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Supporting & Protecting Dunbar Cave SNA |
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Friends of Dunbar Cave State Natural Area |
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Contact Info for Friends of Dunbar Cave: |
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2009 Events in Review |
By David Boen |
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News and information about Friends of Dunbar Cave in 2009 |
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First off (and once again) thank you to all who participated in our four major events in 2009. Our mission is to preserve, protect, and promote Dunbar Cave State Natural Area, and we have certainly done that this year. Secondly, welcome to all of our new members. Our group has grown in size this year, and we look forward to working with fresh faces and new ideas.
Here is a recap of the highlights of 2009: We began the year with Trees to Trails, and spread some gigantic mulch piles along the dam in record time. We accept used Christmas trees at the Dunbar Cave parking lot each year after the holidays and then CDE turns the trees into mulch. Next, just after Earth Day we spread the mulch. We had great promotion and excellent participation this year. Special thanks to Meredith Gildrie for coordinating the event and to CDE for again mulching the trees.
Spring Fling began a bit precariously with some rough weather, and despite having to cancel the canoeing we had a successful day with great events and decent attendance. Spring Fling is our annual educational event with raptors, snakes, hiking, plant and animal identification, and a whole lot of fun. Thanks to coordinator Steve Hamilton for all the hard work before and during the event.
Cooling at the Cave was again a great success with music and games at the mouth of the cave. It is an amazing thing to feel the chill of the cave on a blistering hot summer day. It is interesting and fun to keep adjusting one's position to find the right temperature, without air conditioning. The refreshments and music were really great. Thanks go to Sally Schiller and Barbara Wilbur for another successful year.
Finally, Haunting History was again a big hit for the 500+ people who learned about bats, the memories of Dunbar Cave as a gathering place, and the ancient human history of Dunbar Cave and Tennessee. Thank you again Debbie Boen for coordinating this success.
Also, thanks to our media support - The Leaf Chronicle, WJZM Radio, and Clarksville Online continue to support our events. Finally, thank you to the park staff for making us look good: Bob Wells, Amy Wallace, Adam Neblett, Teresa Campbell, Michael Fulbright and Blaine Hargis, thank you.
We have much to do in the upcoming year. Please join us at the January 21st meeting where we will discuss our 2010 plans. Our group has grown in size in 2009, and in addition we have a bounty of enthusiasm and dedication within our group. Where do we go next?
Remember: there is no December meeting, see you in January!
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