Wild About Parks: Busey Woods LbNA #48222 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 13, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Urbana |
| County: | Champaign |
| State: | Illinois |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | UPD - APNC  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | "The Lovebirds" |
| Last found: | Sep 7, 2009 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFaaar |
| Last edited: | Jun 13, 2009 |
This clue is part of the Urbana Park District’s Wild About Parks Quest--celebrating the Anita Purves Nature Center’s 30th anniversary. The Quest runs 6/13/09-6/12/10, but the boxes will remain in place indefinitely. Prizes can be won during the Quest for those who find 10, 20, and 30 boxes. Those who locate all 30 will be entered into a grand prize drawing. For more information, and for clue booklets, visit www.urbanaparks.org.
Busey Woods
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30 min
A sculpted amphibian resides at the north end of Crystal Lake Park, watching all who enter the Nature Center. The building is named for Anita Purves, a woman who was fascinated by nature and hoped children would also learn to love it. You may visit this toad’s feathered and scaled companions in the Nature Center any time it is open.
See the “To Trails” sign and follow it to the stream. This waterway once meandered through the woods, but now flows straight past it. Cross the bridge. Don’t turn left along the stream; stay on the wooden walk. Turn right at your second opportunity. Over the pond, even in the dry season, stop and read about some of the creatures living there. As you continue on the boardwalk, you will also learn how fire is important to the forest.
Walk down the wooden ramp to a soil path north of the pond. If visiting in spring, woodland wildflowers will brighten your walk. But fall colors are just as lovely. Squirrels scamper and birds sing. Turn left to cross the next bridge. Stay to the left after crossing this long bridge (although a right turn may give the quiet Quester a chance to see some deer). As you continue walking, you will arrive at some very unnatural items. Find some stairs leading nowhere. Find a stick and carefully prod the cavity behind the stairs to find the letterbox and learn why bricks litter the woods. (If others are about, please be discreet as you work with the letterbox.)
When finished, return the box where you found it. You may return the way you came, or take a shorter route out of the woods. For a shorter walk, continue south on the path and turn left when you see the power lines overhead.
Busey Woods
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30 min
A sculpted amphibian resides at the north end of Crystal Lake Park, watching all who enter the Nature Center. The building is named for Anita Purves, a woman who was fascinated by nature and hoped children would also learn to love it. You may visit this toad’s feathered and scaled companions in the Nature Center any time it is open.
See the “To Trails” sign and follow it to the stream. This waterway once meandered through the woods, but now flows straight past it. Cross the bridge. Don’t turn left along the stream; stay on the wooden walk. Turn right at your second opportunity. Over the pond, even in the dry season, stop and read about some of the creatures living there. As you continue on the boardwalk, you will also learn how fire is important to the forest.
Walk down the wooden ramp to a soil path north of the pond. If visiting in spring, woodland wildflowers will brighten your walk. But fall colors are just as lovely. Squirrels scamper and birds sing. Turn left to cross the next bridge. Stay to the left after crossing this long bridge (although a right turn may give the quiet Quester a chance to see some deer). As you continue walking, you will arrive at some very unnatural items. Find some stairs leading nowhere. Find a stick and carefully prod the cavity behind the stairs to find the letterbox and learn why bricks litter the woods. (If others are about, please be discreet as you work with the letterbox.)
When finished, return the box where you found it. You may return the way you came, or take a shorter route out of the woods. For a shorter walk, continue south on the path and turn left when you see the power lines overhead.