submitted by Laura Bradham

Kids at the Nature Preserve

We received so many beautiful submissions for the The Friends of The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve spring coloring contest. Two of our winners and their families visited the preserve on May 15 to receive their rewards which included age-appropriate Bird Field guides, admission for 4 to the Houston Audubon’s Raptor Center, and a private guided Bird Walk in the Forest.

That afternoon’s Bird Walk turned out to be magical as we saw one Northern Cardinal and two Blue Jay active nests. By the time you read this, those baby birds will have fledged out of the nest and be well on their way to growing up in the preserve. Look for other contests to be sponsored by the Friends of The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve soon.

We were also lucky enough to have 100 first graders from a local elementary school visit the Nature Preserve for a year-end field trip. Due to the pandemic, this was their first-ever field trip! The well-behaved kids came not only full of energy, but full of curiosity and questions. We took full advantage of the Wireless Wilderness Tour so that the children would be able to see things that they learned about during the school year in real life.

Life in a Dynamic, Ever Changing Forest Means Change

As you know, West 11th Street park has recently changed names to The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve to better reflect the natural space and pay homage to one of its founders. Yet, the preserve’s signs are still the same. New signage has been ordered and paid for by the Friends of The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve (“Friends group”) and will be installed this summer. Once the signs are installed, the Friends group will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony which will be announced well in advance.

Additionally, the signs for the Wireless Wilderness Tour inside the forest need to be updated. The Friends group sees this as the perfect time to review all the tour “stops” to ensure visitors receive a well-rounded tour experience. Already, several stops have been moved so that they are in a place where you can more easily see what the stop is describing. (All Wireless Wilderness stops are on the main loop of the trail so that everyone can have access to them.) Look for new Wireless Wilderness signage by the end of the year.

Please Leash Your Dogs!

Unfortunately as we were about to enter the forest, one of the students said that he did NOT want to go into the forest because he’s scared of dogs and had experienced multiple off-leash dogs during his previous visits to the preserve.

This feedback echoes that of many parents and other preserve visitors who have experienced off-leash dogs accosting them or their children. Several parents have confirmed to us that they no longer come to the preserve out of concerns for the safety of their children. One visitor to the preserve even reported that two off-leash dogs cornered him against a tree until the owner came to his rescue.

Members of the Friends group would like to take this opportunity to remind all visitors to the preserve that the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department requires all dogs to remain on-leash in city parks. This requirement is for the safety of everyone -children, pets, and their owners. Please remember that Park Rangers occasionally patrol the preserve and can ticket dog owners who do not keep their dog on a leash. If an off-leash dog harms a child or an adult or attacks another dog, the owner of the off-leash dog is at risk of a lawsuit.

There are several dog parks around the city that can be found here: https://www.houstontx.gov/parks/dogparks.html. We ask that dog owners keep their four-legged friends on-leash and dispose of pet waste responsibly so that everyone, including our littlest visitors, can enjoy The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve.

Caution!

On one of our morning Bird Walks in the Forest, a young participant found a Shovel Headed Garden Worm (also called a Hammerhead Flatworm).

This is an invasive worm that has powerful neurotoxins. They are dangerous to regular earthworms, pets, and humans. You should NEVER allow one to crawl on your hand as seen in the photo. If you find one, take a picture so that you can report it to the Texas Invasive Species Institute, and then kill the worm by sprinkling it with salt, citrus oil, or vinegar. Don’t touch the worm even after it’s dead–use gloves or a paper towel to touch the worm, and immediately after handling, wash your hands with soapy water and rinse them in alcohol or apply hand sanitizer. Do not cut the worm in half–you will not kill it, you will simply cause there to be two of them instead of one.

If you see one of these worms, please immediately report them to the Texas Invasive Species Institute via email at invasives@shsu.edu along with a photo if possible. We have had a report from one preserve neighbor who found one in her yard, so keep your eyes open even at home.

Volunteer Historian Needed!

The Friends of Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve is looking for a volunteer that could help us as a historian (not a board position). If you know or are someone who is an amateur historian, librarian, or an archivist, we would love to meet you! Email lauraebradham@gmail.com if you’d like to volunteer.