Feathers, Trails and Tails at Pheasant Branch Conservancy

On May 11, Mother’s Day of this year, a collaborative event entitled Feathers, Trails and Tails took place from 11am to 2pm at Pheasant Branch Conservancy (PBC). Lauren Dorothy Billings, an Eagle Scout and sophomore at UW-Madison, approached the Friends a few months ago with an interest in creating a Venturing Summit Award service project with us as part of her Eagle Scout personal goals.

Gary Sater, Friends Board Member and Co-chair of the Restoration & Management Committee, raised his hand in offering to collaborate with Lauren on this service project. After Lauren expressed her areas of interest for the project, Gary suggested she consider the Friends’ continuing concern for educating and promoting the “dogs on a 6-foot leash” policies and ordinances of both Dane County Parks and the City of Middleton.

These policies are critical for the safety of visitors using the trails of PBC, as well as the safety of the dogs and the resident birds of PBC. Keeping dogs on shorter leashes and staying on approved trails is especially critical for our nesting grassland birds, which have begun to return to PBC in greater numbers with the new 160-acre addition being restored in the northern County portion of PBC. So, Gary shared the work done and ideas recently created by a UW-Madison student group under the direction of Friends member Janet Staker Warner with the same focus on informing the public in a positive and fun way. Lauren took these ideas and made them come to life in this event.

She contacted Dane County Parks for permission to hold the event, as well as attending a City of Middleton Conservation Lands Commission meeting with Gary to gain approval. Both contacts were met with very positive responses. She then set about meeting with Gary and developing several very positive and fun activities for the event. Lauren enlisted the support and help of her fellow BSA members and family, while Gary arranged for the Friends to pay for the Orchid Heights Shelter and announced the event via posters in the kiosks and social media posts. Dane County provided a Park Ranger at a table and the Friends had an informational table, as well as a table where Janet Kane provided information about the Bird Monitoring Project which has been ongoing now for several years.

Several informative and fun stations were set up, including a bird identification and information table (managed by Lauren’s twin sister and Eagle Scout, Audrie), an interactive art table, an obstacle course for dogs and kids, healthy snacks, and a drinks station for dogs and people.

It was a busy Mother’s Day and a very successful collaboration between Lauren, BSA and the Friends!