Since we are attached to the university, our world takes place in semesters and this is the last week of the fall 2009 semester!
We capped off the last few months with our annual Holiday Nature Crafts program. This year's crafting event was a huge success; we had over 40 kids show up to make beautiful masterpieces. Some of the crafts included tree cookie ornaments, pinecone elf figurines, and coffee ground fossils. My personal favorite was artwork using sun print paper - something I remember doing as a child. In addition to crafting we snacked, colored, and played in the snow.
Things will be super slow around here through the rest of December and the beginning of January. Our staff will be enjoying their winter breaks! I'll be off to Virginia, but will be back in the New Year to fill you in on all things nature!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Are we sure it is not Winter yet?
Winter does not officially start for another couple of weeks, but Father Frost has arrived early! Man, is it cold out there! I was out at the Nature Center yesterday afternoon and all of the geese and ducks had their heads wrapped under their wings! Brrrrrr.
This past weekend, 10 volunteers braved the cold to help us out on Service Saturday. We are currently remodeling the inside of the nature center and these kind folks helped us repaint. Thanks so much! We appreciate your dedication!
We'll be staying warm this weekend during Holiday Nature Crafts. We still have some room left in this program, so don't forget to RSVP. We'll be crafting, playing games, and snacking out at the Colorado Welcome Center. Give us a call (491-1661) for more information!
In nature news, staff member, Ally, spotted two bald eagles and a golden eagle on our property last week. The Great-Horned Owl has also been making regular appearances right by the nature center. Our furry friends are harder to spot these days, but plenty of rabbits can be spotted roaming the fields in the early morning. If you are looking for something to do outside, I highly suggest bundling up and taking a walk after the sun has set (you don't have to go far, your neighborhood will do) ; you'll be amazed at what you find. After the first snow of the season a friend and I walked through campus around midnight and spotted a couple of foxes and tons of tiny mice jumping in the snow. It was really amazing!
That's it for this week. I'll be back next week with tales of nature crafts!
This past weekend, 10 volunteers braved the cold to help us out on Service Saturday. We are currently remodeling the inside of the nature center and these kind folks helped us repaint. Thanks so much! We appreciate your dedication!
We'll be staying warm this weekend during Holiday Nature Crafts. We still have some room left in this program, so don't forget to RSVP. We'll be crafting, playing games, and snacking out at the Colorado Welcome Center. Give us a call (491-1661) for more information!
In nature news, staff member, Ally, spotted two bald eagles and a golden eagle on our property last week. The Great-Horned Owl has also been making regular appearances right by the nature center. Our furry friends are harder to spot these days, but plenty of rabbits can be spotted roaming the fields in the early morning. If you are looking for something to do outside, I highly suggest bundling up and taking a walk after the sun has set (you don't have to go far, your neighborhood will do) ; you'll be amazed at what you find. After the first snow of the season a friend and I walked through campus around midnight and spotted a couple of foxes and tons of tiny mice jumping in the snow. It was really amazing!
That's it for this week. I'll be back next week with tales of nature crafts!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Our final GSE of the year and Holiday Nature Crafts!
First, I hope all of you had wonderful Thanksgivings! Whether you ate a robust feast fit for a queen or some lunchables from 711 (as one of my students did), I hope your days were filled with laughter!
As mentioned in my previous post, my family and I took a road trip to San Francisco. It was beautiful and on one hike we saw sea lions, porpoises, and a red-tailed hawk. Not to shabby for a big city walk-about.
On Monday we held our final Great School Escape of the year. Participants were full of energy, but focused enough to learn about the winter season. Students from my Environmental Education course wrote the lesson plans and objectives included everything from being able to define the term "diapause" to being able to identify types of avalanches. The weather held out for us and we had a good day!
Don't forget about our annual Holiday Nature Craft program coming up on Saturday, December 12. You can drop your kids off or come and create nature-related masterpieces with your children. Along with craft projects, we'll provide snacks, drinks, and games. This program takes place from 10am-2pm - drop by whenever you would like and stay as long as you would like. We'll be crafting in our classroom out at the Colorado Welcome Center (yup, its that funny looking building at the intersection of I-25 and East Prospect). Hope to see you there.
Have a great week and enjoy this lovely snow!
As mentioned in my previous post, my family and I took a road trip to San Francisco. It was beautiful and on one hike we saw sea lions, porpoises, and a red-tailed hawk. Not to shabby for a big city walk-about.
On Monday we held our final Great School Escape of the year. Participants were full of energy, but focused enough to learn about the winter season. Students from my Environmental Education course wrote the lesson plans and objectives included everything from being able to define the term "diapause" to being able to identify types of avalanches. The weather held out for us and we had a good day!
Don't forget about our annual Holiday Nature Craft program coming up on Saturday, December 12. You can drop your kids off or come and create nature-related masterpieces with your children. Along with craft projects, we'll provide snacks, drinks, and games. This program takes place from 10am-2pm - drop by whenever you would like and stay as long as you would like. We'll be crafting in our classroom out at the Colorado Welcome Center (yup, its that funny looking building at the intersection of I-25 and East Prospect). Hope to see you there.
Have a great week and enjoy this lovely snow!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Gearing up for Thanksgiving
I've decided to use the majority of this post to relay the little bit of knowledge I have on the wild turkey. Before this, however, lets chat programs.
The Cub Scouts were finally able to earn their badges on Saturday. Though the weather was chilly, the precipitation held off long enough for the scouts to learn all about forestry and wildlife. We had a great time and are proud of all of the boys for coming prepared and ready to learn!
Monday, November 30th marks our last Great School Escape (GSE) of the semester. This one is already full, but we can certainly put your kiddos on the waiting list - just give us a call or shoot us an email. We will hold five, yes you heard that right, five, GSEs next semester. Registration for those will be up on our website by mid-January.
Mark your calendars for our annual Holiday Nature Crafts program taking place from 10am-2pm on Saturday, December 12. Drop your kids off while you do holiday shopping (or just drop 'em off and veg on the couch) or come and craft with your kids. We'll be creating masterpieces that are nature related and can be given as gifts. We'll also provide snacks and drinks and some extra games and activities. This program is free and is tons of fun (especially if you like glitter as much as I do)!
Okay, so now for some tidbits of information on the turkey. There are five subspecies of wild turkey in the United States. Here in Colorado the most common, and the subspecies considered to be Colorado's native turkey, is the Merriam's turkey. Evidence suggests that people have kept the Merriam's turkey for food here in Colorado since 500 AD! This turkey likes to live in forests between 6,000 and 9,000 feet in altitude - meaning you can find these guys (and gals) roaming around ponderosa pine, scrub oak, and pinion juniper covered regions. I've seen wild turkeys in two locations here on the Front Range: at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area and on the Lumpy Ridge Trail in Estes Park.
I recently learned that unlike the domestic turkey (the ones that most of us eat on Thanksgiving), the wild turkey can fly. In fact, they are quite fast. The wild turkey is an omnivore (most domestic turkeys are only fed corn and soybean meal) and they even eat salamanders! The wild turkey, out of necessity, is also much more quiet than its domestic counterpart. If wild turkeys made noise at even half the things that domestic turkeys do, they'd be prey in no time.
And that's all I know about the wild turkey. Feel free to share your knowledge!
My family and I will be spending our Thanksgiving in San Francisco with my sister. I may not be able to post next week, but will be back in December!
The Cub Scouts were finally able to earn their badges on Saturday. Though the weather was chilly, the precipitation held off long enough for the scouts to learn all about forestry and wildlife. We had a great time and are proud of all of the boys for coming prepared and ready to learn!
Monday, November 30th marks our last Great School Escape (GSE) of the semester. This one is already full, but we can certainly put your kiddos on the waiting list - just give us a call or shoot us an email. We will hold five, yes you heard that right, five, GSEs next semester. Registration for those will be up on our website by mid-January.
Mark your calendars for our annual Holiday Nature Crafts program taking place from 10am-2pm on Saturday, December 12. Drop your kids off while you do holiday shopping (or just drop 'em off and veg on the couch) or come and craft with your kids. We'll be creating masterpieces that are nature related and can be given as gifts. We'll also provide snacks and drinks and some extra games and activities. This program is free and is tons of fun (especially if you like glitter as much as I do)!
Okay, so now for some tidbits of information on the turkey. There are five subspecies of wild turkey in the United States. Here in Colorado the most common, and the subspecies considered to be Colorado's native turkey, is the Merriam's turkey. Evidence suggests that people have kept the Merriam's turkey for food here in Colorado since 500 AD! This turkey likes to live in forests between 6,000 and 9,000 feet in altitude - meaning you can find these guys (and gals) roaming around ponderosa pine, scrub oak, and pinion juniper covered regions. I've seen wild turkeys in two locations here on the Front Range: at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area and on the Lumpy Ridge Trail in Estes Park.
I recently learned that unlike the domestic turkey (the ones that most of us eat on Thanksgiving), the wild turkey can fly. In fact, they are quite fast. The wild turkey is an omnivore (most domestic turkeys are only fed corn and soybean meal) and they even eat salamanders! The wild turkey, out of necessity, is also much more quiet than its domestic counterpart. If wild turkeys made noise at even half the things that domestic turkeys do, they'd be prey in no time.
And that's all I know about the wild turkey. Feel free to share your knowledge!
My family and I will be spending our Thanksgiving in San Francisco with my sister. I may not be able to post next week, but will be back in December!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Fathers and Daughters doing science together!
Hello everyone! Our Nature F.A.D. program that took place this past weekend was quite the success. Seven father-daughter pairs took part in the event. Each pair used GPS coordinates to locate five different female scientists stationed out on the ELC trails. Together dads and girls participated in hands-on activities related to the particular expertise of each scientist. They explored the fascinating worlds of geology, wildlife biology, hydrology, soil science, and fire ecology. A fun time was had by all and our staff members took a lot of pictures. Once we get those uploaded I will be sure to share them!
This weekend we will attempt to make up a couple of our cub scout programs that were cancelled in October due to the snowy weather. I've got my fingers crossed that the skies are clear on Saturday afternoon.
In nature news, I found the creature in the picture below roaming my house last night. It is a fact that I love all creatures, but not enough that I want to live with all of them. This sucker was named Bergita (after a hermit crab I once had for 14 days), promptly scooped up in a cup, and relocated to the alley across the street.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Quick update
Here, here, I do now declare that we have entered the slow season! For ELC staff that means we'll take a breather from field work, and put our planning and research hats on. For you blog-readers that means updates on programs might be a little dry, but have no fear, when possible I will liven things up with a winter wildlife tale or two.
Fright Night on the Trail went very well and, even though their was quite a chill in the air (and a lot of snow on the ground), 7 families still made it out to celebrate Halloween and learn about critters of the night. Thanks for braving the weather and taking part in this program!
This Saturday Nature F.A.D will take place. This is a program for fathers (and father figures) and their daughters. Research shows that girls' interest and success in science and science-related careers is directly related to the support of their fathers. Participants in this program will take part in field work with women scientists in various fields. We still have room in this program, so sign up now!
Fright Night on the Trail went very well and, even though their was quite a chill in the air (and a lot of snow on the ground), 7 families still made it out to celebrate Halloween and learn about critters of the night. Thanks for braving the weather and taking part in this program!
This Saturday Nature F.A.D will take place. This is a program for fathers (and father figures) and their daughters. Research shows that girls' interest and success in science and science-related careers is directly related to the support of their fathers. Participants in this program will take part in field work with women scientists in various fields. We still have room in this program, so sign up now!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Conservation-minded tooth fairies...
I could not wait to write this post. I have a great tale for you that actually occured during our Octber 15th and 16th Great School Escapes. It goes something like this.
Participant: "I've lost 2 teeth in the past 2 days."
Staff member: "Do you have a tooth fairy?"
Participant: "Yes"
Staff member: "Did he or she come?"
Participant: "Not yet. I lost the first tooth yesterday and the second one this morning, so she's saving her energy and coming for both of them tonight."
Staff member: "Really. What do you mean by she's saving her energy?"
Participant: "You know, instead of coming once for each tooth she's only coming one time for both teeth. She's using less gas in her car that way."
Okay, I just thought that was the best answer ever.
Getting back to business, all 3 of Saturday's programs went very well. Girl Scout day was a success with 40 girls earning badges. Make a Difference Day also went well, but I'll let Hayes tell you more about that. The HeadStart on science fair also went really well.
As a staff we are super excited about Fright Night on the Trail this Friday from 5-7pm. Alysse has written a great lesson plan and we'll be learning all about owls, bats, spiders, and worms. Science song-writer, Mark Wesson, will also be back to serenade us in some nature songs. All ages are welcome, so RSVP soon for a great night of Halloween fun!
Don't forget about Nature F.A.D. (a program for fathers/father figures and daughters) on Saturday, November 7th. We also still have a few slots left in our November 30th Great School Escape. As always for more info on our programs, check out our website at www.cnr.colostate.edu/elc.
Have another great week!
Participant: "I've lost 2 teeth in the past 2 days."
Staff member: "Do you have a tooth fairy?"
Participant: "Yes"
Staff member: "Did he or she come?"
Participant: "Not yet. I lost the first tooth yesterday and the second one this morning, so she's saving her energy and coming for both of them tonight."
Staff member: "Really. What do you mean by she's saving her energy?"
Participant: "You know, instead of coming once for each tooth she's only coming one time for both teeth. She's using less gas in her car that way."
Okay, I just thought that was the best answer ever.
Getting back to business, all 3 of Saturday's programs went very well. Girl Scout day was a success with 40 girls earning badges. Make a Difference Day also went well, but I'll let Hayes tell you more about that. The HeadStart on science fair also went really well.
As a staff we are super excited about Fright Night on the Trail this Friday from 5-7pm. Alysse has written a great lesson plan and we'll be learning all about owls, bats, spiders, and worms. Science song-writer, Mark Wesson, will also be back to serenade us in some nature songs. All ages are welcome, so RSVP soon for a great night of Halloween fun!
Don't forget about Nature F.A.D. (a program for fathers/father figures and daughters) on Saturday, November 7th. We also still have a few slots left in our November 30th Great School Escape. As always for more info on our programs, check out our website at www.cnr.colostate.edu/elc.
Have another great week!
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