Beaver Creek Wetlands Association

09/06/2026

📸 BCWA Calendar Photo Contest is Happening Now!

Have a favorite photo from one of our parks or preserves? We want to see it! Your photo could be featured in our 2027 BCWA calendar. 🌿

Photo Criteria:
📍 Must be taken at a Beaver Creek Wetlands Association park or preserve
🌸🍂☀️❄️ We’re looking for photos from all four seasons
🦋🌱🌅 Plants, wildlife, landscapes, and more are welcome — a variety of subjects and perspectives is encouraged

Please go to https://beavercreekwetlands.org/photo-contest/ to view full instructions for submissions!

📅 Deadline: September 14, 2026

09/03/2026

🌿We’re excited to support Partners for the Environment and their work connecting environmental leaders across the Greater Dayton region! 🌿

We hope to see some familiar faces at their Fall Awards Celebration on September 30!
Early bird pricing ends tomorrow!

🍂 Tickets are officially on sale! 🍂

Join us for the 2026 Fall Awards Celebration on September 30th at Learning Tree Farm as we celebrate the people, organizations, and businesses making a difference for our environment across the Greater Dayton region.

Enjoy an inspiring evening of community, recognition, and connection while supporting our mission to create a healthier, more sustainable future.

🎟️ Reserve your tickets today before they're gone!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-fall-awards-celebration-tickets-1987701826671

📍 Learning Tree Farm, Dayton, Ohio
📅 September 30, 2026 | ⏰ 6–8 PM

09/02/2026

💧 Wetlands Wednesday: Is That Oil on the Water?

Have you ever spotted a shiny, rainbow-like film on the surface of a wetland and thought, “Did someone spill oil?” 🛢️

It might actually be "wetland sheen," a natural phenomenon connected to the unique conditions found in wetland soils.

Wetlands are often saturated with water, which fills the spaces between soil particles and limits how much oxygen can reach the soil. As a result, wetland soils can become oxygen-poor, or anaerobic.

That creates the perfect conditions for communities of microorganisms that break down organic matter without oxygen. And wetlands have plenty of organic matter to break down: fallen leaves, dead plants, roots, and other material are constantly accumulating in the soil.

As microorganisms decompose this material, they produce and release compounds that can reach the water's surface and form a very thin film. When light reflects off that film, it can create the characteristic shimmering, rainbow-like appearance of wetland sheen.

🔎 Here’s a quick way to tell the difference: natural microbial sheens often break apart when disturbed, forming irregular patterns or plates on the water’s surface. An actual petroleum-based oil sheen tends to behave differently and may reform quickly after being disturbed. There's also typically no smell, whereas petroleum-based oils typically have an odor.

The next time you see a strange-looking sheen on the water, take a closer look. What appears to be pollution may actually be a glimpse into the microbial processes and decomposition happening beneath the surface. 🌱

Of course, if you see a sheen that looks like it could be an actual spill, it's always worth reporting just in case!

Have you ever spotted wetland sheen? 👀

📸-Leptothrix bacteria - Rosser1954 via Wikimedia Commons.

09/01/2026

📸 BCWA Calendar Photo Contest is Live!

Have a favorite photo from one of our parks or preserves? We want to see it! Your photo could be featured in our 2027 BCWA calendar. 🌿

Photo Criteria:
📍 Must be taken at a Beaver Creek Wetlands Association park or preserve
🌸🍂☀️❄️ We’re looking for photos from all four seasons
🦋🌱🌅 Plants, wildlife, landscapes, and more are welcome — a variety of subjects and perspectives is encouraged

Please go to https://beavercreekwetlands.org/photo-contest/ to view full instructions for submissions!

📅 Deadline: September 14, 2026

08/31/2026

💚 A little lunch, a lot of gratitude!
This weekend we gathered at City Barbeque with some of our wonderful volunteers for a well-deserved lunch and a chance to say thank you for all the time, energy, and care you give to BCWA.
🌿 We couldn't do what we do without you! 🌿

Thank you to everyone who came out and to City Barbeque for helping us feed our hardworking crew!

08/27/2026

🌸Last week Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist, Mark Byrne, led our "Joe Pye Fiesta" guided walk through James P. Amon Biodiversity Reserve. 🌿 A lot of Joe Pye and good company made for a fiesta worth celebrating!🌸

08/26/2026

🌿 Wetlands Wednesday: Jewelweed

Also known as Spotted Touch-Me-Not, this native annual is a common sight along creeks, wetlands, and other damp areas, where its bright orange flowers add a splash of color from late spring into early fall.

Its seed pods have a surprising trick: when the seeds are ripe, even a light touch can cause the pod to spring open, launching its seeds in all directions!💥 That's where its "touch-me-not" nickname comes from.

A few more reasons to appreciate this wetland native:

💧 Jewelweed's leaves have a waxy, water-resistant surface. When water lands on them, it beads up into tiny droplets that can sparkle like jewels. It's one of the features that inspired the plant's common name.

🐝 Its bright orange flowers attract hummingbirds, bumblebees, and other pollinators. The long, tubular flowers are especially well suited to hummingbirds.

🧴 It has a long history of traditional medicinal use. The juice from its leaves and stems has traditionally been used to soothe skin irritations, including poison ivy.

🌱 Jewelweed and invasive garlic mustard often find themselves growing in the same places, particularly moist, shaded forest understories and floodplains. Jewelweed can form dense, fast-growing stands that create a canopy of foliage, allowing it to compete with the lower-growing rosettes and seedlings of garlic mustard. Under favorable conditions, jewelweed can even outcompete this invasive plant.

🌸 Jewelweed produces two types of flowers. Its open (Chasmogamous) blooms are the showy orange flowers that attract pollinators and allow for cross-pollination. Its closed (Cleistogamous) blooms are small and inconspicuous, never open, and fertilize themselves. Having both gives jewelweed more than one way to produce seeds.

Next time you're walking along a wetland or creek, keep an eye out for those bright orange flowers. And if you spot jewelweed after a rain, take a closer look at its leaves and you may see why it earned its name!

📸 - Thomas Hissong
📍 - Siebenthaler Fen
🎥 - YouTube - TDtangents

08/24/2026

🚗The road to 150 is complete. Thank you for being part of the journey! 🦫🌿

BCWA has officially collected the 150 signatures needed to move forward with our Ohio specialty license plate!

This campaign wouldn't have been possible without everyone who signed, shared, collected signatures, and helped spread the word along the way. Thank you for helping us reach this important milestone and for showing your support for our wetlands and conservation work!

08/20/2026

🌿 A little change can make a big difference!

We’re excited to partner with RoundUp.org, giving you an easy way to support Beaver Creek Wetlands Association with the everyday purchases you’re already making.

When you sign up, your purchases are simply rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the spare change is donated to BCWA. Grab a coffee, fill up the tank, pick up some groceries… those little round-ups can add up to meaningful, ongoing support for our wetlands.

And right now, there’s an extra incentive to join! For a limited time, every new donor who signs up and rounds up for at least 3 months will unlock an additional $25 donation to BCWA. 🎉

It only takes about 30 seconds to get started, and from there, your spare change does the work.
Go to RoundUp.org and search "Beaver Creek Wetlands Association" to get started!

08/18/2026

🌿 LOCAL BUSINESSES, THIS ONE’S FOR YOU!
We're continuing to roll out our Wetlands Exchange program!

The idea is simple: participating businesses create an exclusive discount or special offer for BCWA members. We send our members their way and spotlight each partner on our social media, website, and in member packets.

Just follow this link to show you're interested! https://bit.ly/4gjEDps