Fall is magical. The sky is blue, the sun is bright, the leaves are changing, bonfires are blazing, and the air is cool (although not cold yet). Fall is that special season when school starts again, but when it lets out each day everyone flocks to the outdoors to soak up Mother Nature’s love. At least, that’s how I remember fall being when I was younger. These days, it seems that even as the weather remains comfortable, people are staying inside. Whether it’s to knock out a few levels of a video game or catch up on or binge-watch a TV show, many of our favorite activities are indoors. Fall just doesn’t feel quite as synonymous with the outdoors as it used to. Our modern technological world often seems at odds with spending time outside, as our charging cords only reach so far and our screen brightness just can’t compete with the shine of the sun. However, using a smartphone can help us get acquainted with our local wildlife.

So when you find yourself wrestling with your family members to put down their screens and get outside, you might be asking yourself, “What is so good about getting outside anyway?” Our environment not only provides us with food, raw materials, and medicine, but experiencing nature and its diversity has been found to have positive impacts for us such as improving physical health from increased activity and reducing our exposure to pollution. Spending time in nature can also give us mental health benefits such as feelings of calmness and happiness, increased creativity through inspiration, and personal growth through reflection and connectedness with nature.

With urbanization and the increasing presence of technology in our lives, we can still strengthen our awareness and knowledge of local birds and our connection with nature (and maybe even with some of our neighbors once we get outside) through the use of technology via smartphone apps. Using a smartphone and mobile apps for learning bird species gives you access to pictures, videos, and audio to identify them. I use two apps myself to identify birds, the Merlin Bird ID and Audubon Bird Guide, which are free to download and are available for both Apple and Android phones. Each one generates a list of possible bird species based on the information you enter, and in my own experience using these apps I found that both showed the correct bird species as the #1 suggestion the majority of the time. Even when we might not be all too familiar with the birds and nature we see outside our windows, we can have the technology right at our fingertips to get to know our local wildlife a bit better.

With time spent in nature showing a wealth of positive outcomes towards human life, we might ask ourselves what interactions can lead to a better connection with nature and perhaps how we can incorporate technology into the experience. Studies have shown that communities felt more satisfied with the well-being of their neighborhoods in relation to the number and variety of bird species around, as well as in relation to the number of species they knew. Birdwatching has become a popular leisure activity, and increases in birdwatching have been suggested to be a result of people’s growing concern for the environment and the expansion of urbanization. As our populations shift more towards cities, keeping an eye out for birds flitting by can be an impactful way to remain connected to nature. So remember this fall when you’re asking yourself “How can I get my family outside and experiencing nature?” like the saying goes, there is an app for that.

Hello! Sadly, this will be my last post for the BCCDKY. Summer flies by and it’s back to hitting the books.

The second half of the summer internship consisted of LEAF Academy and research.

This year was the first camp we hosted for 13-15 year olds, and I would say it was a success. LEAF Academy was held by the BCCDKY and the Boone County Parks Department (which means we got to work with Kevin!) Both students and staff enjoyed learning about the environment and being surrounded by nature. The first day we took the kids on a Bioblitz through Middle Creek Park. A Bioblitz is similar to a hike, except, rather than simply enjoying the fresh air, we identify the different organisms that we see. This not only helps us to practice the important skill of identification, but also lets us know what lives and grows in the area. The rest of the week was filled with activities like snorkeling, orienteering, and even a field trip to Salato Wildlife Center. The kids (myself included) spent a bright morning learning how to fly fish – for some, it was their first time fishing.  The kids, including some of the staff, expanded their knowledge and gained a deeper respect for the environment. 

The other part of the summer was spent conducting research on the endangered Eastern Hellbender Salamander. Hellbenders are North America’s largest fully aquatic salamander, reaching up to 24 inches long. However, their populations have been drastically declining since the 1980s, by over 80%. Sources that threaten hellbenders include: pollution and alteration of waterways, sedimentation, anglers, and habitat destruction. My fantastic herp-loving partner, Kelli Hill, and I worked on the future head-start program at the Thomas More Biology Field Station. A head-start program, such as the one at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, obtains hellbenders as eggs, rears them until they are 2-3 years old, then releases them into the wild.  Our project focused on characterizing the historic sites for hellbenders in Northern Kentucky to test the viability of repopulating those areas. Thus we began the search for potential reintroduction sites as part of the head-start program to increase wild population levels. We found that, of the three sites we analyzed, the third site had sufficient habitat best suited to hellbenders, in addition to being the least disturbed by anthropogenic activity. You can read more about my research here.

Here and there were some scattered events and programs. One warm afternoon we helped the awesome intern, Cayla, teach a homeschool group about invasive species. A different day we helped the KY State Nature Preserve post bat detectors in Boone County to observe which species are present. This past week we worked a booth at the county fair, which if you didn’t see it this year, it was the best booth there. True story. 

In a way, the fair marks the end of the summer and also the end of my internship. I can say with full confidence that this was the best summer by far, all thanks to my folks at the BCCDKY, Boone County Parks, and SD1/TMU Field Station. They are not only great co-workers, but are also a great family. I am really going to miss everyone. I’ve learned so much and have grown more confident as a rising environmental scientist; they have inspired me to pursue the conservation/restoration field. For the next intern they take on: don’t worry, you’re in good hands. I also want to thank all the readers for taking their time to learn a little about me and this wonderful job. I hope you are as motivated as I am to conserve and protect our beautiful natural resources. 

Best wishes,

Jessi Urichich

Hello! Welcome to my blog documenting my summer internship with the BCCDKY and what we do. I have never written a blog before, so I apologize in advance if it’s a little rough.  

If you checked out my bio, you know that I was an intern at the Thomas More Biology Field Station last summer. I was part of the Stream Team, working with the Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1) and the BCCDKY to monitor Northern Kentucky’s streams by collecting biological, physical, and chemical data. This work inspired me to apply to the BCCDKY this summer where I could continue to protect watersheds and educate others about conservation. This summer I am also a part-time intern with the Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) team at the station.

Basically I do what Kevin did, but during the summer. So far I’ve helped out with educational programs teaching kids, leading a group during Conservation Kids Camp, picking up trash for River Sweep, and helping the Boone County Farm Tour run smoothly. There are some odd jobs here and there, like rescuing a baby racoon or searching for an endangered plant species. Other aspects of the job includes working with SD1 and the Stream Team collecting macroinvertebrates and monitoring the stream banks. 

Conservation Kids Camp was a blast! The kids loved learning about nature. This year the theme was insects; my group was called the Hellgrammites (aka the Dobsonfly), my favorite insect. One of my favorite parts of the camp was watching the kids completely change their outlook on bugs. Originally they thought bugs were “creepy and gross,” but after holding a hissing cockroach or a giant millipede in their hands they realized there is nothing to be afraid of. Once they passed the insects around, they were arguing about who got to hold the next one. That is one of the reasons why I love this job: it changes people’s attitudes towards nature from completely grossed out to amazement and wonder. 

Another one of the opportunities with this internship is gaining research experience. I have a few ideas in mind, but you’ll hear more about it in later posts. Stay tuned!

            Hello everyone!  It has been quite a while since I’ve written on this blog, so I apologize for that.  The new year here at Boone County Conservation District has been a busy one for sure.  Over the last month and a half since my last post, we have hosted quite a few events for the public (such as the Owl Prowl and Raptors Inc. visit) and we have been getting squared away planning for everything we have coming up in 2019 such as Conservation Kids Camp in the summer and so much more!  These upcoming events will all be posted on our website and on our social media accounts, so be sure to follow us there to stay up to date (plus, Megan and Susan work hard on those accounts and it will make them feel good)! 

            In my last post, I spent a lot of time talking about my independent project.  I am happy to announce that the project is now 100% done!  My project poster – “Assessing avian diversity after wetland habitat restoration in the Gunpowder Creek watershed” – can be found here.  I won’t go into great detail on my findings here, but I will say that YMCA’s Camp Ernst is a beautiful place that is enjoyed by children and birds alike.  I was able to spot a total of 26 species and 252 individuals during my observations, including both common and uncommon species in this area. 

            The results of my study told us that the restored wetland is in fact serving as wildlife habitat and supporting a diverse bird community.  This is something that BCCDKY is very proud of, as it is direct evidence that our conservation efforts in the Gunpowder Creek Watershed Plan are having a positive impact on our wildlife and natural areas.  The project is also something that I am personally proud to have accomplished.  Beyond my own work, this project required the help of so many other people to finish and not a single person turned me down when I needed the help.  The collaboration and willingness to help, from private citizens’ contribution of photographs to other Boone County government agencies providing expertise, goes to show the support the Conservation District has earned in this county.  It is something that I will miss.

            Yes, you heard me correctly.  This will be my final blog post as an intern for the Conservation District.  The past four months have been an incredible experience for me in the things that I have learned and the people I have met.  I have grown as a student and as a professional, and it is time to allow another student to follow my path (just not into the wetland to get stuck).  However, I will not be truly gone.  As a direct result of this internship, I was able to earn a job offer at Boone County Parks, which I have accepted and will begin in a few weeks.  In my new role, I will still be working with the Conservation District on certain events and I will be able to stay involved with current and future projects to benefit the people of Boone County.

            Thank you to those who have read my posts as I’ve gone through this internship.  I have never really known how to be a blogger, so I hope that you have found some interest or entertainment along the way.  As always, send any comments or concerns along, and I will make sure the next intern takes care of it right away!

I wish you all the best, 

–  Kevin  

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone reading this had some happy holidays!  Here at BCCDKY, we are starting this new year strong!  As promised, I wanted to update you all on the independent project that I have been working on and will continue to do for the next two months.  My super-secret project is (drumroll please) . . . A bird inventory of the restored wetland at YMCA’s Camp Ernst. 

As part of BCCDKY’s Gunpowder Creek Watershed Plan, an old horse pasture at Camp Ernst was converted to a wetland which was finished in 2017.  This wetland is approximately 5 to 7 acre-feet of land in the floodplain of Gunpowder Creek which provides stormwater retention and wildlife habitat.  The wetland consists of a large retention pond surrounded by a native shortgrass prairie and a riparian zone along Gunpowder Creek. 

For my independent project, we determined that doing some sort of bioassessment of the wetland would give us an indication of how the restoration project is influencing the native wildlife in the area.  The thought is that this assessment can later be compared to other restoration projects or to intact wetlands to determine the level of success the restoration has reached in terms of biodiversity.  I chose to do an inventory of birds at the wetland for two reasons.  First, I am familiar with identifying many local bird species from taking ornithology at NKU.  This makes my task much easier than studying other groups of organisms.  Secondly, birds are an excellent indicator of the health of an ecosystem.  Various bird species rely on a combination of insects, fish, trees, shrubs, water, and other organisms for their food and habitat needs.  Without a large biodiversity in other organisms, there cannot be a large diversity in bird species.  Therefore, we can indirectly measure the biodiversity of this restored wetland by measuring the diversity of its avian inhabitants. 

For this project, I have been and will continue to make two hour-long observations of the wetland each week.  By the end of the project, this will amount to approximately 20 hours of live observation to catalogue the diversity of the birds at the site.  I am using the free application eBird to record these observations.  This allows me to keep track of how many different species I have seen as well as the number of individual birds from each species.  At the end of the observation period, I will analyze my findings to determine the richness and evenness of the bird community, as well as the importance value of each species.  For native birds seen in the winter, click here!

The findings from this project will give BCCDKY and our partners an opportunity to examine our restoration efforts in the Gunpowder Creek Watershed Plan.  This project can be replicated in the future to see how biodiversity at this watershed changes over time.  The project can also be used in other locations as a way to compare different sites.  In all, I aim to create another tool we can use in our continued effort to conserve our wetlands, watersheds, and other natural areas.

I do apologize for this being a factual blog post.  It is my sincere hope that my regularly scheduled misadventures will continue shortly.  Thanks for sticking with me for this and, as always, let me know if you have any additional feedback!

– Kevin

            Welcome back to part two of my BCCDKY internship blog!  I know everyone is looking forward to a nice few days off for the holidays, so I’ll keep things brief and hop straight into what I’ve been doing around here. 

            In my last post, I mentioned that I would be helping with an animal tracking course for a group of girl scouts.  We ended up hosting 14 girls and a few parents.  The girls were able to see some tracks in the mud, find various bugs under some logs, identify interesting plants, and learned how to use binoculars.  Everyone had a blast, but I can safely say that hiking around with over a dozen young girls ensures you will sleep great that night.  The event was so successful, we actually ran the program for a second time for the general public and served an additional 18 people including some Cub Scouts from Campbell County. 

            Toward the beginning of December, I slowed down here to focus on my final exams at school (scary, but I survived).  As soon as those were done, I was summoned to my first board meeting.  I’ll admit that I was nervous to introduce myself in front of the people that decide my fate here, but everyone was genuinely happy to have me on board and were even more interested in what I have been learning and doing.  It helped that the board meeting doubled as the office holiday party – delicious tacos put everyone in a better mood.  All the board members here are great and truly care about what we are trying to accomplish.  Everyone here – staff, board members, volunteers – makes it obvious that they care about the environment and doing our part to make things better. 

            The last big project that I have been involved in came just earlier this week.  According to Mark (BCCDKY’s longest-tenured staff member), it was also one of the funniest things he has witnessed.  As part of an ongoing project, Mark and I went out to a large property (305 acres) with a few members of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife to survey streams on the property for possible mitigation efforts.  To do this, we hiked the entirety of the stream system and scored each section.  This job took hours, but it was a lot of fun to get out into the woods and just hike to see what was around.  However, almost as soon as we got there, I found myself in a literal sticky situation.  Mark will be glad to share the details if you ask him, but I’ll simply say that this silly intern got himself stuck in a wetland and had to wait for Mark to stop laughing to come rescue me.  I looked like a giant mud ball the rest of the day.  It was very much a rookie moment for me, but I have since learned that getting stuck in the mud is a bit of a rite of passage in this line of work.  So I’m sure the sound of Mark and the Fish and Wildlife guys laughing was just them welcoming me to the club. 

            The rest of my time here has been split between a variety of things to help with my learning.  I have helped prepare educational material, done rapid stability assessments of streams with SD1, worked with Boone County Parks to remove some invasive honeysuckle, and continued my wilderness first aid training.  I am doing something new and useful almost every day I come in to work.  With the holidays upon us, I don’t have much information on what to expect in the next few weeks, but I am sure there is more mud in which to get stuck.  Also, be on the lookout for a post about my internship project coming shortly after the new year!  In the meantime, I sincerely hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season in whichever way you choose to spend it.  And here is to a happy, healthy, and successful 2019 for everyone!

– Kevin

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my first little blog post updating you about the life of an intern here at BCCDKY!  This is the first time I have ever written anything like this, so bear with me while I learn how this should go over the next few months.

            My first few weeks at the Conservation District have been hectic to say the least.  I spent the majority of the first week learning the names of what at times felt like an endless number of new coworkers.  The rest of the week was spent touring Boone County and getting familiar with the areas in which we work. 

            So far, I have found that we do a lot at BCCDKY to help clean up our communities.  I, along with Megan and Susan from the Conservation District, volunteered to help out at the Hazardous Household Waste Cleanup Day.  This event was massive, and I spent most of my morning and early afternoon trying to make sure no one – including myself – got run over.  People from all over NKY dropped off everything from old paint to even older televisions (seriously, I saw some ancient televisions).  I still don’t know how much waste was collected at that event, but I know that over 2,700 cars dropped stuff off throughout the day! 

            The very next time I came in to work we received a call from a community member wondering if we could come clean up trash from a small stream next to his house.  We said yes, and that ended up being a long and exhausting day.  We ended up hauling seven garbage bags full of trash, 5 or 6 tires, and even a patio umbrella stand from this stream.  A note to anyone who wants to do trash cleanups: prepare to be tired and smelly afterward and expect some muscle aches the next day.  However, it is rewarding work and you can actually see the difference you have made over the course of the day. 

            One thing I have to share about this internship is the amount of training I am receiving.  I have already gone through some GIS program training, CPR and wilderness first aid class, and daily quizzes on tree identification (thanks Megan!).  These trainings are awesome for me professionally.  I can’t imagine not being able to use this training – which I’m getting completely free – further along in my career. 

            I have no idea how long this little blog should run, so I will stop before I bore everyone.  In the upcoming days and weeks, I will be working on animal tracking and helping some girl scouts get some outdoor badges, removing some invasive honeysuckle from a local park, and starting my super-secret super-awesome internship project!  I will be sure to keep updating this as I go along, and please let me know if you have any recommendations to improve this blog or if you have any specific questions about what I have been up to! 

– Kevin

Kevin Black is an Environmental Science major at Northern Kentucky University. He is gracing us with his knowledge and presence for the next 12-16 weeks to be our Conservation Intern! We are so lucky to have him on board and can’t wait to throw all of our natural resource conservation knowledge at him.