Welcome

Thank you for visiting the Habitat and Wildlife Keepers(HAWK) Website. We are a chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation - a community - based organization established to work together for wildlife and habitat.

ORDER YOUR RAIN BARREL NOW!!
HAWK and the Town of Matthews are taking orders for Rain Barrels to be delivered at the Earth Day Festival in Stumptown park on April 26 10am-2pm. The rain barrels are made by Rain Barrels USA in Waxhaw. 60 gallons $85 and 80 gallons $100. You MUST preorder! If you want a rain barrel (or two!), please email us at HAWKncwf@gmail.com.

News

MAY MEETING
Rusty Jewett, from Sencera Solar Energy, will speak at the May 6 meeting of HAWK. Sencera manufactures photovoltaic (solar) panels and Rusty will address the increase in interest in solar power, how the United States fits into the global solar energy market, residential applications, costs and technologies and government incentives for solar energy use.

Rusty holds a Ph.D in Plasma Physics Engineering from the University of New Mexico and holds 8 US patents.

The meeting is free and open to everyone. Join us at the Matthews Community Center at 100 McDowell Street at 7pm. This will be the last HAWK meeting before summer break.

Habitat Steward Training!!
Make your community a wildlife friendly zone! HAWK will host a Habitat Stewards™ program, a highly acclaimed training series created by the National Wildlife Federation® on September 19, 20 and 21, 2008 in Matthews. Individuals who complete this program will become Certified Habitat Stewards™ and will be equipped with the knowledge to work with individuals, schools, businesses and places of worship to create wildlife habitats in their communities.

Workshops include information on gardening with natives, backyard bird management, composting, water and soil stewardship, plant identification, invasive species control and other environmental and conservation issues.

Classes will be held 8:30am-4:30pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Matthews Community Center.

Participation is $50 plus 40 service hours. Attendance for all three days is required. Space is limited so sign up soon.

Deadline for registration is Aug 1, 2008. Contact Carol Buie-Jackson at HAWKncwf@gmail.com or 704-814-0877.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Cleaning and Greening of Matthews Make an impact in your own town! On April 26, Matthews is having a litter sweep starting at 8am at Stumptown park. Come and join the fun as we clean up our streets. Then at 10am, stay and discover green living hints at the Earth Day Festival!

Squirrel Lake—Hone your gardening skills by working on the gardens in the park on a monthly basis and enjoy the wildlife at the park. The gardens at the entrance and the one across from the parking lot need your time and attention. For more details, email us at hawkncwf@gmail.com or feel free to go out to the park when your schedule will allow and pull some weeds!

Steven’s Creek April 12 POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER. Plan to join us to clean up the Steven’s Creek Tract near 485 and Idlewild. There are some invasives and trash that need to be removed. Details to follow. Directions: From 485 and Idlewild, head towards Mint Hill and turn at the first right passed 485, Hook Rd. Go .3 miles and park at the end of the road. Please do not park on private property.

Do you enjoy woodworking? We need help building birdhouses for wildlife habitats around the area. HAWK will provide the wood and other supplies needed to build the houses but we need volunteers to cut up and assemble the nesting boxes. If you are interested, please email us at HAWKncwf@gmail.com.

To add your event to this calendar, please send details to HAWKncwf@gmail.com.