoot Day falls on July 24. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. For the rest of the year, we are maintaining our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
The “personal overshoot day” is the date on which, if everyone produced CO2 at your rate, then we would be using up Earth’s capacity for balancing the CO2 budget. So, if one’s overshoot day is the first of March (one-sixth into the year), then one is producing CO2 at a rate 6 times the capacity of the planet to reach balance (achieve 0 net emissions).
In Memoriam
BCWA has lost another long-time supporter, Lorie Burger. Lorie volunteered as a land steward and board member of BCWA. Two days before her death, she dictated a letter to everyone who would attend her memorial, encouraging them to donate to the Spotted Turtle Trail Project. Here is a portion of that letter.
My Love of Beaver Creek Wetlands
October 4, 2025
Beaver Creek Wetlands Association has, for close to 40 years, dedicated itself to conserving land along our beautiful Beaver Creek from Rotary Park in Beavercreek to Pearl’s Fen in Fairborn.
It is now 3-1/2 years into a ten-year project to create a 15-mile green corridor of interconnected boardwalks and trails for people to enjoy.
Beaver Creek Wetlands is funded through donations, excellent financial management, and grants.
Two of our founders, Dave Nolin and Jim Amon, are both conservation biologists and are still involved in the group.
I have been a member for about twenty years. I’ve loved this opportunity. The current project is especially exciting to me and will be of such value to the community over time. Conservation easements are vital, but this project gives people the ability to easily walk within actual wetlands. Walking the wetlands, I’ve been surprised at the diversity – marshes, fens, wet and dry areas – even prairies.
For more details, I encourage you to visit the trails (trail marker signs at each parking lot) or check out their website: https://beavercreekwetlands.org/.
Lorie Burger
A Season of Growth and Renewal
This fall, BCWA volunteers made steady progress across multiple sites despite dry conditions and challenging weather. Here’s a snapshot of the work completed.
Rehabilitation of Nan’s Tower at Siebenthaler Fen began in late October, coinciding with the construction of the new boardwalk. Volunteers rebuilt stairs, replaced decking and floor joists, and stabilized the structure. Work replacing the boardwalk continues with handrails and signage still to come.
Near the bike trail overlooking Zimmerman Prairie State Nature Preserve, volunteers built an observation deck dedicated in memory of Richard Swigart. Rick Foster added a gravel ramp, and informational signs are planned to welcome visitors. Zimmerman Prairie also saw extensive invasive removal led by Debbie Karr and Jim Schneider, clearing buckthorn, privet, honeysuckle, and teasel.
At James P. Amon Biodiversity Reserve, Patrick Higgins, Austin Miller and volunteers planted more than 600 native plants near the parking lot, including Showy Goldenrod and Tall Larkspur. It should look spectacular in bloom! The Sunday Crew cut and treated honeysuckle and Callery pear along the marsh trail and prairie firebreaks. Honeysuckle control continued at Koogler Wetland Prairie Reserve as well as boardwalk repair. Volunteers replaced sixteen feet of rotted framing and decking, making it safer for everyone.
The Community Park bridge over Beaver Creek received an upgrade thanks to the construction crew led by Skip Beehler. Volunteers leveled the bridge, rebuilt landings and handrails, and installed new lumber with stainless steel screws, composite caprails, and raised kick boards to keep rot at bay and extend the bridge’s lifespan.
At Dave Nolin Wetland Reserve, planting around the newly paved parking lot, new signage, and two very successful Honeysuckle Paloozas with the Dayton Hikers enhanced habitat quality while improving community access and enjoyment.
Debbie Karr and Valerie Van Griethuysen maintained the Monarch Way Station and added new plants like butterfly weed and New England asters.
A highlight of October was a group of 17 Legacy Christian Academy students who enthusiastically pulled honeysuckle along the trail between Pearl’s Fen and Oakes Quarry, promising a strong wildflower bloom next spring.
Dave Nolin coordinated with Davey Resource Group to plan contracted habitat work at Phillips Park, Beaver Creek Wetlands Reserve (BCWR), and Hershner Reserve. Crews will cut, treat, and buck (cut into smaller pieces for wildlife habitat) honeysuckle, with follow-up treatments planned next fall. At Hershner Reserve, efforts will also focus on removing the spreading, invasive Callery pear.
Meanwhile, beavers have constructed a new dam at BCWR, creating excellent habitat while flooding part of the trail. Dave’s take? They’re doing free restoration work and should be left to it. Fortunately, Greene County Parks & Trails has improved muddy trail sections with fresh gravel, making conditions much better for visitors.
– Compiled by Beth Edsall
Exploring and Learning
In 2025, Education Coordinator Shandah Brannen organized 46 educational programs and guided hikes. With such an active fall season, we’ve created a separate section to highlight those events. To view a pictorial recap of our fall programs, visit https://beavercreekwetlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fall-2025-Education.pdf
Left and right: Shandah presents, “Wetlands and our Ground Water,” to Warner Middle School 7th-grade science students in Xenia in November. Photos by Shandah Brannen
25 Years of Clean Ohio
On November 12, 2025, Beth Edsall and Shandah Brannen of BCWA proudly joined the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Clean Ohio Fund at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium. We were honored to be listed as a planning partner, thanks to Beth, who helped coordinate the event. The program included inspiring remarks about the program’s positive outcomes from Ohio leaders.
For decades, the Clean Ohio Fund has helped make transformational conservation possible across the State of Ohio, including hundreds of acres throughout the Beaver Creek Wetland Corridor.
Photo by Beth Edsall
Volunteer Mobilization Roundtable
What does an Outreach Director do when she can’t find a seminar on best practices for volunteer programs? Our own Beth Edsall decided to put together one herself! With support from Partners For the Environment, on December 12, Beth led “Volunteer Mobilization Roundtable, Best Practices, New Perspectives.” People traveled from as far away as Toledo to participate. The 24 attendees, mostly staff from environmental groups and a few volunteers, were enthusiastic as they shared their experiences. During the networking session, one particularly computer-savvy participant demonstrated how to use an online platform on her laptop as a group of other participants watched and learned. Informal feedback was highly positive with comments like, “This is just what I wanted to hear!”
– Lois Gschwender
Planned Giving: Make Your Passion Your Legacy
I want to share a story about a long-time donor. Inspired by his passion for conservation, he made an incredibly generous planned gift after he passed away, cementing his legacy as a champion of the wetlands in Greene County.
What is Planned Giving? Planned giving refers to charitable donations arranged during a person’s lifetime but typically distributed after their passing. These gifts can include bequests in a will, life insurance policies, retirement assets, charitable trusts, or real estate.
By including BCWA in your estate plans, you ensure the land you love remains protected for future generations. This form of giving is essential for the sustainability and success of BCWA, allowing you to leave a lasting legacy for the environment and community.
You can explore your options by joining hosts BCWA and Tecumseh Land Trust for dessert and a practical conversation on Monday, March 30, 2026, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Beavercreek Golf Club. The event will feature Beth Handwerker, Director of Financial Planning with James Investment; Brittany O’Diam, an Estate Planning specialist with O’Diam & Estess Law; and Jeff Brock, Executive Director of Greene Giving. Register for this free event at https://beavercreekwetlands.org/event/plan-your-gift-grow-your-impact/.
We didn’t get the chance to thank that initial donor for his incredible generosity, but we would love to thank you. Please let us know if you plan to leave a legacy gift to BCWA by calling Jacki Mayer, Executive Director, at (937) 320-9042.
– Jacki Mayer
Citizen Science
How to Help Bluebirds
This year, with the assistance of over 20 volunteers at 11 sites, Beaver Creek Wetlands Association and Greene County Parks & Trails, with support from the Ohio Bluebird Society, again partnered to host bluebird trail boxes at various sites with appropriate habitat. We also worked with the Beavercreek municipal parks to update an old trail at Fox Run Park. The systems are set up for best conservation outcomes using recommendations from the North American Bluebird Society (https://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/). When boxes are monitored weekly during the nesting season, they can also support the populations of native tree swallows, Carolina chickadees and house wrens in addition to bluebirds. While downy woodpeckers do not nest in boxes, they use them for winter roosting.
Here are ways to help bluebirds even if you do not volunteer to monitor a trail:
- Bluebird boxes can attract non-native house sparrows that are lethally aggressive to both adults and nestlings. Before installing any birdhouse, including larger boxes for woodpeckers and owls, it’s important to understand the requirements for proper monitoring and deterring invasive species. Poorly managed boxes can do more harm by allowing these species to reproduce.
- Feed that is mostly millet (grains) attracts more house sparrows. Although not as cheap, use seeds like black oil sunflower or safflower seed in bird feeders.
- Replace invasive shrubs and trees such as Amur and Japanese honeysuckle, privet, buckthorn, burning bush, multiflora rose and Callery pear with natives like dogwoods, viburnums, winterberry, American holly, American wahoo, chokeberry and elderberry. These native options provide nutritious food for birds in fall and winter.
- Avoid ceramic or metal houses, heavily painted designs, or birdhouses that cannot be opened, as these options do not regulate temperature well and can pose risks to birds. Houses that cannot be opened also make it difficult to deter unwanted visitors like wasps and mice.
Have you spotted bluebirds in your yard? We’d like to hear from you. As we work to increase their populations, they are more frequently spotted visiting our yards and parks. Send a message to Bethany at ohiobluebirder@gmail.com.
– Bethany Gray
Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist
Christmas Bird Count
On Saturday, January 3, participants in this year’s Audubon’s 126th annual Christmas Bird Count recorded 49 species from an impressive 2,498 individual birds, more than 1,000 birds above last year’s total. Thirty volunteers surveyed eight locations in the Beaver Creek Wetlands. The Christmas Bird Count is a global citizen science effort that tracks bird populations and habitat trends. The data helps Audubon better understand human and environmental impacts on birds worldwide. A huge thank you to our team leaders: Deb Adams, Dan Enders, Nicole Freshour, Sean Hollowell, Rick Luehrs, Tom McElfresh, Allen McGrew, Jim Runkle, and Jim Schneider.
– Beth Edsall
View the bird count by location here: https://beavercreekwetlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BCWA-2025-CBC-by-Location.pdf
Photo: Sharp-shinned hawk at Amon Reserve by Mike Mushala
Monarch Tagging
This year’s Monarch Tagging season was a wonderful success thanks to the enthusiasm of 112 Girl Scouts, their leaders, and families who participated! Scouts from Daisies to Cadettes rotated through learning stations on the Monarch life cycle, migration, and tagging before heading out to try their butterfly netting skills.
This year, we tagged 22 monarch butterflies during their fall migration, including 10 wild males and 12 females (6 wild, 6 reared). All data was submitted to Monarch Watch. (https://monarchwatch.org/)
Each Girl Scout went home with a goodie bag filled with monarch information, plus wildflower and milkweed seeds to help create monarch waystations at home.
– Shandah Brannen
Participants learn to catch a monarch (left), to tag a monarch (middle), and the hazards monarchs face while migrating (right)
Photos by Shandah Brannen
Girl Scout Silver Award Project
Last summer, for our Silver Award Project, we volunteered with the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association to help protect and restore local wetlands. The goal of this project was to raise awareness among residents about the environmental impact of dumping waste, oil, or chemicals into storm drains. We worked to keep harmful toxins out of drinking water that may contaminate the aquifer and prevent trash from going down the storm drains to help preserve the health of the local ecosystem. Wetlands play a huge role in filtering pollutants, preventing flooding and providing a safe haven for wildlife. Shandah Brannen of BCWA, helped us find neighborhoods with untagged storm drains. We visited four neighborhoods to tag storm drains with permanent drain tile markers, which indicate that the drains flow directly into local waterways. Markers are important because of animals that live in or near the waterways, including turtles, otters, freshwater fish, snakes, beavers, and frogs. We hope to prevent pollution and encourage more environmental responsibility in the communities.
– Myhla Hawkins & Dylan Burnett
8th-grade Cadettes
Girl Scout Tree Promise Project
With help from Austin Miller, Beavercreek Girl Scout troops 3111, 3448, and 3649 planted two native trees at Phillips Park as part of the Girl Scout Tree Promise. The girls first removed invasive honeysuckle along the creek to improve habitat, then planted a red pin oak and a redbud to support long-term ecosystem health. The Girl Scout Tree Promise focuses on combating climate change, supporting wildlife, and improving air quality through hands-on citizen science projects. As deforestation and climate change continue to impact the planet, trees play an essential role in cooling communities by reducing the heat island effect, providing wildlife habitat, creating shade, cleaning water, and removing asthma-causing air pollution. Learn more at https://www.girlscouts.org/en/activities-for-girls/for-every-girl/tree-promise.html
– Beth Edsall
Photos by Adrienne Fugger
2025 Volunteer Summary
With deep gratitude, we thank our 308 dedicated volunteers who collectively gave 5,331.5 hours of their time in 2025. Your commitment to BCWA makes a lasting difference every day. From maintaining trails and boardwalks our community enjoys, to removing invasive plant species and planting natives that help diversify the ecosystem. You lead hikes, teach lessons, and inspire both children and adults to understand the importance of wetlands, while also lending your expertise through committee work and essential planning efforts. Because of you, the Beaver Creek Wetlands are healthier, our community is more connected, and our mission continues to move forward. We are truly grateful for all you do! View the full volunteer list at https://beavercreekwetlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Full-Volunteer-List-2025.pdf
– Beth Edsall
Outreach Director
You’re Invited to BCWA’s Volunteer Rally
If you’re curious about volunteering with BCWA, we invite you to join us at our Volunteer Rally. Bring your family and friends to explore the many ways you can get involved and learn what each opportunity entails. You’ll also have the chance to connect one-on-one with staff and volunteer leaders and get a feel for who you’ll be working alongside.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
1:00 – 3:00 pm
For more information and to register, visit: https://beavercreekwetlands.org/event/volunteer-rally/
