Recent Blog Posts

by Chris Thompson Have you ever wondered what makes up the cleaning crew at Schmeeckle Reserve? We are not talking the hard working student crews who keep the trails clear and the facilities looking nice, but the creatures that clean up Schmeeckle when an animal perishes within the Reserve borders.  Recently, the Friends of...

Photos by Steve Faber, text by Barbara Dixson Steve has captured the glory of that moment when summer blazes into autumn, and the balance shifts towards what comes next, with grasses, trees, and creatures. Autumn colors “The Great Blue decides, ‘That’s enough!” Steve comments....

Photos by Steve Faber, identifications by Griffin Bray, text by Barbara Dixson Once again, Steve Faber’s camera has caught images of the Reserve that invite us into the moment. Early September, summer fading away, beauty remaining. Lovely early autumn light through the trees beside Lake Joanis Griffin told me this: The flower is a...

by Chris Thompson Throughout the last month, Schmeeckle’s resident large carnivore has been quite active on the Friends of Schmeeckle Trail Cams. Though roadrunners are not found anywhere near Wisconsin, the Wiley Coyote is quite common throughout the state, including the Stevens Point Area.   Coyotes are about the size of a medium-sized dog. Adults usually weigh between 30 to 50...

by Barbara Dixson As I’ve wandered through the Reserve, I’ve noticed that the plants are changing as the earth edges towards autumn, but that many things are still blooming. It’s beautiful there! Still, I see plants and wonder about them. So I asked for help, and Griffin Bray said “Sure.” Griffin is the graduate...

by Barbara Dixsonphotos by Steve Faber Without Steve’s wife, Jackie Meyers, we wouldn’t have this up-close glimpse of a green heron. Jackie regularly walks, lingering, in the Reserve. She’s been keeping an eye out for this lovely bird, spotted it beside Lake Joanis one day, and called Steve to come over with his camera....

by Barbara Dixson This summer’s Nature Explorers Day Camp–two weeks in June, two weeks in July–was the master’s thesis project for Schmeeckle graduate assistant Griffin Bray. Griffin did the research to create the project, came up with all the activities, led the camp with co-leader Emily Lee, and is going on to evaluate and reflect...

by Barbara Dixson The summer music series in Schmeeckle is new this year and sponsored by the Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve. The first show featured the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra Steel Band, and the second brought the Stevens Point City Band to the Reserve. The music was great, the weather friendly, the audience of...

by Barbara Dixson 4 p.m. Sunday, August 27—that’s the time of this year’s member meeting. It’s a special one, the tenth anniversary of the Friends of Schmeeckle Reserve. In that decade, Friends have channeled our love of Schmeeckle into projects and support, we’ve made a megaphone of that love and told the world how...

by Chris Thompson As summer creeps along, the foliage in Schmeeckle Reserve is growing quite tall.  One negative consequence of this is when the wind blows, even slightly, the Friends of Schmeeckle trail cams get a lot of pictures of blowing grasses and not a lot of animals.  Fortunately, the trail cams did get...