Happy Spring!
We have lot's of fun stuff to bring the kids to this month from a Family Campfire this Saturday to a Family Volunteer Day in the Garden. Also check out our vermiculture workshop, gardening in deer country and mark your calendars for April 6th as Dr. Paul Doherty from the San Francisco Exploratorium will be presenting again as part of the Friday Lecture Series.
If you missed the first Tick Prevention and Lyme Disease Awareness Workshop, we have another one coming up at the end of March. This was really an informative event and well worth it. Angela from Placer County Vector Control will have live specimens at each stage of the life cycle to help you understand how hard it is to find the nymphs.
If you haven't already joined the Placer Nature Center family, learn about the benefits of membership or all the different ways to be a donor.
Creature Feature
Red and Black Burying Beetle
You may find this beetle's habits gross, but it serves an extremely important role in the environment. It is also being researched by the medical community for its special secretions! Read more!
Citizen Science - Project BudBurst
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. 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.
Placer County STEM Expo
An innovative alternative to the typical science fair, categories range from Rube Goldberg to Invention to Environmental Innovation! STEM stands for Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology. Participation is open for 4th-12th graders.
Teacher Workshops Grades Pre-12
We have multiple free professional development teacher workshops March-April. Many are CEU applicable. Made available through numerous partners, these workshops provided training and take-away materials, guides and activities. See the bottom of this newsletter for more info, dates and locations.
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**** Upcoming Events! **** |
March
Family Campfire - Adventures in Nature! Mar. 10, Saturday 5:30pm-7pm Bring the whole family for an Spring evening by the campfire with hot chocolate, games, songs, and star gazing too. Takes place rain or shine Nature Shop open. Free to members, General Admission is $3/person.
Our Day Outside! (0-5 Yrs): Bursting Flower Buds! Mar. 17, Saturday, 9:30am-11:30am Let's learn about flowers and plants! Explore, wiggle, sing, hike, do crafts and more with your 0-5 year old child. Both you and your child will engage in nature play to aid in your child's physical, mental and emotional development. You will learn techniques and strategies to continue the fun at home! Class made possible by a grant from Placer First 5. *Spanish interpreter is always in attendance! Read more here about these classes...
Nature Bowl Semi-Finals Mar. 30, Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm Student teams (grades 3-6) work together to find answers to environment-related questions that are aligned with State Science Standards in multiple fun challenges and activities .Everyone is invited to watch this fun and informative friendly competition. Gather ideas and think about coaching a team next year! Read more about Nature Bowl....
Vermiculture - Green Gardening with the Masters! Mar. 31, Saturday, 10:00am-12:00pm Learn how worms create organic compost for vegetable and flower gardening! Instead of throwing all those good kitchen scraps into the trash - feed them to your worms. Find out how to create a worm bin, how to keep your worms happy and how they do their magic! Richard Huntley, Master Composter and Gardener will take you through the basics of worm composting. Takes place rain or shine! Make a day out of it and bring a picnic lunch. Nature Shop open. Free to members, General Admission is $5/person.
Tick Prevention & Lyme Disease Awareness Mar. 31, Saturday 11:00am-12:00pm and 2:00pm-3:00pm Two workshop times are offered for yor convenience. CSUS nursing interns will cover tick bite prevention for not only you but your pets to keep the family safe while playing outside. Placer County Mosquito and Vector control District will provide free tick kits for all participants. Takes place rain or shine, Nature Shop open. Free program!
How to Use a Telescope & Stargazing Mar. 31, Saturday, 6:00pm-9:00 pm Special focus on Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, stars! Whether you are just looking at buying a telescope and what to learn more to someone who needs to brush up on their skills, comet hunter Don Machholz will show you how to use this very specialized piece of scientific equipment. From reflectors to scopes, you will learn how to set-up, operate and use your telescope. By the end of the workshop you will know, not only how to set it up but also the best places and ways to search the night sky. You'll also learn about where to get star maps. After the class everyone will get to practice the new skills by searching the night sky using your own and a variety of large telescopes! Pre-registration is requested. More information and registration here... Canceled if you cannot see the stars. Great for ages 9+ Members are $9 each, General Admission is $15/person.
Plan Ahead for April!
Home school Learning from the Land at Traylor Ranch Apr. 4, Wednesday, 10am-12 Grades 3-6
Exploring Electricity and Magnetism with Dr. Paul Doherty First Friday Lecture Apr. 6, Friday, 7:30pm-9:30pm
Gardening in Deer Country - Green Gardening with the Masters! Apr. 7, Saturday, 11:00am-1:00pm
Our Day Outside! (0-5 Yrs): Butterflies Flutterby! Apr. 14, Saturday, 9:30am-11:30am
Discover Nature with Young Children: Butterfly Wings Apr. 18, Wednesday, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Springtime Nature Puppet show Apr. 21, Saturday, 11:00am-12:30pm
Springing Sprouts Family Volunteer Day Apr. 28, Saturday, 9:00am-1:00pm
Astronomy & Stargazing Apr. 28, Saturday, 7:00pm-9:00 pm
Teacher Workshops Discover Nature with Young Children: Squirrely squirrels Mar. 21, Wednesday, 6:30pm-8:30pm Early Childhood educators and caregivers will learn how to weave nature themes into all your activities - support reading, math, science and physical exercise. these dynamic two-hour sessions present and demonstrate "nature play" in Early Childhood Education to help build school readiness skills through nature exploration. After learning all about the benefits, you get to use hands-on tools and receive inspirational ideas to facilitate nature study both indoors and out. Information & Registration Takes place rain or shine at Placer County Office of Education. Certificate of participation, 2 hours of professional growth. Free program thanks to First 5 partnership.
Project WET & EEI Teacher 2-Evening Workshop
Grade 5
Mar. 19 & 20, Monday/Tuesday, 4:00pm-7:00pm Location: Twin River School District
Learn to apply both Project WET and EEI curricula in your classroom. All participants receive free curricula guides, activities and more! Learn to integrate environmental learning into every aspect of your class from history to science to mathematics. Teach tomorrow's decision makers how to think, not what to think about the environment. To register contact Deb Bruns at (530) 668-3781 [email protected]
Project WET & EEI Teacher 2-Evening Workshop
Grades K-12
Apr. 25 & May 2, Wednesday, 4:00pm-7:00pm Location: Roseville Utility Exploration Center Learn to apply both Project WET and EEI curricula in your classroom. All participants receive free curricula guides, activities and more! Learn to integrate environmental learning into every aspect of your class from history to science to mathematics. Teach tomorrow's decision makers how to think, not what to think about the environment. To register contact Linda Desai at (530) 878-6053 ext. 608 or email [email protected]
Read more about other free teacher professional development workshops....
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Naturally yours,
Megan Krekorian, Linda Desai and the rest of the Placer Nature Center staff
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Questions, comments, suggestions? Give us a call!
530-878-6053
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Many thanks to our supporters!
School Field trips: Arp Family Foundation Placer First 5 Placer County Water Agency City of Roseville Supervisor Holmes Water Forum
Family Volunteer Days: First 5 Placer Greenworks/Pollinator Live
Nature Bowl: Placer County Fish and Game Commission Placer County Resource Conservation District
In Support of children's programs: Auburn Host Lions Auburn Garden Club Auburn Moose Riders Club
Our Day Outside and Discovering Nature with Young Children Teacher Workshops: First 5 Placer
Adventures in Nature for Families: All our generous Members and Donors!
Special Projects:
Salmon habitat restoration and education: Constellation Energy Teichert Foundation
Nature Storytime to support early literacy: Target
Technology: Union Pacific
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Want to show your business' support for Placer Nature Center's programs?
Call Megan at
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Birthday
coming up?
Go All-Natural with a
Placer Nature Center Green Birthday!
Customized to your child's interests!
Easy, fun and low-cost!
(They will even learn something too!)
Bring the kids
and the cake,
we've got the plates, program and lots of outdoor space to have fun!
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