Saturday I spent the day hiking at Glen Helen Nature Preserve, part of John Bryan State Park – aka my happy place. The glen is completely run and managed by students and faculty associated with Antioch College, which is known as Ohio’s Berkeley. They run an ecology institute at the glen that serves as a lab for both college students and area children, who participate in environmental camps there throughout the year.
One of their most important projects is the Raptor Rehabilitation Center. Injured birds of prey are brought to the center, where they are housed in giant flight cages while they are nursed back to health by the staff, eventually to be returned to the wild where they belong.
These photos were all taken there Saturday. It is very difficult to shoot owl photos through a one-inch gap between the bars of their flight cage! The owl being held was getting ready to be released, so it was a happy day. And I caught the teeniest, tiniest frog you’ve ever seen!
The future of the center, the ecology institute, and the glen itself are now up in the air as Antioch College was forced to close earlier this month due to financial problems. It has been a very frustrating and sad time for all of us who love the school and the area of Yellow Springs where it is located.
Antioch College was founded in 1852 by Horace Mann, and has long been a flagship of progressive minded education, being one of the first “white” schools to admit blacks, and the first college in the nation to pay a female professor equal to a man. As early as the 1940s it earned a reputation as a place of student activism, which nearly got it shut down in the McCarthy era, then continued to be a leader during the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam years, and continues to be a beacon of free speech and peaceful demonstration to this day.
There is a great New York Times article on the school’s closing here:
As someone who spends as much time as possible in the town and the nature preserve surrounding it, I hold my breath for the future of this place that has given me so many wonderful memories. You can learn more about Glen Helen here:
6 comments:
The glen is a treasure and from what I know its safe (for now). The whole thing is so sad really, :(
Great shot of the owl :)
Beautiful!! I am glad you got to go to your happy place!!
Beautiful shots, what a teeney weeney frog!
The one owl looks like she has eyeshadow on
Your owl pictures are great. I love birds. We have those teeny tiny frogs all around our pond.
Hello Jafabrit! It is really nice to hear from someone in the area. :) It is sad, but I do believe we have such a dedicated community that the glen will survive no matter what happens.
Thanks everyone for the props. I love owls! I could photograph them all day.
By the way, I'll be gone camping the next 4 days so if you don't hear from me, that's why!
That is way cool!
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