Experience Door County Nature Like Never Before: An Interview With Our Naturalist
We are proud of our 120-acre Logerquist Nature Preserve at The Rushes Condominiums. More importantly, we are proud to be able to share its glory with our guests! Meet Ray Osinski, our Master Naturalist. Ray has been an owner for almost 40 years, and in that time, he came to love our forest as much as we do. Ray’s education and commitment help our owners and guests bask in our surroundings’ natural beauty like never before.
We recently interviewed Ray and asked him for the inside scoop to get the most out of your Rushes experience.
Tell us about your background!
I’ve always had a passion for education. I began my educational journey far from Lake Michigan at UW Stout, where I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial education. Basically, I was a shop teacher, and my minor was in traffic safety! I’m an original owner at the Rushes. We bought our Rushes timeshare condo back in 1985. When I retired after spending 35 years in education, I could spend more time at the Rushes and in Door County. Since I was spending more and more time at the Rushes, I started volunteering around the property. A little later, the manager asked me if I could join and work a few days a week. When I first started at the Rushes, there was an offering of the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program that I wanted to try. So I did, and here I am, 17 years later, leading activities and educational experiences and taking people on interpretive hikes.
- What’s different about your interpretive hikes?
- What is forest bathing?
- What are some of your favorite year-round activities at the Rushes?
- What furry and feathered forest friends might our guests encounter?
- What’s so wonderful about winter adventures in Door County?
- Experience the Natural World Like Never Before At The Rushes
What’s different about your interpretive hikes?
One of our most popular offerings is definitely the interpretive hike. Many of our guests have experienced hiking on the Ice Age Trail and wanted to have similar adventures north of Sturgeon Bay. We have the 120-acre wilderness preserve, which people are welcome to explore independently, but education is always my priority. I more or less became a facilitator of learning. I don’t give them the answers; they experience it. I started doing interpretive hikes in the fall, which is great for school groups or clubs. If you contact the Rushes beforehand, you can schedule your personal interpretive hike with me for your retreat group.
What is forest bathing?
One thing that I’ve started now is forest bathing, an intuitive practice rooted in the Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku. More than simply a walk in the woods, forest bathing immerses you into the life-giving atmosphere of the forest, invoking the traditional concepts of yūgen, komorebi and wabi sabi, awakening a deep sense of beauty, interconnectedness and appreciation for imperfections. I guide the guests on a therapeutic journey that engages all their senses, driving away negative thoughts and worries and anchoring them in the present moment.
Instead of just walking by things we experience, what those things are, like walking up to a cedar tree and having them use their senses to not only touch but to smell, feel, and identify some of those things. They slow down to smell the roses, if you will. While studies show forest bathing may offer physical health benefits such as stress reduction and immune system enhancement, its most impactful gifts are centered on mental well-being. That has been very well received, from grandpas and grandmas to young adults, who say they gain a sense of tranquility and renewed vitality with forest bathing.
What are some of your favorite year-round activities at the Rushes?
When people come here for a nature retreat, they want to ensure they’ll be experiencing nature and engaging their minds and bodies no matter what time of year they come. Thankfully, that’s not hard at the Rushes! Here are a few of our favorite year-round activities.
Self-Guided Star Gazing
The trails are open 24/7, so many guests enjoy a star-gazing hike. This is a great activity for the off-season when it gets dark earlier. The skies offer better viewing in winter due to less air turbulence, and there are more open clearings with spectacular views of the stars and the Milky Way. Many parts of Door County are designated dark sky areas; taking advantage of the absence of artificial light is an eye-opening and inspiring experience! You won’t see a view like that in the city!
Exploring for Salad
In the spring, we normally find the first floor of the woods is covered with green, and it’s wild leek. Wild leek is very edible, so I take the leaves, chop them up, and then have people smell it. It’s like garlic and onion with a sweet smell. People have used that on a salad to add extra flavor. Then, if you dig it out, you’ll find the root, which is also delicious chopped. That’s the first thing that comes up, and it’s as pleasing to the eye as it is to the taste buds! While we do not expect our guests to forage for groceries or encourage them to dig up native plants in our forest, allowing them to see, taste, and smell, the environment is always engaging for our guests.
Seasonal Scavenger Hunts
This summer we started our Rushes scavenger hunt. There are two scavenger hunts. One is a listing of different things found in the wilderness area, it gets guests out into the 120 acre forest. The other hunt has Rushes landmarks. Our goal is to get people to different parts of the property. Now, in the age of technology, we have guests take a picture and bring it back to me. It’s not on the honor system! We find the scavenger hunts get our visitors extra excited about exploring every corner of the property.
Geocaching
If you’re a mystery and adventure lover, geocaching might be your new favorite hobby! I started almost when it first began in the year 2000. This worldwide activity only requires the Geocaching app or a GPS device to locate hidden containers called geocaches. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a notebook and a pen or pencil. When you find the cache, you sign the log and put the container back exactly where the you found it. Larger containers can also contain items such as toys or stickers to trade. Check out geocaching.com; you’ll be shocked how much is out there!
Resource Library and Documentary Showings
In addition to a selection of books and nature guides in our activity room and library, we also enjoy presenting nature-themed documentaries. There are some fantastic documentaries I like to “show and tell” in our retreat center. One of my newest favorites is about lighthouses because many of our guests come here for the lighthouse festival. People can visit the lighthouses and return for a refresher about lighthouses in Door County. The documentaries change over the years, including subjects like shipwrecks and Jens Jensen, Wisconsin’s first conservationist. Aldo Leopold, of course, is another person whose life story I teach on my land ethics leader course for the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
I have some other documentaries from other organizations we partner with, including the Ridges and Swales. This documentary is about the Ridges Sanctuary in Door County, which we got involved with 42 years ago. It gives their history and what’s happening as far as the environment is concerned in Door County. I know most of the people who were interviewed for the documentary, so I have many comments to stop and add along the way.
Hands-On Activities
Being a former shop teacher, I’m a very hands-on guy. I lead other activities like wood crafts and wood burning (all under supervision, of course!) I do bingo, which is a thing that people of all ages traditionally love. To reward winners, we give away a bottle of wine or other prise for the adults, and the kids get something else, so there’s motivation. Prises are always changing, so be prepared to be surprised. Bingo is not the only opportunity for a fun competition; Ray even made corn hole sets!
What furry and feathered forest friends might our guests encounter?
When fall rolls around, there are lot of deer out there. There are squirrels. There are rabbits. There are porcupines. Of course, our residents, Sandhill Cranes, are here now. They come back every year, and since they mate for life they raise their families together around the property. My wife and I saw them this morning, and we have already named them! We see a lot of snakes right now in the water, most of which are black water snakes. We have an observation deck where you can overlook this area, see them on the logs and in the water. Some of our guests have seen painted turtles and snapping turtles lay eggs on the beach. And, of course, we can’t forget the abundance of red and gray squirrels!
What’s so wonderful about winter adventures in Door County?
When our guests want to go snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or ice skating, all of the supplies are available for checkout at no charge. We have two sizes of snow shoes and some smaller skis with smaller shoes for cross-country skiing. Some of the trails are groomed for cross country skiing when we have deep snow, and we also leave room for our snowshoers on the paths. We also plow the snow off a generous Kangaroo Lake area for ice skating. Of course, all of these activities are “weather permitting,” but what some weather conditions impact also opens up other opportunities.
If you’re looking for a wonderful winter experience, there’s nothing like winter hiking. If you venture out on a few winter hikes, you’ll see a lot of deer on the trails. In addition to animal tracks, you’ll also see scat; you can sometimes tell what it is and what it’s been eating!
We will occasionally get a snowy owl. The woodpeckers stay all winter; we have the pileated, the downy, and the hairy woodpeckers, which you’re likely to hear if you go for a winter hike.
The Rushes has a library for the Foundation where people can take out trail guides. We encourage guests, if they’re taking a walk, to pick up a trail guide and just return it when they’re done.
Experience the Natural World Like Never Before At The Rushes
Whether you’re an avid winter hiker or a leader of a scout troop looking for a fun and educational spring retreat, our on-site naturalist would be thrilled to meet you! Ray loves to help our guests appreciate the natural environment as much as he does. His time fills up quickly, so contact us today if you want to have the best educational and rejuvenating vacation you could ever imagine!