Placer Nature Center
Events & News July 2009
Greetings!
 
It's hot and so are all the great things available this summer! Check out what's going on this month - we'd love to see you!
 
Also, if you wish to update your email preferences or unsubscribe, you can do so through the links at the bottom of this e-mail.
 
Nature News:

Your Brain on Nature: 
Scientists have begun to examine how cities affects the brain, and the results are alarming. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control. While it's long been recognized that city life is exhausting this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so. Learn more here...
 
Keep Organic Fruits & Berries all year:
Snatch up great deals on organic fruit and berries at your local Farmer's Market and U-Pick Farms - then freeze them for later! Without washing the berries, lay them out one layer thick on a cookie sheet. Freeze until hard, sweep into a plastic freezer bag, seal and store. Repeat until all your berries are frozen. When you're ready to use them, take them out of the freezer, wash them off and let them come to room temperature. Fruit can be frozen this way too - wash then dry and cut up into bite size pieces. 

Season tickets on Sale for the 4th Friday Lecture Series
Starting Friday, September 25th with "Salmon at the Heart of Nature" by Dr. Tim Horner the series will cover California vernal pools to Mesopotamian marshes to Mars. The 2009-2010 season promises deliciously tantalizing brain food! Learn more here...

Wings Summer Day Camp - last session July 13-17! 
If you haven't done so yet, get the kids registered ASAP! Now it's easy to download the registration form and pay online!
Worm Bins & Flowers!
Saturday, July 11
11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
at PNC

Go beyond compost with worms! A Naturalist will be on hand for questions about how worms live, eat and what they do for the soil. Make your own mini worm bin to take home! Children will also get to plant flower seeds to take home and watch grow!
Free to members and children, General Public is $5/adult.
Wings Nature/Science Summer Day Camp
July 13-17
Monday-Friday
9 a.m. to 1p.m.
at PNC
for kids ages 6-12 yrs
 
Day camp gives children the opportunity to experience, discover and explore the great outdoors! Camp incorporates art, structured and unstructured play, writing, reading, and theme related science experiments (which meet California Content Standards in science education) - they won't realize they are learning while having so much fun! 

Campers take part in nature crafts, games, puppet shows, plant & animal investigations, trail hikes, songs and more, all under the guidance of Trained Docents and Jr. Naturalists. Friendships are formed with their peers as well as with our trained and very caring teen Jr. Naturalists - many are former campers themselves!
Learn more...
Scholarships available to Day Camp
R.E.I. is sponsoring a special summer camp session just for foster kids, kids in kinship families, receiving homes and other under served communities at Placer Nature Center! If you are not sure whether you or a loved one you know will qualify - give us a call! The nature day camp gives children the opportunity to experience, discover and explore the great outdoors! The week-long session focuses on a nature-related theme and meets California Content Standards in science education.
Learn more...
Volunteer and Camp for Free!
 
More than 170 national wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries across the country offer free RV hookups or the use of simple cabins or bunkhouses in return for volunteer labor.
 
Resident Volunteers provide their own "homes" (some type of recreational vehicle), or they stay in refuge or hatchery housing if available. The refuge or hatchery typically provides such amenities as an RV pad with septic, water and electricity hook-ups. In some cases, there will be a "common area" provided with laundry facilities, Internet access, phones, etc. Government housing may consist of shared spaces such as houses, bunkhouses, cabins, mobile homes, trailers, and even field camps at some Alaska refuges.
 
Each location will have a unique set of opportunities and requirements. Most sites require a minimum of 40 hours per week for a couple, and 32 hours a week for a single person living on an RV pad. Some sites may require more or fewer hours. Volunteers may help in the visitor center or assist with environmental education programs, outdoor field monitoring or invasive species control; they may photograph natural and cultural resources, lead tours or help with special projects like banding ducks. 
Find a Wildlife Refuge...
Questions, comments, suggestions? Give us a call!
530-878-6053
Kindest regards,
 
Founders Leslie and Linda, and all the docents, volunteers, and staff members at Placer Nature Center!
Upcoming Events!
Worm Bins & Flowers!
Wings-Day Camp
Scholarships Available
Volunteer and Camp Free
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Thank you to our Summer Camp partners!