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Tips to help you connect your family to nature!

Shoot for the Moon by Anita Evans

9/8/2022

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Shooting for the moon is a phrase that implies something is an unattainable target—but is that true? NASA is shooting for the moon right now with their Artemis 1, the first of the Orion Spacecraft. This unmanned moon launch is the first of many scheduled flights that will orbit the Moon and send several satellites out to collect data for future manned missions taking astronauts to the Moon’s surface. The subsequent Artemis missions will be the first manned flights to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, 50 years ago. These series of flights are intended to set up a lunar station for sustainable exploration beyond the Earth’s orbit—the possibilities are endless!
 
Reaching the moon by spaceship is only our most recent relationship with our orbiting orb. The Moon has played an important part in our lives as humans for millennia. For most of our history, the Moon was the only source of illumination at night. It helped travelers navigate, and enabled people to work at night. It has signified wisdom, intuition, birth, death, reincarnation, and fertility, and has long been integrally tied to farming. The first astronomers created calendars from changes they saw in the Moon and linked those changes to the four seasons, crop planting, and harvesting. Many turns of phrase refer to the Moon, such as “once in a blue moon”, “many moons ago”, “promise the moon”, “over the moon”, “baying at the moon”, and let us not forget about honeymoons! We eat Moon Pies and look for the Man in the Moon, listen to songs like “Moon River” and read books to our children such as “Goodnight Moon”.  Its magnificent presence in the sky has permeated our lives on every level.
 
So, what do we see when we look up into the sky and see the Moon in its various stages? First, we need to know that the Moon revolves, or travels, around the Earth every 28 days, just like the Earth revolves around the Sun every 365 days. As the Moon revolves around the Earth it also rotates on its axis just one time during that 28 days, which means we always see the same side of the Moon. The Earth, on the other hand, rotates on its axis once a day—or 365 times in one year—as it travels around the sun. 
 
Why then do we see the Moon in its different phases or shapes? Sometimes we see a full moon, sometimes only a sliver or crescent moon based on the Sun’s reflection off the lunar surface. The Moon’s phases are created by the position of the Moon relative to the Earth and the Sun. A new Moon occurs when the Moon, Earth, and Sun all lie approximately in the same line with the Moon between the Earth and Sun from the Earth’s perspective. The side of the moon facing the Earth is completely dark because it has no sun reflecting off it. On the other hand, a full Moon occurs when the Moon’s revolution around the Earth puts it on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. The Sun’s rays then reflect off the full lunar surface that faces the Earth. 
 
The eight basic phases of the Moon can be seen in this graphic: 


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There are four primary phases: new Moon, first quarter, full Moon, and third quarter. The secondary phases are waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, and waning crescent. Waxing means an apparent growth of the Moon’s image each night, always getting larger from right to left. Waning means the image is shrinking, which also occurs from right to left as you see the Moon’s image in the sky.  
 
This graphic shows the position of the Moon and the Sun during each of the Moon’s phases and the Moon as it appears from Earth during each phase. Not to scale. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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One of the most interesting concepts behind the Moon’s phases is that the Moon, along with every other object in the sky, is in constant motion. The light we see from the Moon is a reflection of our Sun’s rays based on its position in the sky relative to Earth, not from Earth’s shadow as some believe. Also, its rotation around the Earth affects more than just our language and farming rhythms. The Moon’s diameter is about one fourth the of the size of the Earth’s width, making it Earth’s largest and only natural satellite. Its huge mass results in gravity that tugs at the Earth’s oceans to move in a pattern we call the tides. As the Earth rotates the water bulges out on the side closest to the Moon and the side farthest from the Moon, creating a high tide. As the Earth continues to rotate through its 24 hour cycle most shorelines experience two high and two low tides per day, spaced 12 hours apart. 
 
Being Earth’s closest neighbor in space, it is no wonder the Moon plays such an important part in our everyday lives. Learning the science behind the Moon, its phases, and its effect on our planet is just the first step to learning about what lies beyond its orbit. From Apollo 8 to Artemis 1—to the Moon we go!

 
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Become a Young Citizen Scientist by Carrie Krickbaum

5/20/2022

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Many little hands release a Wilson’s warbler after it was banded at Ridgway State Park. Students observe and assist bird banders as part of the Rocky Mountain Bird Banding Project at Ridgway and at the Audubon Nature Center at Connected Lakes in Grand Junction. The banding operation occurs annually in early September.

Chick-a-de-de-de-de, chickadee in the tree, I see a chickadee, chickadee in the tree.  

Making up quick songs while hiking with little kids is a fun way to connect and remember birds. Chickadees are a favorite for kids and adults of all ages because the words we use to describe their song is also their name!

Another fun bird call to listen for is the Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  It is called the “cheeseburger bird” because the mnemonic for its song is “cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger”. Mnemonics (words to help us remember) are fun and easy to learn. Visit Augubon.org to learn some tricks on remembering bird songs. (https://tinyurl.com/remembering-bird-calls)


How do you spark that interest in nature with your kids? Summer is a great time to start thinking of ways to get your young ones out there and engaged with the outdoors. It could be as simple as buying a pair of binoculars and a basic bird book, or taking walks in the woods to just look and listen.  Get them prepped with anticipation by going to the library and checking out some books about nature. There are many children’s books that can introduce kids to the wonder and beauty of nature. Some even provide a variety of cultural interests. One example is a children's book about the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and how it became part of a movement to embrace Indigenous languages in Mexico  (tinyurl.com/the-tale-of-one-tiny-songbird). Image courtesy of Audubon Society.


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(image courtesy of audubon.org)
Audubon is all about getting out there and appreciating nature and birds!  Their website has so much information; it is worth a browse to get a few DIY summer camp ideas. Their page - JUST FOR KIDS!  (Or kids at heart) “aims to bring together activities from across Audubon’s national network of environmental educators, including the classroom curriculum Audubon Adventures, plus related DIY activities and content from Audubon’s editors.”  (tinyurl.com/audubon-afterschool-fun).  There are even events for family participation – to help you and your kids contribute to citizen science projects. Here is an example of a virtual event on the site: tinyurl.com/audubon-afterschool-fun

One doesn’t need to be an expert; maybe just being a “student” along with a child is a fun way to learn and bond together. The more kids love and understand our natural world, the more they will want to protect it.  www.audubon.org/news/easy-ways-get-kids-birding

Cornell Lab of Ornithology also has many resources on their website. Check out their bird sleuthing curricula (www.birdsleuth.net) which uses bird watching to get young people enthused about science and nature. This Bird Sleuth video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5OPTvrHh0U) encourages students (or anyone!) to get outside, watch birds, and take part in citizen science.  

There are several citizen science projects through Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, such as the great backyard bird count. www.birdcount.org . Also, a fun app to use on your phone while out in the field is iNaturalist. www.inaturalist.org/.  It has a variety of uses to not only record what you see with pictures and descriptions, but other users can help you identify your plant, bird, bug, or whatever else you’ve seen in the natural world.

Who doesn’t enjoy seeing a butterfly, flitting around some flowers?  Because they are pollinators, it is important to protect these wonderful creatures. Since they are an “indicator species” (project the health of the environment), awareness of their importance is increased. Ridgway State Park started a citizen science project through the Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network in 2017. Interested volunteers attended a training at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado in 2015. There are now five routes in the park consistently monitored by volunteers. The idea is to expand this to other areas on the Western Slope next year. If you’d like to learn about starting a route for you and other families, please visit butterflies.org/research-and-conserve/butterfly-monitoring/.

Here is a suggestion for a fun summer garden project to help monarch butterflies – establish a certified “waystation” for these critters to stop and rest during migration.  Monarch Watch also has links to other monarch butterfly projects    (www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/).
Looking for more action packed  activities in the outdoors? Try orienteering with your kids! It’s a great way to learn how to use a map, a compass and learn to observe subtle landscape features. There are many sites for guidance before you head out with your kids such as rainydaymum.co.uk/orienteering-with-kids/.

Geocaching – It’s like a treasure hunt!  Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity in which participants use a GPS or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. It’s fun for them to see what “treasures” people have left behind in the “caches” and its great activity to lead you to explore places that you never thought of going. Go to www.geocaching.com/play to find out more and look at the available apps.

With each interaction in nature, children can acquire a sensitivity to nature’s elements. The more kids love and understand our natural world, the more they will want to protect it. Nature experiences can light up a spark of fascination and curiosity, and elicit many questions. Whether it involves plants, birds, butterflies or other critters, citizen science projects are a great way to engage your child with nature. 

If you want to learn more about what other citizen science projects are out there including planets, plants, weather and even ticks, Popular Science has a website for that: www.popsci.com/story/diy/citizen-science-guide/ . This site provides links for those projects and other resources. So, get out there, have some fun, and do some science!

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Beware of the Silent Killers of the Night by Anne Janik

10/18/2021

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The summer evening bat exodus from the Orient Land Mine (San Luis Valley) which hosts the largest colony of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats in Colorado. Bats eat millions of insects every night intercepting migrant pests before they can lay eggs, saving huge amounts of money for farmers. (Credit: Umkehrer (istock)

That is, if you happen to be an insect! These night stalkers have been known to eat upwards of 1,200 insects per hour, and that includes mosquitoes. These warm blooded, nocturnal creatures are often associated with the spookiest of holidays. Any guesses as to the animal in question? Why, bats, of course!

So how did bats become the creepy representatives of Halloween? Let’s start with a couple of myths:  

Bats drink blood, right? Well, not exactly. There are only three species of bat that feed primarily on blood (the “vampire” bats), while the remaining ~1,400 species feed on things like insects, rodents, and nectar. Vampire bats are where the group as a whole got their connection to Halloween. When these bats were first observed lapping up the blood of cattle in Central and South America they were quickly given the label of “vampires.” This idea was made concrete when Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) depicted vampires’ shapeshifting into bats. Additionally, rumors have it that witches used bat blood in their “flying” concoctions. It’s no wonder bats have gotten a bad rap!

Here are a few more myths regarding bats:
  • “Bats are blind and often fly into and get tangled in people’s hair.“ Not true at all. They actually have quite good eyesight and use echolocation to help them navigate at night, so they can easily detect and avoid you! 
  • “Bats are flying mice.” Bats are not mice. While they are both mammals, bats are classified in order Chiroptera and mice in Rodentia. Bats are actually more closely related to humans than to mice or rats.
  • “All bats have rabies.” Bats, as well as other common wild animals (raccoons, skunks, and fox), can be infected with the rabies virus. However, this does not mean that all bats have rabies, just that they have the potential to carry the virus, as do many wild animals. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so never touch or handle dead or live wild animals.
So, now that we busted some of the prevalent myths, how about some high-fives for all the good things bats do! 

Who needs pesticides when we have bats?  The natural pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United States likely saves farmers at least $3 billion a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among the most overlooked economically important, non-domesticated animals in North America, according to an analysis in the journal Science.

From deserts to rainforests, nectar-feeding bats that drink the sweet nectar inside flowers pick up a dusting of pollen and move it along to other flowers as they feed. Bat pollination is critical for a wide variety of plants such as giant cacti, agave and many commercial plant products. 

Bats often cover vast distances each night. When they happen to cross clearings and defecate in flight, bats can scatter seeds of native plants, helping to naturally re-vegetate disturbed landscapes.   

With more than 1,400 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals. In Colorado, we have 18 bat species that can be found in every habitat—from the eastern plains to the high mountain forests and western deserts, from rural Colorado to downtown Denver. Some are here year-round, and some only migrate through the state. 

The bats you are most likely to see here on the Western Slope of Colorado are the Big Brown Bat (year- round residents hibernating in places like mines, caves, fissures and other places in winter), the Silver-Haired Bat (migratory – they fly south in winter) and Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat (year-round residents hibernating in winter). Guides will help you positively identify bats. One from Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) is called “Bats of the Rocky Mountain West.” CPW monitors bat populations as part of a nationwide effort to detect changes from threats including White-Nose Syndrome and wind energy development. To learn more, visit: https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/Bats.aspx

This time of year, the only bats you are likely to see are the child- sized, black bats slinking around your neighborhood on October 31st. However, in spring and summer, there are many places where you can observe bats. Bats seek out a variety of daytime retreats such as caves, rock crevices, old buildings, bridges, mines, and trees. During the evening, they are on the hunt for insects near light sources and along creeks and drainages. 

On the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the San Luis Valley, the Orient Mine hosts the largest colony of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats in Colorado. As the sun sets each summer evening, black clouds billow from the mouth of the abandoned iron mine when it’s time to hunt. There are extraordinarily large numbers—100,000 male bats on average—from June to early July in the mine. By the end of October, the colony’s population will swell as high as 250,000 as the ladies and their pups meet up with the guys in preparation for winter migration.

Since bats are surprisingly helpful creatures, what can you do to help the bats in your neck of the woods? This a perfect time to get some great ideas! National Bat Week is celebrated each year during the last week of October, this year from October 24-31, 2021. Visit www.batweek.org to learn more about these critters and discover ways to help improve the environment for bats. BatsLIVE – is an online, distance learning adventure and a one-stop resource for learning about bats with lesson plans, recorded webcasts, and multimedia tools all focused on bats.​ Do you want to know more about the disease devastating our bat populations? Watch the film “Battle for the Bats” to learn more about White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) and the important role that the public can play in bat conservation.

This Halloween, while you are looking forward to those sweet treats, consider “treating” the bats in your neighborhood with a place to roost. Building a bat house is a fun family project.  The National Wildlife Federation website (https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/cover/build-a-bat-house) provides easy instructions and information on the best placement location to meet the needs of these voracious mosquito eaters.  

Bats have a bad rap, but the more you know, the more fascinating these little critters get. Now that we’ve cleared up some of those Halloween myths, let’s “Go to Bat for Bats!” and keep them coming back to our neighborhoods. 

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North Fork Valley students build bat houses as a stewardship project during National Public Lands Day. (Credit: US Forest Service)

 
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The builders hold up their finished product to be installed at their schools in the North Fork Valley. (Credit: US Forest Service)
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Getting to Know Your Watershed by Anne Janik

6/4/2021

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Fourth graders observe how vegetation in a watershed (culvert) slows down and filters water so it infiltrates into the soil compared to areas with no vegetation.
 

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A hydrologist with the Colorado Division of Water Resources demonstrates how water managers measure  flows for water allocations.
Wherever you are, you are standing in a watershed!  But, how do you explain a watershed to a 9 year old?  Observation is a good start.  A roof catches the water from a rain storm and as it runs off the roof, it flows into gutters, drainpipes and eventually into a barrel, or a storm drain in the street. Now, imagine the hillsides of a big valley being the roof of a shed, and the melting snow runs down the slopes into small streams eventually flowing into larger rivers.  The area of land encompassing the hillsides is referred to as the watershed. From a bird’s eye view, drainage patterns in a watershed resemble a network similar to the branching pattern of a tree. Tributaries, similar to twigs and small branches, flow into streams, the main branches of the tree eventually to the larger tree trunk. Like all other branching patters (e.g., road maps, veins in a leaf), the drainage pattern consists of smaller channels merging into larger ones.

A watershed is an important concept!  In the west, water availability depends on the amount of rain and snow throughout the year. In Colorado, the snowpack or total seasonal accumulation of snow on the ground is the predominant source of runoff supplying our major rivers with water. In this part of Colorado those rivers are: the Gunnison, the Uncompahgre, the San Miguel, the Dolores and of course the Colorado River.  The last few back-to-back below average water years, started to build drought conditions which intensified with a dry spring and hot summer. Last summer was one of the driest years on record and created drought conditions that sparked some of the worst fires in our state history.  Because of the consequences of drought, understanding and caring for our watershed becomes very important.  

Water availability is also dependent on the condition of the land within the watershed. Watershed health is a function of appropriate land uses which affect the amount infiltration, runoff, the quality of the water flowing into a river and ultimately what we drink! Local foresters often provide a very effective visual demonstration to help students understand how land use can affect water quality. Using 2 (half) culverts set on a slope, one with sod (substituting for trees shrubs, grasses) and the other with no plants, only soil; one student pours one gallon of water from the top of each culvert and their classmates capture the water that runs off the bottom of each culvert in a clear flask.  Their observations?  The water sample from the vegetated (sod) culvert is clear compared to the murky water sample from the non-vegetated culvert. Proof that vegetation slows down the runoff so the precipitation seeps into the soil. The roots of the plants function as a filter catching the sediments and nutrients, ultimately providing better quality water.  Land use matters!  Roads, housing developments, shopping malls, parking lots, timber harvesting, improper grazing and wildfires remove vegetation and can cause increased soil erosion which ultimately affects the quantity and quality of runoff within the watershed. 

Watersheds, river dynamics and western water management are such important concepts to understand that two non-profits and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have contributed funding to provide opportunities for students to learn about them. The mission of these entities are a bit different but all three encourage actions to protect our watersheds. “Forever Our Rivers” champions community engagement in river health, with efforts generating the interest, people power and funding needed for healthy river ways. “The Gunnison Round Table” (associated with DNR and the Colorado Water Conservation Board) is involved with water planning for current and future in-basin uses. Friends of Youth and Nature facilitates opportunities for youth to learn about the environment and become active stewards of our natural resources. All three have collaborated this year to establish funding to bring over 1200 students to events with interactive water learning activities on the Western Slope. 

“Water in the West” is the newest Colorado River Water interactive exhibit at the Eureka Science Museum in Grand Junction.  The hydrology exhibit includes 12 different lessons about water, from turbulence and dissolved oxygen to measuring flow rate. Approximately 700 gallons of water flow through a 40- foot- long feature that mirrors the Colorado River. Water rushes through irrigation gates to orchards, flows through fish ladders, is diverted into dams and canals and is tubed away in a model of a transmountain diversion.
A few weeks ago, fourth graders participated in the annual Montrose Natural Resource Festival sponsored by the Shavano Valley Conservation District.  Groups of students rotated through stations where they learned about various natural resource concepts through demonstrations and hands-on activities led by resource specialists. Not surprisingly, many stations focused on aspects of water: Your Water – Your Watershed, explaining ways water users can cooperate to protect water resources (The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership);  The Importance of Trees in Our Watersheds (Montrose Forest Products) , A River Runs Through It – Simulating the dynamics of a river system in a big sandbox (Delta Conservation District), The Importance of Aquatic Invertebrates in the Food Chain (BLM/San Juan Mountain Association); The History of Colorado Water Laws and Why Measuring Flow is Important  (Colorado Division of Water Resources), and, Preventing Pollution in our Watersheds  (City of Montrose).

The goal of these environmental education events is for our youth to learn how interconnected and complex our water systems are.  The Colorado River Basin is huge, encompassing parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. There are a myriad of land uses, and land conditions within this huge basin as it flows from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains over 1400 miles into the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California. Many people rely on that water for so many uses – drinking water, agriculture, industry, power, recreation and fish and wildlife habitats. Do we have enough water to share?  How do you measure it? How do you decide how much everyone gets particularly in a drought?  How is water stored? How much evaporates? Does dust on snow affect spring snow melt? How can you restore and protect watersheds?  What are inner basin water transfers?  Western Colorado students are introduced to a lot of concepts related to water in the west, and the more they know, the more questions they have! Mission accomplished- inspiring critical thinkers! Next time you have a conversation with a fourth grader, ask them why they think water in the west is so complicated?


River Runner is a very cool water tool that tracks a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States! Watch where it ends up! Check out “Color Me a Watershed” and "Branching Out” – Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) activities to demonstrate watershed concepts to students in the classroom.
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Wanted: A Few Young Snow Rangers by Anne Janik

12/14/2020

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Yes − there are rangers that specialize in snow! Their jobs involve protecting the natural environment, evaluating snow conditions for avalanches and providing warnings of avalanche danger, monitoring snow accumulation to predict spring runoff, skiing/boarding down ski areas to make sure everyone is safe, protecting wildlife and their winter habitats from disturbance, and; search and rescue when people go missing.  What does a job like this require? A keen interest and knowledge of earth science and a passion for winter and the outdoors are a must.  Most snow rangers develop a love of winter at an early age and continue to build personal experiences in the outdoors eventually pursuing academic classes and other certifications.  The key is developing a love for winter and the outdoors at an early age, and that is what the Junior Snow Ranger Program is all about.

Developed by the US Forest Service in 2012, the Junior Snow Ranger program is intended to inspire youth to embrace a relationship with the winter environment, and to become stewards of the land.   The Junior Snow Ranger activity booklet is targeted for 4th and 5th graders, however, children and adults of all ages can take away something from the program.  You can download the booklet by searching the web for “Junior Snow Ranger”, which takes you to a Forest Service webpage. When the booklet is completed, parents can mail in the certificate and your child will receive an official Junior Snow Ranger bandana, card and patch.

The booklet is filled with activities that will help you and your child learn about the winter environment such as: how to become a snowflake sleuth, how to identify animal tracks in snow and how to observe what’s happening in their “hood.”  

There are plenty of things to observe in nature this time of year! Surprisingly you can spot quite a few critters that are very active in the winter months. These animals have strategies to help them survive cold temperatures and short days. You may observe a short- tailed weasel or a snowshoe hare whose coats have amazingly transformed from the dull browns of summer to pure white! They are now camouflaged to visually blend in with the snow in order to protect themselves from predators. Many animals add to their insulation this time of year with thicker fur, puffier feathers or extra layers of fat. These are just a few of the “cool” adaptations animals have in winter.  

Ever wonder how avalanches happen? The Junior Snow Ranger Booklet explains the science of snow and how strong snow layers on top of weak layers within the snowpack can be triggered to slide. The booklets even provides instructions on how to create your own avalanche. And you can meet Cutler, the avalanche rescue dog!

People have been having fun in winter for years! Over 5,000 years ago people of Nordic and Asian cultures watched snowshoe hares and lynx easily travel across the snow with their huge feet. They figured a way to make their own snowshoes, and were then able to travel long distances across frozen landscapes. Give it a try and follow the directions in the booklet to make your own snowshoes similar to those that were once used in some Native American cultures.

If there is enough snow- you and your friends can build a snow fort complete with your own artistic touches of snow sculptures or snow angels out front. Or, make frozen bubbles! There are lots of other ideas and games in the booklet to get you acquainted with the winter environment.

Want to know how much snow is in your backyard? Or how much water will result when the snow eventually melts?  Scientist call this “snow-water equivalency” and you can figure it out with a yardstick, a measuring cup and of course, a little math! 

Safety in the outdoors is important all the time, but in winter, it is imperative! To become a Junior Snow Ranger you need to know a few important concepts such as: “dressing like an onion” in layers (base, middle and outer layer);  go exploring with a buddy, never alone (an adult is a good companion); stay on marked trails and designated areas and always pay attention to signs and instructions; pace yourself – don’t go too fast, and figure out when you need to turn around to get back; go with someone that knows first aid and can identify hypothermia and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar); and make sure you have the “10 essentials” for your pack ( outwear, drinking water, map/compass, pocketknife, sunscreen, duct tape, whistle, headlamp, and a space blanket). And, remember to “hug a tree” if you feel like you are lost. Staying near a tree offers some protection from the elements, and keeps lost children in the same place, which makes it easier for searchers to find them.  

A winter outing can be a great time to try a new challenge like walking with snowshoes or cross-country skiing. There are several places where you can rent snowshoes or cross-country skis in Montrose, Cedaredge, Grand Junction, Hotchkiss, Ridgway, Telluride and Ouray. Odin Recreation at the entrance to Powderhorn has ski rental and offers instruction. Visit the “Need Gear?” section the FOYAN website (friendsofyouthandnature.org) for a list of gear providers in Montrose, Mesa, Delta, Ouray and San Miguel Counties. Ridgway State Park has snowshoes that can be used within the park. It is best to call ahead for availability and to reserve rentals under Covid-19 protocols.   

And if your children become hooked on growing up to be a snow ranger, track down and interview one.  Lucky for us, the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre Gunnison National Forest has several on staff! This may be just the endeavor to spark a life- long enthusiasm for winter in your child, and may lead to a future snow ranger caring for our public lands.
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Ethnobotany with Kids by Anita Evans

10/30/2020

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Plants – we all have a relationship with them. This bond with nature is an integral part of the cultures of many indigenous people, and the use of native plants by the Ute People of Western Colorado is particularly engaging. This traditional use of plants for medicinal, cultural, and culinary purposes by native peoples is called ethnobotany.
 
It is truly amazing that the Ute people have thrived for thousands of years in the harsh climate conditions of Western Colorado. The Utes, and their ancestors, moved through different ecosystems corresponding with the seasons as food became available, as shown in artifacts dating back 12,900 years at the Eagle Rock Shelter Archeological dig in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.
 
Many important plants to the Utes grow abundantly on local public lands, and some are still used in traditional Ute Ceremonies. One such plant seen along the lower elevations of Grand Mesa and the Uncompahgre Plateau is the Banana Yucca. Its fruit, flowers, and stalks are edible, and people make  twine by braiding fibers stripped from the leaves. Every part of the common Utah Juniper also has a use. The Utes use its bark for sandals, thatching, woven bags, and rope.  The leaves and berries are high in vitamin C, offering a natural boost to immune systems. The Coyote Willow grows commonly along many of the creeks and rivers here in Western Colorado.  Ute people make willow bark tea for headaches, fever, pain, and inflammation; it contains salicylic acid, the main ingredient of aspirin. Another plant historically used by the Ute people is the Pinyon Pine, which offers both high calorie, nutritious nuts in the fall and pitch used for waterproofing water baskets. A common desert bush, Mormon Tea, is used as a medicinal drink to treat a cough or cold and also as a stimulant similar to caffeine. And of course, the Big Sagebrush, which is used as a medicine for stomach problems and infection, as well as a cleansing incense when burned in a variety of spiritual ceremonies. It is important to note that these plants should not be eaten unless you have specific knowledge on how to prepare them for consumption.
 
It is a joy to share this special plant knowledge with young people, and there are several places on the Western Slope that provide easy access to learning more about traditional uses of these native plants: The Ute Museum in Montrose, the Ute Learning and Ethnobotany Garden in Grand Junction, and our local educational arm of the Bureau of Land Management – Colorado Canyons Association.
 
The Ute Museum, located at 17253 Chipeta Road, Montrose, was established in 1956 near the ranch of Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta.  This year, the Ute Indian Museum and its partner museums across the state will provide virtual field trips that explore the state’s history, people, and environment in fun and educational ways. Aligned with Colorado Academic Standards, the programs are taught by talented educators in History Colorado museums all over the state. To learn more or to sign up, visit https://www.historycolorado.org/virtual-field-trips.  The History Take Out program is changing its structure for school year 20-21. You can now rent one of the Ute Museum’s popular History Take Out kits to use remotely or in your school. Through objects, photographs, and a large walk-on map of the state, students will uncover the “footprints” various cultures and industries left behind. For more information on this program, visit https://www.historycolorado.org/ute-indian-museum-history-take-out.  Open seven days a week, the Ute Museum has many award winning indoor and outdoor exhibits. Included in the outdoor exhibits is a native plant garden that combines the plant knowledge of the Mountain Ute Tribe, Southern Ute Tribe, and the Ute Indian Tribe of Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah. More about the Ute Museum can be found at historycolorado.org/ute-indian-museum.
 
The Ute Learning Garden, also called the Clifford Duncan Memorial Garden, in Grand Junction is located at the CSU Extension office for the Tri-River Area at 2775 Highway 50. It is designed to familiarize students and visitors with native plants used by the Ute people, the movement of the Utes through various life zones, and the relationship between the Utes and the land. Working with the Ute Museum, the Ute Learning Garden was established in 2009 as part of the Ute Ethnobotany Project, seeking to preserve the traditional plant knowledge of the Ute culture. A brochure about the Ute Learning Garden can be found at https://tra.extension.colostate.edu/gardening-hort/.  Interactive docent-led tours are available for groups of any size and age!
 
Colorado Canyons Association (CCA), in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, is developing a “Junior Ranger Program” for the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, and the McInnis National Conservation Area. Learners of all ages can earn badges by completing a number of questions in the information packets, based on age. Each packet gives resources to use along the trail while learning about native plants, geology, and animal and human impact on these public lands. These Junior Ranger booklets will be available on-line and in packet form later this fall. More information can be found at https://www.coloradocanyonsassociation.org/, and a CCA video tour of the Eagle Rock Shelter can be found at https://youtu.be/1rc0rkVd7iE.
 
So, gather your young ones and share some valuable time together learning more about the original inhabitants of the Western Slope, the Utes, and their resourceful use of native plants at these amazing local resources!


Published October 2020
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Kids in the Garden- Oh Yeah! by Lynea Schultz-Ela

8/31/2020

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Friends of Youth and Nature is all about getting kids outdoors, and the experience of growing a garden is one of the best outdoor adventures kids can have close to home.

In this heat and smoke from recent nearby fires, and with the current pandemic, it’s easy for the outdoor spirit to be diminished. But, it’s only momentary; time will clear our air, bring us the fall temperate climate, and eventually we’ll get in front of COVID! Meanwhile, there is gardening.

Time in the garden is rewarding, meditative, and oh so productive. For young people it’s a way to engage deeply with Mother Nature—and by deeply, we mean deep in the soil. In Delta, Montrose and Mesa counties there are several programs that get kids outdoors and into the soil to learn and experience nature’s wonders. From schools to community gardens to libraries, programs are in motion and kids are involved.
 
The Delta County School district has an incredible Farm to School program with a garden at each of the eight elementary schools. The program director is Angela Flores (also an advanced math educator) who provides the energy, vision, knowledge and enthusiasm to create a successful and fun program. It’s a comprehensive program that addresses the health benefits of growing a garden and also food insecurity within the school district. The kids learn to grow their own food and can bring those skills home to add to the food on the table. They learn where food comes from, how to grow it on their own, and how working in the soil can contribute to healthy bodies and minds. Kids learn to be soil stewards through these experiences in the garden.
 
Currently this outdoor learning opportunity is for kids in kindergarten through fifth grades. During the school year the kids come to the outdoor garden to learn soil science, composting, pollinators and pollination, seed saving, plant life cycles, insect life cycles, and about water sources and soil erosion. Whew—that’s a lot, but it creates so much knowledge and thoughtfulness in the real life experience of the school gardens. In the summer Angela has a Garden Club program at five of the district schools. The students come out once a week for a few hours and spend their time maintaining the garden, getting a gardening lesson and conducting experiments. For example, they might do some soil testing and discuss natural amendments to add to soil to better support plant health. As the garden starts producing, the club members learn how to market and sell their produce at a local farmer’s market, creating a full circle of knowledge around the necessities of life. This summer COVID prevented the club from meeting regularly, but Angela put together 150 seed and soil kits for the members to take home (like I said, she is super energetic). They grew radishes, lettuce and sweet peas, which are all plants that grow and grow again when cut. This was productive, educational, and placed the kids in the dirt out of doors.
 
In 2019 the Colorado Health Foundation provided a grant to the Delta County Farm to School program, supporting the entire endeavor and the Western Colorado Community Foundation and Friends of Youth and Nature helped fund the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Compost program. This is learning in action as the kids learn about life cycles and ecosystems! Angela discovered quickly how these lessons can grow outside the classroom when a couple of kids said they wouldn’t go to their favorite restaurant anymore because the restaurant did not use recyclable or compostable take away boxes. Being brave kids, they went ahead and met with the restaurant owner to give them their ideas. The very best thing happened when the restaurant changed to recyclable to-go boxes. Once again, it was a full circle of learning, creating thought provoking actions, and long-term land stewardship thinking.
 
Young people don’t automatically love putting their hands or feet into the soil. They may even hate getting dirty—but the natural world includes dirt. Once they experience putting their feet into the soil, or looking at soil through a magnifying glass, or holding a worm they found coming up out of the soil, they begin to understand the fun of it all. Once they start actually looking for things in soil, and understand it’s more than “dirt,” they LOVE it. As one child said “I played in the soil and it was SO MUCH FUN!”
 
The Delta County Farm to School program has big goals. They plan to secure more AmeriCorps Vista members to help expand the program from K-5 to all age groups. The 6-8th graders and 9th – 12th graders are in the midst of serious brainstorming on plans for next year’s garden projects. Ideas floating around include indoor tower gardens, bigger production fields and even hydroponics! Not just useful skills, but life skills that create that connection between our youth and the world within our soils. Learn more about the Delta Farm to School Program through:
sites.google.com/deltaschools.com/farmtoschool or on Facebook at Delta County Farm to School Project
 
In Montrose County, The Valley Food Partnership has supported community and school gardens since 2013 and helped develop five community gardens and six school gardens in the county. Take a peek at the awesome resources and lesson plans on their website (valleyfoodpartnership.org/gardens) such as “schoolyard salsa”, and “how big is a foot?” Get some great ideas on how to plant the seeds of knowledge and engage youth about the wonders of gardening, plant science and more (valleyfoodpartnership.org/gardens). Don’t forget to check out the children’s garden and the story walk at the Montrose Botanical Garden!  
 
The Mesa County library has developed a discovery garden for families at the 5th and Chipeta Avenue location.  Take a tour of the garden with your children and start plans for next spring’s garden projects. The library is hosting special fall garden events with topics that may include fall bulb planting! Check their website event calendar (mesacountylibraries.org). You can also check out a pass to visit the butterfly exhibit at the Grand Junction Botanical Garden and learn how important pollinators are to successful gardens.
 
It takes adults as well as children to bring these great ideas to life. If you love digging in the dirt, and enjoying the fruits of you labor, consider sharing the experience of gardening with your communities youth. Not only will you be joining Friends of Youth in Nature in the effort to get kids outdoors, YOU will get outdoors too and benefit from the surprising wonders in our own backyard.


Published August 2020
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Birds of a Feather: A contest to grow your family birding skills by Anita Evans

6/22/2020

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Birds of a feather flock together, as they say, and what better outdoor activity is there than bird watching in your backyard, or on your nearby public lands? Birds are everywhere, but we often don’t take the time to learn about them. Friends of Youth and Nature wants to encourage you to learn more about local bird species and start your bird list by offering a chance to win one of three pairs of Celestron or Vortex binoculars as motivation. The age categories for winners are: 5-9, 10-14, and 15-19 years old.
 
How do you enter?  Visit our website at www.friendsofyouthandnature.org and download the bird identification worksheet, or contact us  (friendsofyouthandnature@gmail.com, 970-901-1459) with your mailing address for a hard copy. Go outside with your family – anywhere local will do: your backyard, a local park, or nearby public lands. Take your identification worksheet - it lists nine of the most common birds seen in Western Colorado. And don’t forget your phone! There are several apps that can help you identify birds. Some helpful apps that have both pictures and songs are: The Audubon Bird Guide of North America (found at audubon.org); the Merlin Bird ID from Cornell Labs (merlin.allaboutbirds.org); and eBird, which also has a cool song sleuth app that will listen to the bird song or call you hear and identify possible matches. When you complete your bird identification worksheet (link below), take a picture of it and email it  by July 31, 2020 to:
friendsofyouthandnature@gmail.com.. Be sure to include your name, age, and the details you have recorded about your birding experience. You can also mail it to FOYAN at P.O. Box 634, Hotchkiss, CO 81419 by that date. We will draw one name for each age category on August first and arrange for you to pick up your new binoculars!
 
So, how do you start? If you want to attract birds to your backyard, the best way is to provide a bird bath. Bird baths are better than bird feeders, because bird seed is known to attract rodents and even bears! Just sitting quietly under a tree in your backyard offers easy access to many common birds such as Robins, House Finches, and even Hummingbirds. You will be surprised at how many birds there are so close to home.
 
Where do you find birds? Everywhere! How do you find them? Some advice from the Audubon society helps make it easier. There are four basic bird finding steps: Stop, Look, Listen, and Repeat. First, STOP: take a minute to stand still and take in your surroundings and think like a bird!  Second, LOOK for possible perches like powerlines, fence posts, and tree tops. Look for movement. Third, LISTEN. Your ears can detect vocalizations, tapping, or rustling of birds as they communicate with each other. Finally, repeat.  You will become more and more aware of birds around you as you meander slowly though their world.
 
If you choose to go to a local park or forest, make sure you gear up! Parents, take your children under your wing, wear comfortable clothing and sturdy shoes, take a pack with snacks and a water bottle, and use your eagle eyes to see the birds around you. If you don’t have a pair of binoculars, your local library has a Colorado Parks and Wildlife outdoor backpack for check out – complete with binoculars, and a state park pass. Before you know it, you will become so absorbed in the bird search that all the world’s problems and your anxieties will melt away.
 
Searching and identifying birds and observing their behaviors is a perfect way to focus on something positive together as a family.  Give it some time and patience; you will take to it like a duck to water, and feel your stress roll off your shoulders like water off a duck’s back!  Enter our birding contest by August 8th for a chance to win a new pair of binoculars!

Contest Rules
Bird Identification Worksheet
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Keeping Your Family Connected With Nature by Abram Herman

4/20/2020

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There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now. Your whole family may be feeling the stress caused by changes in your normal routine, not being able to see the people you care about, and the stress and uncertainty that comes with economic instability and social change.
 
Now, more than ever, it’s important to stay connected with the calming influence of the natural world. But in these times of physical distancing, how can you and your family get out in nature while staying safe? Here are a few ideas for maintaining your mental and physical health in the outdoors turning adversity into opportunity during these strange times.
 
Explore Somewhere New
A lot of people are home from work right now and the usual standby trails and natural areas are often more crowded, even on usually-quiet weekdays and off-times. This is a great opportunity to find a new, out-of-the-way place to explore the great outdoors. Is there some tucked away trail or park (near home) that you’ve been meaning to explore, but just never made the trip? Make that your destination for the day!
 
Remember, we shouldn’t be traveling outside of our home areas at this time to avoid spreading COVID-19 to other places, but if there’s a trail within an hour or so of your home base, that’s a reasonable effort to make in order to get away from the crowds and find somewhere new to explore. You can find some of these trailheads on Friends of Youth and Nature’s website under map resources: https://www.friendsofyouthandnature.org/maps.html
 
Find the Hidden Gems
Nature is everywhere, and even that overgrown open space near your home can hold a lot of interest and educational opportunity. Take the kids out for a grasshopper survey - how many different kinds can you find? What’s the biggest one, or the smallest one, and why might they be different sizes? Which one is the most common? Why do you think that might be?
 
Take a small shovel and dig into the dirt to see what you find. Are there worms, or pill bugs? Are you finding more in one place than you find somewhere else? Why do you think that is?
 
How many different kinds of grass or plants in general can you find in the field? Do some have interesting smells? Are there certain plants that seem to have a certain kind of insect, and why do you think the insects like that plant?
 
Whatever you come up with, you’ll be surprised at your childrens’ imagination, and how much interest and entertainment can be found in a seemingly overgrown, “boring” plot of grass and shrubs.
 
Get Out in the Sunshine
It’s no secret that a little sunshine can really turn around your mood. With a lot of stress in the world right now, make sure you take time to just simply get outside (and get away from the news headlines and computer!). Put on some sunscreen, and go out with the family into your backyard, even if it’s just for thirty minutes or an hour. Reading in the sunshine is one of life’s little pleasures. Are you home-schooling right now? Take your lessons outside for some fresh air. Plant a garden and discover more about plant life cycles. Throw a ball and see who can create the highest arc. Play fetch with the dog.  Which item does “Fido” like to fetch the best? Wrestle in the grass; is it warmer or cooler at ground level? Be a big kid, have fun while you learn, and enjoy the free time you might have right now! Now’s a time to make memories with your family, and help create some positive experiences that will last a lifetime. 
 
It’s too easy right now to stay glued to the news, watching and dissecting every little development. Pile that on top of being cooped up inside, and away from the friends and family you normally see, and you have a recipe for stress, strife, and negativity. Get outside! Have fun! Make the effort to maintain your connection with the natural world throughout this time, and your whole family will be happier as a result. It’s up to you
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Sleuthing Snow Tracks for Animal Intel by Anne Janik

3/16/2020

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Like the pages of a book telling a story, the tracks, trails and impressions in the snow reveal the activities of animals in your neighborhood. Each type of animal has unique tracks which reveal a lot about their lifestyles and habits. 

By discovering tracks, scat, and other signs of wildlife in snow, you can turn a winter hike into a treasure hunt for your child. Select a snowy area where you are likely to find an assortment of animal tracks, and keep the hikes short and leisurely. Fresh snow early in the morning is best, before tracks melt away.   

Imagination is key! Animal tracking combines science, creativity, and storytelling. You won’t see the animal itself but the tracks they leave behind are pieces of the puzzle for you to solve.  What kind of animal made the track, and what was it doing? Where did they come from, and where were they going? Prompt your child’s curiosity and help sharpen their observation skills.

To identify a track start by counting the toes. If it has two toes, it’s probably a deer, elk or moose.  If it has four toes and a heel pad, it could be a bobcat, lynx, or mountain lion; it could also be a canine like a fox, coyote, or dog. The easiest way to tell a cat from a dog track is the presence of nails. Cat’s toenails are critical for catching prey so they keep them retracted for protection when not in use. Most canine tracks, on the other hand, have visible nail marks above their pads. Five toes? It could be a raccoon, or another animal that uses its paws like hands.

Next, take a good look at the size and how deep the tracks are in the snow. A mouse is smaller than a squirrel. A smaller and lighter animal will leave a shallower impression. Show your child how much deeper your tracks are compared to theirs.

Among the big cats, a bobcat track is smaller (and likely more shallow) than that of a lynx or a mountain lion, with the mountain lions’ being the biggest print − almost the size of an adult fist.  Lynx tracks can be distinctive because their tracks have hair impressions around the pads.

Dog and coyote tracks look similar, but coyote tracks are narrow and diamond shaped while dog tracks are rounder with more space between the pads. Fox tracks are shaped like a coyote but much smaller. 

Another clue is the animals stride or the repeating pattern of their prints in the snow. Animals walk in four basic patterns: walking, galloping, bounding and pacing or waddling. Those patterns are influenced by the length of an animals legs and their overall body shape. 

A walking pattern is characteristic of animals with long legs like a cat, dog, coyote, deer or elk. These animals are very efficient and will often place their back foot on top of where their front foot was. Their stride pattern is a series of single prints generally in a straight line.

Squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rabbits and snowshoe hare are gallopers because they leap from one location to another. Rabbits and squirrels are similar in that their larger hind paws land in front of the smaller front paws, making four distinct prints per track− two parallel long prints in front of two small round prints. Tracks of snowshoe hare are similar to rabbits but much larger. Look for the round toe impressions of rabbits compared with the long finger marks of squirrels.

Bounders are animals that have a bounding stride like weasels, mink and otters. Their front paws hit first and then their back paws land where their front paws were. Their tracks appear as two paws that fall side-by-side. Weasels often drag their tails, leaving a central furrow.

Pacers or waddlers are short–legged, heavy-set mammals (beavers, porcupines, raccoons, skunk, and bears) that have a distinctive track with four paw prints. They waddle, shifting their weight to the right so their left front/back paws can move forward, then shift their weight to the left so their right front/rear paws can move forward. You can’t miss a bear track – its paws are huge with five rounded toes and a wide heel pad.

Don’t forget bird tracks. You can usually only see their footprints, but sometimes you can see the wing marks where one landed.

Take a look at the bigger picture surrounding a set of tracks. Look at the direction of the tracks, and where they end up. A good tracker will be on the lookout for other clues such as blood and/or wing marks indicating maybe a hawk caught something, a spot where an animal burrowed, seeds of a pine cone scattered about (squirrel lunch), or yellow snow− animals pee too!

If you want to expand your identification skills, there are apps to help you such as iTrack Wildlife Apps by Nature Tracking. All are easy to use, contain high resolution photos with detailed information and work offline.

Remember to be safe. If you spot the actual animal, give it space and an escape route. Always observe from a distance. If you are causing a change in their behavior, you are too close!

Whatever tracks you and your child find are clues to an awesome winter treasure hunt, and will spark wonder and discoveries about the animals in your neck of the woods!

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     Blogs for Winter!

    Snow by any Other Name (12/2021)

    Bundle up for Winter Fun (12/2019)

    Wanted: A Few Young  Snow Rangers (12/2020)

    Keeping your family connected to nature (4/20)


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