The emphasis for this year’s program will be insectivorous and other wetland plants. Friday evening Bill will highlight the plants we will see and field trip sites we will visit on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend is highly recommended for those interested in improving their photo technique and acquiring photos of some of West Virginia’s most interesting plants.
Saturday’s field trip will be to Olsen Bog, a botanical treasure trove of interesting plants. Plants we will see include: pitcher plant, round-leaved sundew, creeping snowberry, golden club, quillwort (isoetes), buckbean, kidneyleaf grass of Parnassus, small green wood orchid, beard-flower, grass pink orchid, and others. Songs of winter wrens, veerys, and hermit thrushes are often heard.
Sunday morning’s field trip will be to Cranesville Swamp Nature Preserve. A window into ice ages past, 1,600 acre Cranesville Swamp is located in a "frost pocket," an area where the surrounding hills capture moisture and cold air to create a landscape more reminiscent of habitat found much further north in Canada. The most popular botanicals are the insectivorous plants, consisting of the pitcher pant, round-leaved sundew, two other introduced sundews, and horned bladderwort. Cranesville Swamp is the southern most locale for Larch (Larix laricina). Black bear and white-tailed deer are not uncommon. The rare northern water shrew is also found in the swamp. A wide variety of birds are found in and around the swamp. Of particular interest are the golden-crowned kinglet, alder flycatcher, Nashville warbler, and saw-whet owl, all nesting species.
Leaders: Bill Beatty, Ashton Berdine
Cost for the Botany weekend is $95.00 per participant or $80.00 for Oglebay Institute members
Mountain Camp Schedule 2008