Spending a week at the Niobrara Valley Preserve learning about conservation efforts in Nebraska was pretty amazing, and I’m now a certified “master naturalist” who you might see volunteering at regional parks and preserves.
The vast quantities of information came at us quickly. We learned about the geology that formed the land, the rivers that run through it, and all the life around us: plants, insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. We caught, observed and released insects, tadpoles, mice and a shrew. We photographed and uploaded photos to iNaturalist as part of a mini bio-blitz project where we collectively logged more than 200 species, thanks primarily to master gardener and herbalist Kendra. We discussed conservation and environmental education.
Fellow participants came from a variety of professional backgrounds and geographic areas of the state. Each one of them was interesting and compassionate and fun to chat with. I made new friends and feel connected to another fascinating community. Volunteers supported us with good humor and good food. The days of hot temperatures were manageable with cool mornings, an air-conditioned classroom and bunkhouse. And program director Jamie Bachmann orchestrated everything with dedication and patience alongside her delightful dog, Finn. She shared insightful and intriguing quotes to spark conversation, and many of those quotations led me to make a couple of bulky orders with Bookshop.org. I expect a delivery later today!
A highlight of the week was watching a bison herd on a prairie pasture during the golden hour. We sat in the beds of two pickups and rode over the sandy, grass-covered hills to watch the herd of about 300 bison. It’s mating season, so bulls challenged one another with head-butts. Many cows had calves, including one that been born just a day or two before our visit. The sun set as we drove back toward the preserve headquarters.
I’m still processing, looking forward to my first book club meeting to discuss Birding while Indian: A Mixed-Blood Memoir by Thomas Gannon with the group, and expecting to start choosing volunteer engagements as I continue learning.

sketching while listening to Jon Garbisch describe geological formations. Photo by Paige Elting.

After several days working in the studio during my residency at Cedar Point Biological Station, I was eager to pedal a few miles. I loaded my trusty commuter, Sage, onto the rack on the back of my van and drove over the Kingsley Dam into the state recreation area around Lake McConaughy. I pedaled along the lake road, grateful that much of the Independence Day crowd had left the area. It was a warm, windy morning and the route offered a few small climbs on the way to the LeMoyne entrance into the park. I enjoyed seeing blooming wildflowers, waving grasses and a single mule deer watching me from under a canopy of trees. After my ride, I drove around the Lake Ogallala state park, seeing a girl running to launch a rainbow-fish kite and watching the spray at the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District facility.

As I drove back toward Cedar Point, I turned to look around the Hilltop Inn property. As I was reading the marker noting the dates of the dam’s construction, I realized the view was very close to that of the Ogallala camera taking photos for the Platte Basin Timelapse project. As a longtime admirer of Michael Forsberg and Michael Farrell’s photography, videography and prairie advocacy, I was excited to know I was near a camera that was gathering images for this interesting compilation. I looked for the camera and found it. It felt like a celebrity sighting! I suppose it just shows what a geek I can be about the Great Plains.

Plaque at Kingsley Dam noting it was completed as a public works project in 1941 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. The view was familiar.

and there’s the camera, mounted on this tower, taking images for the Platte River Basin Timelapse project

On Saturday, I left Cedar Point and stopped in Kearney for lunch at Tru Cafe, strolled down a few blocks downtown and into the Museum of Nebraska Art to see the exhibit “A River Runs Through It.” For so many reasons, including my ongoing collaboration around river themes with Marcia Joffe-Bouska and Tom Quest, I was interested in seeing the exhibit. And what a treat it was to see photos by Michael Farrell as part of the main exhibit and an entire adjoining gallery devoted to the Platte Basin Timelapse project.

During a storm earlier in the week, Kearney saw intense rainfalls and resulting flooding. This year has been filled with stories of rivers overflowing their banks in Nebraska, and those images and ideas will certainly affect future art-making, although I’m not quite sure yet what shapes they will take. Look for some of those explorations in an expanded exhibit of “Rivers,” which will travel to Norfolk Arts Center in December and will be on display through February 2020.