Diary of a Restoration

IRC program director Jacques Nuzzo leads girl scouts on a tour of the property to be restored.

Teams of scouts work together to get everyone into a two foot square space in a lesson designed to illustrate the carrying capacity of wildlife habitat.

Scouts meet with Jacques Nuzzo under a canopy of trees in Daffodil Valley, a former garbage dump being converted into wildlife habitat.

Sept. 7, 2002

The girl scouts made their first visit to the Illinois Raptor Center for a nearly day-long series of programs and activities. They learned about birds of prey from the IRC's Wildlife Ambassadors, including "Spud" the great horned owl, "Katie" the peregrine falcon, "Shawnee" the short-eared owl and "Boba" the Harris hawk.

A program about prairies was included to help the scouts learn about this vanishing ecosystem. A prairie restoration, which began with the mowing of a field on the same day, is part of the habitat restoration project. Click here to return to the diary's directory.

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Discovering nature means understanding the role of creatures both great and small.

Money from the grants will help pay for equipment needed to remove non-native growth and maintain the restorations once they are completed.

Activities that stressed communication skills and a habitat game rounded out the day. The girl scout leaders and parents also provided lunch, snacks and prizes for those in attendance.

More activities are now in the planning stages. If you have questions about this unique partnership, email the Illinois Raptor Center at: barnowl@illinoisraptorcenter.org.