EcoReach got visitors excited about all things scary, gross and morbid in the natural world during Scary Oozy Slimy Day at Sandy Creek Nature Center, on October 18th.
This year at Scary Oozy Slimy Day, EcoReach brought the fascinating, and often overlooked, world of decomposition to life with our hands-on “Decomposition Station.” Designed to show how nature recycles itself, the booth highlighted the many organisms that quietly clean up the world around us.
Those feeling brave could either put their hands into a mystery box and guess the skeletons and skulls lying therein, or confront their fear of creepy crawlies like flesh-eating beetles called dermestids. These tiny but powerful scavengers are essential the natural world for breaking down carrion and in museum work for preparing skeleton specimen. Guests got to watch these beetles in action, cleaning Elk and raccoon bones!
Visitors also explored a bin filled with natural detritus: rotting logs, fallen leaves, and rich soil. Alongside them were the fungi, including puffball mushrooms and colorful false turkey tail. Families learned how these fungi act as nature’s recyclers, feeding on dead material and returning nutrients to the ecosystem.
Thank you, Sandy Creek Nature Center for hosting us!
