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Eidolon Nature Preserve plant walk July 12

By Staff | Jun 26, 2015

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society will sponsor a plant walk at its Eidolon Nature preserve in Morgan County on Sunday, July 12.

The walk will be free and anyone with an interest is welcome to come along. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged but not required. To register, go to the Society’s website at www.potomacaudubon.org.

Participants should plan to meet at the preserve at 10 a.m. The preserve is located on Sideling Hill Mountain northwest of Great Cacapon. Directions can be found on the PVAS website.

The walk will be led by naturalist Joe Metzger and last about five hours.

It is one of three walks that offer unique opportunities to participate in a systematic effort to compare the plants growing now on the Eidolon property to those recorded there as far back as 70 years ago.

The Eidolon property was purchased in 1945 by Louis and Marguerite Zapoleon and enjoyed by them for many years. According to Mrs. Zapoleon’s wishes, it became a nature preserve after she passed away in 2003.

For more than five decades, Mrs. Zapoleon kept careful records of the plants and animals she had seen on the property. These records have survived (they can be found on the PVAS website) and the planned series of walks will attempt to relocate the more than 600 species of plants that Mrs. Zapoleon recorded. Those plants included 30 very rare species, only four of which have been relocated so far.

The first walk in this series was held May 10. The final walk will be held Sept. 13. All these walks are being co-sponsored by the Maryland Native Plant Society.

Registration for each of the walks is separate, and those who are interested may choose to participate in any or all of them.

Participants should dress for the prevailing weather, bring bug spray, sun screen, drinking water and a sack lunch. They may also wish to bring a camera and binoculars.

For more information contact Krista Hawley at adultprograms@potomacaudubon.org or 703-303-1026.