Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide

S WA N E R P R E S E RV E A N D EC O C EN T E R

Field Guide

Photo Credit: Rick Braveheart, 2011

Youth Programs

For the Next Generation of Environmental Enthusiasts

FOR LITTLE ONES • 18 Little Naturalists classes served approximately 170 3 to 5-year-olds • 440 Nature Nook Participants

FOR YOUNG ADULTS • 15 EcoClub Students • 21 Camp Counselors

FIELD TRIPS & CLASSROOM VISITS

CAMPS • 24 week-long camps, 330 summer campers • 5 spring break day-camps, 67 campers

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• 116 classrooms served • 783 Title I students reached • 2,470 students educated

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

Swaner Empowers Kids through Experience!

Sisters Elle and Erin participated in many of Swaner’s youth programs, and this is what they had to say:

Elle

“Park City is a very special place.

You have these high mountains that you can ski on, and then you have this wetland where we have all this wildlife. At the Swaner, kids can learn about stuff, and then they actually get to do it. ….

It’s very hands on!”

Erin

“[Swaner] is really different because you’re actually out and experiencing nature. You’re learning about a lot of animals and actually getting to see them in real life.”

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

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Adult and Family Programs For a Lifetime of Learning

Wild Walks

These educational (and fun!) Wild Walks include seasonally relevant, expert-led outings on the Swaner Preserve and nearby locations. In 2017, participants enjoyed birdwatching, wading through the wetlands, and had a hoot during Owl Prowl.

Saturday Morning Nature Walks

350 people participated in our Saturday Morning Nature Walks. We also provided private Preserve tours for nearly 200 lucky visitors!

Photo Credit: Tanzi Propst & The Park Record

Conservation Conversations: A Lecture Series

What a year! We learned about bees from Dr. Joseph Wilson; spoke with author Mark Fiege; tasted local eats at Meet the Food Producers; shopped for holiday gifts at Art Elevated, and so much more! Follow us on social media to stay up to date next year.

Photo Credit: Margaret Sloan

Looking for even more fun for the family? Check out our augmented reality game through MIT’s STEP lab app TaleBlazer to interactively explore the EcoCenter and wildlife.

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Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

Photo Credit: Tanzi Propst and The Park Record

ECOCENTER EXPLORATION In 2017, the EcoCenter saw a 72 percent increase in exhibit hall visitors, and we’re still counting! Many families joined us during our traveling exhibit, “Small Wonders,” to learn about the expansive world of insects - and even taste a cricket!

Swaner EcoCenter is open to the public and features engaging exhibits and a climbing wall.

We also host rotating interactive Touch Tables and displays like the Swaner Spotlight.

Did you know you can • Rent snowshoes at the EcoCenter or reserve a GPS unit and explore our Geocaching course?

• Join in on family-friendly crafts every Sunday morning.

• Attend kid-centered events at Nature Nook during the Newpark Summer Concert Series all summer long!

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

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Conservation

For Wildlife, Clean Water, and our Community

Open space does not exist in isolation. These wild spaces are

constantly being impacted by everything from upstream water use to trail recreation, so they need a helping hand!

At Swaner, we are always seeking innovative land management techniques that can help the preserve – and the surrounding

community. For example, this year, by collaborating with Utah and

Colorado state agencies, we were able to introduce a new biocontrol to help mitigate one of the most aggressive invasive plants, Canada thistle. We know many of you fight this plant at home, too! This

biocontrol has proven effective in battling the thistle that threatens

native habitat. After a little more research, we look forward to sharing this solution with our community!

Photo Credit: Rick Braveheart, 2011

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Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

Conservation by the Numbers Photo Credit: Mike Flaherty

Swaner Preserve encompasses 10 miles of trails.

Fun Fact: If you hike or ride the Stealth, Blackhawk and Glenwild trails, you may know the Swaner Preserve better than you think.

These trails are located within the Swaner Preserve.

Swaner staff and volunteers spread 500 pounds of native seed in areas where land had been damaged by past use.

Two new Beaver Dam Analogs (man-made beaver dams!) were installed by volunteers for a total of 4 BDAs on the preserve.

Fun Fact: Native seed spreading restores a diverse and wildlife-friendly habitat for over 200 species of plants on the Swaner Preserve.

Fun Fact: BDAs are a climate adaptation technique used to help cool the water and sustain streamflow during dry months

Swaner took 35,040 water quality measurements this year!

Swaner Preserve is home to 150 bird species!

Fun Fact: Water quality testing allows us to track the health of the streams and maintain baseline records for future comparisons.

Fun Fact: Some of the species on the preserve are shorebirds, typically found only in coastal areas, and they depend on wetlands for stopovers to refuel during their long migration.

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

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Our Supporters Investing in Conservation and Education Thank You to our Sandhill Society, Swaner Members, Donors, and Advisory Board!

SANDHILL SOCIETY 2017

Sandhill Society members keep Swaner’s work moving forward. They are true stewards of nature and environmental education. Thank you to our Sandhill Society members.

Moose ($25,000+) Summit County RAP Tax Park City Mountain and Vail Resorts EpicPromise John C. Kish Foundation Elk ($10,000+) Backcountry Beagle Charitable Foundation Paul and Judi Bosler Jennifer and Randolph Speers Scott and Betsy Thornton Summit County Restaurant Tax Utah Department of Agriculture and Food Utah Division of Arts and Museums The Walbridge Fund Owl ($5,000+) Rebecca Marriott Champion & John Champion Glenwild Community Association David Moore and Suzanne Pierce-Moore The Perkins Family Promontory Foundation

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Hummingbird ($2,500+) Adobe Chevron Done to Your Taste High West Distillery Integrated Financial Group Jill Johnson and Hobie Kellis Judy Kirst Kolkman and Craig Kolkman Mairi Leining and Ravi Adusumalli The Lemons Family The Mellor Family Newpark Town Center Newpark Owners Association Park City Community Foundation Brooks and Phyllis Robinson Talisker Club Spotted Frog ($1,000+) Stephany Alexander and David West Andrew and Courtney Caplan Mary and Jim Carlson Chuck and Carla Coonradt Barbara Collins

Marissa DeSimoneDay & Matt Day Peter and Heidi Gatch Julie Hopkins Ari Ioannides & Ember Conley Roger and Jean Jester Peter and Kathy Metcalf N.G. Foundation Park City Sunrise Rotary Silver Summit Management The Solomon Fund Peter and Susan Stevens Max and Ann Sturgis Diana Sabino Swaner Sumner and Carol Swaner Traeger Grills Bill and Donna Vogel Vine Lore Whole Foods Market Jane Wykoff

Annette Herman Harder & John Harder Jay Jackson and Barbara Waugh Rob and Linda Karz David and Ally Kizer Alicia O’Meara James Owen Julie Monahan Dale and Susan Poulter The Robbins Family Rick and Julie Robideau Dick and Susan Roth Ellen Sherk Bob and Margaret Sloan Richard and Jill Sheinberg Terri Lee Stevens Smith Richard Keith Taylor USU Extension Glen and Shirley Wright

Bee ($500+) Brian Anderson Graham Anthony & Sharyn Jones Kerry Armstrong Brad and Janet Dickson Roxane Googin

Monthly Givers Anne and Bob Hoffman Rob and Linda Karz Richard and Jill Sheinberg Meg Steele Glen and Shirley Wright

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

DONOR EVENTS This year we had breakfast with the Executive Director of Project Learning Tree. We went birding and snowshoeing and had a private bourbon tasting with High West Distillery with our Sandhill Society! And because we love our members, we learned how to make chocolate together, and barbecued on the back deck!

SWANER MEMBERS

We wish we had room here to honor all our members who make our Swaner community vibrant, but here is one story. You can become a member with a gift as small as $35.

Sallie and Rod Rinderknecht

Sallie and Rod have been Swaner members for 3 years and attend a number of Swaner’s Conservation Conversations: A Lecture Series event. Sallie had this to say about her experience, “Rod’s and my experience with Swaner’s Conservation Conversations has been most interesting and informative. The Swaner staff are delightful, and we enjoy interacting with them during Swaner activities. We always look forward to attending new events posted on the Swaner calendar.”

SANDHILL SOCIETY HIGHLIGHTS John C. Kish

Swaner offers field trips for all 4th graders in Summit and Wasatch counties through a grant from Park City Mountain: EpicPromise. The program also serves 994 kids in other grades, and The John C. Kish Foundation makes this possible.

As a bird lover and an advocate for youth education, John C. Kish’s legacy lives on in the Swaner Field Trip program.

Phyllis and Brooks Robinson

Phyllis and Brooks are both active with a number of Park City nonprofits, and we feel lucky to have them as a part of our Sandhill Society! In fact, in partnership with other local vendors like wine experts VineLore, Phyllis will be providing a unique chocolate and wine pairing at one of our upcoming Sandhill Society Member events in 2018 through her business, Tandem Chocolates! Stay tuned, Sandhill Society!

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

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Our Volunteers The Heart of Swaner

Vail EpicPromise & Park City Mountain

Danielle Smith

Skip Sedivec

Shaun Roberts

Abe Abrahamsen

At Swaner our mission is big and our resources are limited. From large groups like Park City Mountain that participate in weed management projects to individuals like Skip Sedivec who tests our stream’s water quality every week, volunteers made Swaner’s work possible with 2,410 hours this year. Here’s what a few of our awesome volunteers said about their experience.

Park City Mountain & Danielle Smith

“The impacts of the projects, tours and exhibits are endless. Swaner is an amazing resource for our local community, and I hope that my volunteering has influenced more people to become more involved with the organization.”

Shaun Roberts

“I support Swaner because I love the outdoors and believe protecting it is very important. I love the opportunity to work with kids through the crafts and the rock wall while helping to educate them on sustainability.”

Abe Abrahamsen

“I am a woodworker and bird watcher and find great satisfaction in combining them to make custom bird “chalets.” I contacted [Swaner] about doing some nesting boxes for wild birds at Swaner Preserve. Along with various resources, we came up with a design we hope will serve the mountain bluebird community for many years. ... Swaner Preserve is such a great organization for our county/state/ world, and I’m glad to make a small contribution.”

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Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

From the Swaner Staff and Board, thank you for your continued support in bringing the magic of nature alive for all ages.

2017 Swaner Advisory Board of Directors

David Moore: Board Chair Ted McAleer: Board Vice Chair Diana Swaner: Founding Board Member Stephany Alexander Kathy Carr Ember Conley Andy Fletcher Julie Hopkins David Kizer Julie Monahan Mike Sargetakis Marissa Day Annette Herman Susan Poulter, Ph.D.: Honorary Member Dr. Paula Swaner, Ph.D.: Founding Board Member

Swaner Staff

Nell Larson Peregrine Bosler Jennie Groves Ashleigh Hammond Hunter Klingensmith Natalie McHale Drew Potter Leslie Roberts Katherine Veeder Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter Field Guide 2017

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Swaner’s Mission

To preserve the land and the human connection to the natural landscape.

To educate the local and broader communities about the value of nature.

To nurture both the ecosystem and the people connected with it.

SwanerEcoCenter 435-797-8939

@SwanerPreserve

@SwanerPreserve

SwanerEcoCenter.org

Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter and Utah State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution.