MAD Scientist & Associates

Specialists in Ecological & Wetland Consulting

Est. 1998

MAD Photo of the Month

Carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica), Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
A Carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) works the vivid yellow flowers of Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) on a warm September day.
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(614) 818-9156

News

 
We are involved in a number of volunteer-supported projects. Please continue to watch our website for announcements of newly scheduled events from now through the fall. For convenience, you can register as a volunteer and receive e-mail notification of planned events by signing up
on our
Volunteer Registration Page.

Don’t Miss Wessie Fest!

On Saturday, August 28, from 10 am- 2 pm will be the Fourth Annual Wessie Fest at Otterbein Lake in Westerville. Free outdoor family fun featuring children's activities, live native animals amphibians, fish, & other critters, educational exhibits from Friends of Alum Creek & Tributaries (FACT), park and wildlife groups, music and entertainment. Grilled food & beverages are available for purchase. Stop by the MAD Scientist & Associates’ tent to see what has been caught in the Lake.

Otterbein Lake is located along the Alum Creek greenway path - just south of E. Main Street, east side of Collegeview Road (behind Ameri Cheer). Avoid using a car; try walking to bicycling to the festival. Contact us at 614-818-9156 for more information. Please note the detour route with the Main St. bridge being out.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Main Street in Westerville closed on July 12th.
Here’s a link to the official DETOUR route.

 

Otterbein Lake Shoreline Improvements

On July 17, our Incredible Group of Recruits (IGOR) worked to restore the shoreline at Otterbein Lake by planting shrubs, trees and wetland plants. It was another hot day in central Ohio, so we were fortunate to get a great turnout, including some of our dedicated volunteers as well as some fresh faces, including a sizable crew from Johnson Controls. Thanks to our fabulous IGOR team for their participation and to the City of Westerville Parks and Recreation Department for supporting this event.

We are making continuing progress at the lake: vegetation is becoming established and working to decrease erosion by buffering the shore from wave action. In the process, the lake’s perimeter is becoming greener with native plants and providing increasing habitat for aquatic wildlife such as dragonflies, damselflies, frogs, and turtles. Shade from new trees and colorful blooms through the summer make it a more pedestrian-friendly place too!

Please continue to check our news page for upcoming events and autumn eco-restoration activities, and if you haven’t already, please sign up join MAD Scientist & Associates’ IGOR. Participation in ten (10) hours of our conservation service projects will earn you your very own IGOR t-shirt!

Best Regards,
The MAD Scientist & Associates Team

July - 2010


Planting plants that will attract butterflies Invasive species removal to make way for new trees Planting wetland plants in the protected shoreline area
Otterbein Lake – restoring the shore!
Otterbein Lake – restoring the shore!
Volunteers help distribute wetland plants
Planting plants that will attract butterflies Invasive species removal to make way for new trees Planting wetland plants in the protected shoreline area Volunteers help distribute
wetland plants

 

Boyer Nature Preserve Improvement DayBoyer Nature Preserve Improvement Day

Thanks to all members of our Incredible Group of Recruits who came out and worked diligently to remove invasive shrubs from Boyer Nature Preserve. Special thanks go to the City of Westerville Parks and Recreation Department for supporting this event and to Friends of Alum Creek & Tributaries (FACT) for their involvement. We made significant progress in removing invasive honeysuckle and other invasive shrubs using hand tools, weed wrenches, honeysuckle poppers, and other equipment, covering approximately 1 acre!

Your efforts will allow for the natural regeneration of native wildflowers. To ensure the success of this effort and to prevent honeysuckle from re-establishing, we will follow up by planting an assortment of native shrubs in the cleared areas. Please visit the preserve later this summer to enjoy the results of your labor!

If you enjoyed contributing to this day of ecological restoration, please consider joining us for the next restoration effort at Otterbein Lake. See the announcement on this page for details!

         
Otterbein Lake Shoreline Improvements Otterbein Lake Shoreline Improvements

*Volunteers who log a total of ten (10) hours on three or more volunteer work days organized by MAD Scientist & Associates will earn their official “I.G.O.R.” t-shirt!

Our wonderful volunteers/t-shirt models are Jerry Holloway and Kellie Chenault.

Boyer Voluneer Boyer Opening Boyer Pile
Boyer Voluneer Boyer Opening Boyer Pile

 

Earth Day Planting Event at Millstone Creek Park was a success!

On Saturday, April 17th, volunteers celebrated Earth Day by working at Millstone Creek Park in Westerville. Volunteers and wetland experts from MAD Scientist & Associates planted a newly-created wetland with native shrubs, sedges, rushes, and colorful forbs. We worked simultaneously and alongside members of the City of Westerville staff and volunteers, who were installing plants and spreading mulch in other areas of this innovative new park, which facilitates hands-on interaction with nature. Although weather conditions were brisk and the stream water cold, the sun was shining and we succeeded in installing all of the plants. Thanks to everyone that participated to make this a successful event!

Earth Day Volunteers turned out despite the cool temperatures. City of Westerville Staff & Volunteers planted numerous plants and shrubs MAD staff guided volunteers as to where plants should be planted.
Earth Day Volunteers turned out despite
the cool temperatures.
City of Westerville Staff & Volunteers planted numerous plants and shrubs MAD staff guided volunteers as to where
plants should be planted.

 

Check out our BLOG!

We began 2010 with the introduction of a blog that will enable us to share our experiences as Specialists in Ecological and Wetland Consulting. Through this new outreach mechanism, we hope to share information and insights about current wetland, ecological, and environmental topics, as well as interesting news and observations from our collective experiences in the consulting world. We hope you will check in frequently!

 

Mark has been busy with Dragonfly and Damselfly Identification for OOS

A self-nomination led to Mark’s election to serve on the Ohio Odonata Society’s Photo Records Review Committee. He has been enjoying the challenge of verifying potential county records for Ohio dragonflies and damselflies that have been documented photographically (rather than from preserved/mounted specimens). This past year was a prolific one for photo record submittals, so Mark was busy toward the end of 2009 reviewing and evaluating photographs and providing his rationale for accepting or denying individual records. Reviewing exceptional Odonata photos from some of the best photographers around the state has been a treat, but the biggest thrill for Mark has been the opportunity to “rub elbows” (in the virtual sense – everything is handled via e-mail!) with some of the big names in Odonata taxonomy and research in Ohio. His fellow committee members are Bob Glotzhober (Ohio Historical Society), Judy Semroc (Cleveland Museum of Natural History), Tom Schultz (Denison University), Shane Myers, and John Pogacnik (Lake Metro Parks). A brief article can be found at the link below. If you are interested in dragonflies and damselflies in Ohio, consider joining this society!

» Read Article

 

Want to learn more about the benefits of Wetlands?

Mark Dilley has a photo of kids on a boardwalk at Boyer Nature Preserve featured in the publication attached to this link about Benefits of Wetlands from National Association of Counties and U.S. EPA.

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Search Index Page Description

MAD Scientists and Associates provide Environmental Consulting Services including Wetland Delineation, Ecological Surveys & Specialized Studies, Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Education in Ohio and surrounding states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana.

Our services include Wetland Assessment (e.g., Ohio Rapid Assessment Method, ORAM), Wetland Permitting (Section 404/401 and Ohio EPA Isolated Wetland Permits), Wetland Mitigation (Site Selection, Design, Construction Oversight), Mitigation Wetland Monitoring (Wetlands & Streams), Stream Assessment (Headwater Habitat Evaluation Index, HHEI; Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index, QHEI; Biological Assessments), General Ecological Surveys and Biotic Inventories, Threatened and Endangered Species Studies, Wildlife Surveys, Botanical Surveys, Floristic Studies (Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity, VIBI; Floristic Quality Assessment Index, FQAI), Invasive Species Surveys, Invasive Species Management, Aquatic Studies (fish and invertebrates), Park Land Planning, Ecological Site Characterization, Stressor Identification, Biological Assessments, Toxicological Literature Research, Screening, and Baseline ERAs, Ecological Site Characterization, Land Lab Planning.