Hello!
The wildflowers are just starting to bloom and the animals are migrating! Read on to learn about how to help track migrations. If you missed Friday's lecture, see the side bar for a link to some pictures and notes. Also look for a link to free wallpaper for your computer in the side bar. Don't miss Hawk Talk at the Adventures in Nature and be sure to look at next months's Friday Lecture to participate in a study of oil usage. Oh! And you can now get your Blue & Green Ball tickets...read on!
Nature News
Creature Feature: California Sister
You very rarely will see this butterfly on flowers, they prefer rotting fruit! Starting in April they will be flying which will be a great time to look for them.
Read more...
Thank a Science Teacher - Award nominations
Do you know a science teacher who stands out among the rest? Someone who takes their passion for the environment and brings it into the classroom, inspiring students to learn and engage in environmental issues? If so, considering nominating them for the Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award winner will receive $5,000 and two merit winners will receive $750 each. Nominations due March 14th. The award will be announced during Teacher Appreciation Week, the first week in May 2011.
Get your tickets now for the Blue & Green Ball!
Come celebrate Placer Nature Center and Placer Land Trust's 20th Anniversary and honor the community that has supported these two organizations' work to protect the blue and green ball upon which we all live, work, and play. The ball will feature a PlacerGROWN dinner created by the Rustic Table featuring lamb from Flying Mule Farm. Options will be available for vegans and food intolerances. Also featuring a door prize, slent auction, music and dancing!
* If you are interested in sponsoring the ball, please contact Megan: (530) 878-6053 ext. 609 or [email protected]
Citizen Science Opportunities
How are native trees and flowers responding to environmental changes like global warming, the loss of species or the decline in native pollinators? That is the question Project BudBurst seeks to answer. Participants monitor the phenological events of native plants, like the date when Pacific trillium blooms, black locust leafs out or woods strawberry puts out fruit. The collective observations extend scientists' reach far beyond what would be possible otherwise. Because climate change will have such widespread effects, citizen science is one of the best ways to document it.
The Great Sunflower Project One of the youngest citizen science programs in the country, the Great Sunflower Project is also among the most fun - since it involves planting one's own sunflowers. But the larger goal is much bigger: to understand more about how bees feed themselves, and hopefully how we can help reverse recent staggering declines in bee populations. All you have to do to participate is plant sunflowers - you receive a seed packet in the mail when you sign up - and when they bloom, observe bee activity on the flowers. It takes no more than 30 minutes per observation.
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