Earth Day is rapidly approaching, and TUWC will be out and about for many earth day events around Tulsa. Although TUWC has excellent trail work days (Sunday, March 9th, 9am at Keystone Ancient Forest – mark your calendars!), we also educate the public about leave no trace principals, trail etiquette, and supporting pollinators. You can spot us at environmental fairs year-round, but especially at earth day events. 

Already this year we’ve attended the 2025 Oklahoma Environmental Expo at the Oklahoma City Zoo, utilizing our Leave No Trace diorama to show our fellow outdoor recreators that staying on trail, not littering, and making sure to scoop up that doggy doo are all important tenants of maintaining the health of your urban wilderness. 

Did you know that dog waste is not only a hazard for the bottom of your hiking shoes or bike tires, but also a cause of pollution in waterways? Dog waste contains nitrogen and phosphorus, which can deplete oxygen that fish and other water-based life need to survive. Water runoff from dog waste can also encourage the growth of harmful algae and, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is considered a significant source of pathogens like fecal coliform, a disease-causing bacteria. 

Although things like orange peels, apple cores, and dog waste may be organic materials that can break down in certain environments, disposing of them in your local urban wilderness can cause wild animals to depend on humans as a source of food and pollute our waterways. Leaving no trace means to leave the trail as if you were never there – preserving that trail magic for those that recreate after you! 

Besides our March 9th trail & April 13 work day, TUWC has some exciting education events upcoming. You can find our education table at:

• Earth Day at Chandler Park – Friday, April 11 
• Native Plant Sale Philbrook – Saturday, April 12
• Party for the Planet at the Tulsa Zoo – Saturday, April 19 
• PSO Employee Earth Day Event – Tuesday April 22
• The M.E.T.’s Environmental Expo – Wednesday, April 23 (Earth Day!) 
• Earth Day Event Ray Harlan Nature Park – Saturday April 26

We hope that you’ll join us at one of these events. Until then – see you outside! 

Stephanie Acquario, TUWC Conservation and Education Co-chair

Join us for a “Walk in the Forest”

Hosted by:

Oklahoma Division of the Ouachita Society of American Foresters

Oklahoma Forestry Services

Tulsa Parks

OSU Dept. of Natural Resource Ecology & Management

When: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., on Saturday, October 12 th
Where: Oxley Nature Center at 6700 Mohawk Blvd, Tulsa, OK 74115
Cost: Free!

What is “Walk in the Forest” all about? Professional foresters and natural
resource specialists will have several interesting and informative stations set up along a
short trail through the woods at Oxley Nature Center. There will be educational and
hands-on activities focused on topics like forest ecosystems, soil and water health, life
cycles of trees, careers in forestry and conservation, and so much more! Walk in the
Forest is part of a national campaign coordinated by the Society of American Foresters
and the American Forest Foundation. This is a family-friendly, fun for all ages event,
and we would love to see you!

The “Walk in the Forest” will take about an hour if you stop at each station and get
involved in each activity, but you can walk at your own pace and spend any amount of
time that you desire. There are options to walk additional trails for those eager and
willing.

Educational brochures and other cool giveaways will also be available while supplies
last.

Partnering Organizations: Tulsa County Parks, Tulsa Urban Wilderness
Coalition, Tulsa Health Department, Blue Thumb

Questions? Need more information? Contact:
Bryan Murray, Oklahoma Division Chairman, Society of American Foresters

405-744-6805; bryan.murray@okstate.edu

To learn more about the Society of American Foresters go to www.safnet.org.
Bring family! Bring friends! See you at the forest!

Join us for a In-Person & Virtual Hybrid event featuring a panel of Experts.

Make Plans

Monday Sept 23 at Gathering Place 7PM

Topics Include

• What do you envision when you hear the phrase Pollinator Paradise? 
• How do you spot an open space that has potential for transformation? 
• How can the community be included in transforming their open spaces? 
• How can a community get started transforming an open space? 
• What was something unexpected you experienced while working with community gardens? Any major lessons learned? 
• Any positive news and/or updates to share? 

Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition is known for being an informed and activated group of volunteers and community members who come together to preserve, honor, and restore our natural areas, trails, and wilderness. As a fellow trail user, I find myself sometimes focused on the physical path made by my predecessors guiding me to a place in Nature scenic and treasured. I can admire the substrate my feet pass over under a canopy of a Post Oak forest, tall grasses, and small yellow-spotted butterflies dancing together battling wind with each wing-beat. While the trail is a path to such destinations, the native inhabitants of this area look upon us in this Spring season on a journey all of their own. Let us learn of their journey and allow me to introduce you to some of this season’s finest urban wilderness wildlife.

In this photo, six Tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) hatchlings are nested inside a utility pole, discovered during the installation of new lines. Utility companies will often separate the nest-cavity from the rest of the pole to preserve and protect the nest site. Their thoughtful black eyes wait for the sound of their mother’s call ‘peter-peter-peter’ before returning with nourishment.

Above, you can see the efforts of maintenance staff to seed areas with native wildflowers over the Winter season. The blooms of that labor contribute to the sustainability and beauty of our region, where the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) butterfly visits Oklahoma’s state wildflower, Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella). Mistletoe (Viscum album) with its white blooms served as the first state flower for 108 years until 2004. In 2004, the hybrid tea rose, ‘Rosa Oklahoma’ became our current state flower. 

In our final images, we see the new life that Spring brings to our urban wilderness. Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) are one of many bird species that mate for life, often returning to successful nest sites each year. Preferring nest sites in the cracks and crevices of large rocks, the lower image is that of one new black vulture hatchling, fuzzy with the tell-tale black beak. A parent of this baby vocalized in their language to mind our distance. 

As we use our trails, may we be reminded that our animal and plant neighbors find their home under the same canopy we enjoy. Though we use the trail for different reasons, we can come together for the love of our wild urban neighbors, sharing the brilliant ecology that makes Northeast Oklahoma so rich and beautiful in diverse life.

Photos were taken along trails at Chandler Park, Tulsa by Patrick T. Hayes, April, 2024.