Sunfish Lake Park Mammal Survey June-August 2021
by Grace Lehinger-Winden, who spent here summer setting up track plates, cameras, baits, and lures to let us know who lives in Sunfish Lake Park. You may download the report and the pictures.
Warner Nature Center let us have their White-tailed deer – Thanks Vikki and Julie! Watch him being raised into his new position at the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center in our award-winning video “How many chemists does it take to raise a Deer?” Thanks to Kim for the videography!
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“Interpretive” links in the Exhibits
In order to keep the text font on the exhibit placards large enough to be easily legible, we had to limit the amount of information that is presented. In the Conservation Easement document, the envisioned nature center had the option of being “observational” or “interpretive”. We are using the Emy logo to indicate the subjects for which background interpretive information is available on this website in connection with that exhibit/topic. Where you see this symbol in an Exhibit, and
wish to see the interpretive information, please go to the Exhibits and Science Projects drop down menu and select the name of the Exhibit (in alphabetical order).
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Things to see and do:
Try using one of Christa’s scavenger hunt photo collections as a trail guide, on the back side of the cards there is an explanation of each picture. An example is shown below. You may borrow a laminated card at the nature center, or print out your own copy from one of the links below.
First set:
Sunfish Lake Park Trail Views 1
Second set:
Sunfish Lake Park Trail Views 2
Are you taking pictures of wildlife or plants?
The Sunfish Lake Park project on iNaturalist is open for observations- Christa set it up as a collection project. Go to http://www.inaturalist.org , click on the Community tab, go to Projects and search “Sunfish Lake Park”. Click on the blue text that comes up to see the observations posted to this collection so far. Your observations would be most welcome as additions to this collection. Please upload them using your own user id/password, and enter “Sunfish Lake Park” in the PROJECT field. If you don’t have an iNaturalist user id, it is very easy to set one up on that website.
Outside Exhibits / Activities
PRAIRIE PLANT DEMONSTRATION PLANTERS – an Eagle Scout project done by Ben Jasinski and his crew in the Spring of 2019. These 29 planters are arranged along the pathway from the main door up to the patio level. They showcase the 29 species of prairie plants selected to create a diverse community when the City of Lake Elmo did the 17-acre prairie restoration in 2010.
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RAIN GARDEN – a project built with design assistance and some expense reimbursement from the Valley Branch Watershed District, this feature collects precipitation run off from the roof. It helps the water soak into the ground instead of carrying nutrients into Sunfish lake, where they would add to algae “blooms”. The plants are chosen to be water-tolerant and also to be attractive to pollinators. Thanks to Carmen Johnson, Master Gardener, for guiding this development.
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MESSY PLAY AREA – a space behind the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center for kids to play with natural materials like sand and sticks, jump on the stepping-logs, crawl through the passage, and set up a stick-fort. Thanks to Dar Regan for setting up this area.
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BUCKTHORN CROQUET COURT – the mallets, balls, and wickets are made of the buckthorn that we have been removing from Sunfish Lake Park every second Saturday. Not like English croquet which is a well-mannered game played on smooth grass, this game is more challenging due to the rough surface and unpredictability of the path of the ball. Thanks to Tony Manzara for constructing the set.
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BIG BIRDHOUSE – Come and have your picture taken with the “bird of the season” – Jaime the Cardinal, Downy the Woodpecker, Happy the Bluebird, the Goldfinch, White Breasted Nuthatch, the Baltimore Oriole, the Robin, and perhaps others to come. Thanks to bird painter Dick Hartshorn, and to Connie Kirk for the idea of the Big Birdhouse!
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BLUEBIRD HOUSE TRAIL – a dozen birdhouses were constructed by the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts and installed on the perimeter of the acre is leased for the nature center – come and see what is nesting in them.
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Science Projects
Birdhouse trail & nesting success survey –




Sunfish Lake
The Fish of Sunfish Lake – click here to read the report
sunfish lake preliminary fish survey report
The ICE911 Research Project – to slow the melting of the Arctic Ice by making it more reflective. See Tony and Connie’s Presentation about our work with the Inuit people of northern Alaska – (it is full of pictures and may download slowly)
Inuit Traditions Meet Modern Science -Changing the Earth Together v5
for more information about this work please visit http://www.arcticiceproject.org