Oxley Nature Center Selected as One of 21 National Leave No Trace Spotlight Sites Supported by the Airbnb Community Fund

Nov 7, 2023 Oxley Nature Center: 

The Leave No Trace organization has selected Oxley Nature Center as a 2023 Spotlight site. As outdoor areas all over the country are being impacted by record use, this new initiative from Leave No Trace shines a light on communities rising to meet this challenge with multi-day, onsite education and stewardship programs. From November 11^th – November 12th, a Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Team will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Tulsa Parks staff and the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition to work with the community and local land agencies to deliver Leave No Trace education as well as to partner on restoration and stewardship projects. 

Sites are nominated for the Leave No Trace Spotlight initiative by local land agencies or community groups. The diverse sites chosen in 2023 span the country, each with uniqueenvironmental challenges. The goal of the initiative is to equip each Spotlight area with relevant Leave No Trace tools that address the impacts the site is facing and ultimately, to foster healthy lands and people. 

“The Spotlight initiative highlights the great steps a community can take to protect an area that they cherish,” according to Dana Watts, the Executive Director of Leave No Trace. This year, the Airbnb Community Fund has made this program possible through a generous grant. Watts continues, “The Spotlight features workshops for stakeholders and Leave No Trace education for the public at large. It also will include opportunities for the community and our Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Team, who will be there conducting the initiative, to roll up their sleeves together at the Spotlight site and get some work done.”  

“I’m thrilled to announce that the Leave no Trace traveling team is coming to Oxley Nature Center in Tulsa. This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to promote responsible outdoor ethics and sustainable practices in our urban wilderness. We’re excited to engage in our community in these events and make a lasting impact on our beautiful natural surroundings.” Laurie Biby Marketing and PR Director for Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition.

The following events are free and open to the public and we encourage people of all ages to attend. For more information visit https://lnt.org/event/

Sunday, November 12th: Stewardship Event: Join Leave No Trace and Oxley Nature Center Staff on Sunday, November 12th, for a fun volunteer day and stewardship project as part of the Oxley Nature Center Leave No Trace Spotlight. Volunteers will help plant trees and remove invasive species!

Sunday, November 12th:Trivia Event: Stop by Heirloom Rustic Ales to meet staff and volunteers from Oxley Nature Center and Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition to learn how practicing Leave No Trace can help keep Oxley, Tulsa Parks, and our surrounding areas safe and sustainable!

About Leave No Trace

Using the power of science and research, education for all, and stewardship to support and protect nature, Leave No Trace is on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet. The Spotlight program is the newest education offering from Leave No Trace.Additional support for 2023 Spotlights comes from the Airbnb Community Fund. Learn more at: www.LNT.org. 

• Facebook: @LeaveNoTraceCenter

• Instagram: @LeaveNoTraceOrg 

• Twitter: @LeaveNoTrace 

• LinkedIn: @LeaveNoTrace

Join us for a virtual interview on Monday, September 25th at 7PM as we celebrate the 8th annual Monarchs on the Mountain event hosted by the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. We’re thrilled to have Sara Dykman, the author of “Bicycling with Butterflies,” and the founder of Beyond a Book, as our guest. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to engage with Sara Dykman and learn more about her journey and experiences.

The Trip:

In 2017 Sara Dykman became the first person to follow – by bicycle – the eastern population of monarch butterflies on their roundtrip, multinational, multigenerational migration. From Mexico to Canada and back, her 10,201 mile adventure,on a beat-up bicycle , was a call to action. “The monarchs need us,” Dykman explained, “they can’t call politicians to demand healthy prairies or rally for native gardens. But we can. We might not be able to fly like butterflies, but we can bike alongside them, and be their voice.”

Why monarchs?

As a whole, the migration advances at a pace a cyclist can cover. They also spread out in the millions across a landscape traced with roads, so there were few route-planning limitations. At home in backyards, school gardens, parks, roadside ditches, and the wildest places, monarchs are democratic in their reach. They are also beautiful and easy to spot, making them excellent gateway bugs and ambassadors of nature. Robustly studied yet still the subject of many unanswered questions, they are a testament to science. Threatened with extinction, the monarchs remind us what is at stake, and how important it is for each of us to do our part.

“You don’t have to quit your job and bike thousands of miles to help the monarchs,” explained Dykman. “You can plant milkweed, plant native nectar plants, and be a voice for the monarch. That’s what my trip, and my book, are all about.”

The Book:

Deftly combining travel memoir and popular science, Bicycling with Butterflies (Timber Press, April 2021) recounts Dykman’s inspirational ride alongside the monarchs. The cast of characters includes eager schoolchildren, devoted citizen scientists, skeptical bar patrons, fellow bicyclists. climate deniers, unimpressed border officials, and -of course- millions of monarchs. Dykman passionately shares the urgent plight of the monarchs and the complex science underpinning their dwindling numbers. Filled with optimism, energy, and hope, Bicycling with Butterflies is a compelling story, confirming the urgency of saving the threatened monarch migration—and the other threatened systems of nature that affect the survival of us all. “It is part science, part adventure, part love letter to nature,” Dykman explained. “I hope readers will come away with a deeper sense of connection to the land and be inspired to join the team taking care of our planet.”

“On this improbably adventure, Sara Dykman followed the extraordinary monarch migration by bicycle, and came back to write about it. She has recorded it well. Her almost incredible account captures the animal itself, the continent it crosses, and its plight with style and deep connection.” —Robert Michael Pyle, author of Chasing Monarchs and founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

“People have long been fascinated by the monarch butterfly’s migration across the North American continent. Thanks to this book, readers have a better idea of what that incredible journey entails… Dykman’s enthusiasm will motivate others to be more thoughtful about their decisions.” —Library Journal

“The book is just as much a poetic travelogue as it is informative about monarch butterflies. Dykman’s research keenly supplements her experiences on the road…it may be one singular bicyclist’s word, but represents a collective cry for climate action.”—Booklist

Sara’s Bio:

Sara Dykman is the founder of beyondabook.org, which fosters lifelong learners, boundary pushers, explorers, and stewards. She works in amphibian research and as an outdoor educator, guiding young people into nature so they can delight in its complicated brilliance. She hopes her own adventures—walking from Mexico to Canada, canoeing the Missouri River from source to sea, and cycling over 80,000 miles across North and South America (including the monarch migration trip)—will empower young and old to dream big.

8AM – 11AM

• Come prepared to work
• Crews will be very spread out

What to bring / wear:

Tools (optional)

***** Should you bring personal tools please clearly label them so you can make it home with what you brought.

*******note – we do not expect any one volunteer to provide everything on this list, pick one or two things

• Gloves

• Lopper/Pruner (with your name on them)
• Hand saw (non-power like a bow saw or folding saw) and small Axe/Hatchet
• Hoe (both traditional & rogue) / Shovel (spade & square)
• Pulaski / Mattock
• Mcleod
• Rake (leaf and garden rake)
• Wheelbarrow

Project list:

• Depending on how many volunteers we have this is our list of projects in order of importance.
• Rake out drains on all trails
• Cut trail to snake from top lot
• Place and install (3) benches by downhill hubs
• Weed eat top lot and dirt mound
• Create kids course at top lot. (KISS)
• Knick drains filled with sand
• This is an ongoing project to keep the new trails in good repair.
• Touch up on new staircase. Likely first couple of years of stairs will need periodic maintenance like this.
• Older trail reclamation
• Some older trails that were shut down permanently (like the blue trail next to Zingo, the old yellow trail that went from upper lot to ridge/point, the old west entrance on upper parking lot near driveway) are starting to get “reopened” by folks and we need to go in and rebrush them and reclaim them.
• Additionally if any families or groups wish to just come out and pick up litter we will gladly set them to work too!
• If you have any questions please contact Bobby, Eric or Peter

September 23, 2023

The Monarchs on The Mountain festival takes place each fall during the annual migration season of monarch butterflies as the pass through Oklahoma to head south for the winter. There will be food, fun, and educational opportunities of children and adults alike. Learn from guest speakers about monarch conservation efforts, buy your local milkweed plants, and get to know organizations supporting this cause by visiting information booths across the event.  

To learn about the Mobile Migration, Pollinator Vendors and the Monarch Media Monday click below.

9:30AM – 12:30PM

• Come prepared to work
• Crews will be very spread out

What to bring / wear:

Tools (optional)

***** Should you bring personal tools please clearly label them so you can make it home with what you brought.

*******note – we do not expect any one volunteer to provide everything on this list, pick one or two things

• Gloves

• Lopper/Pruner (with your name on them)
• Hand saw (non-power like a bow saw or folding saw) and small Axe/Hatchet
• Hoe (both traditional & rogue) / Shovel (spade & square)
• Pulaski / Mattock
• Mcleod
• Rake (leaf and garden rake)
• Wheelbarrow

Project list:

• Depending on how many volunteers we have this is our list of projects in order of importance.
• Rake out drains on all trails
• This is an ongoing project to keep the new trails in good repair.
• Rock armor low wet spot on upper lot north entrance.
• That north trailhead is unfortunately where most of the water drains for the upper parking lot. This will require a lot of rock moving.
• Touch up on new staircase. Likely first couple of years of stairs will need periodic maintenance like this.
• Older trail reclamation
• Some older trails that were shut down permanently (like the blue trail next to Zingo, the old yellow trail that went from upper lot to ridge/point, the old west entrance on upper parking lot near driveway) are starting to get “reopened” by folks and we need to go in and rebrush them and reclaim them.
• Additionally if any families or groups wish to just come out and pick up litter we will gladly set them to work too!
• If you have any questions please contact Bobby, Eric or Peter