June Nature p.L.A.y. Calendar of Events (part 2)

June

Nature p.L.A.y.

Calendar of Events

(Part 2)

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." Henry James | Photo by Ilana Gustafson Turner

Yay for Dads! Yay for Summer! This month rings in the Summer Solstice and gives Father’s yet another good reason to go outside with the kids – Father’s day! Kick off the socks and slip into your flip-flops it’s time to romp under the trees, through the sand, within the ocean, over the warm hills,  (plug in your own preposition + place here)!

* Take action to Save 220 of our CA State Parks from closing by clicking here*

Weekend

Saturday 6/20 there are many reasons you should visit one of our local CA State Parks – it’s Father’s Day weekend, Summer Solstice, and CA State Parks Foundation is hosting SOS Weekend. They are asking that you go and enjoy a state park you bring along a sign that reads “Save Our State Parks!”, take a picture or video of your family holding the sign, and then send it to CA State Parks Foundation. They will compile them all and send them to Sacramento. Los Angeles State Historic Park and Pio Pico State Historic Park are both holding events in honor of SOS weekend. Check the foundation’s website for further details.

Also on Saturday the beautiful and historic Placerita Canyon is having an “Open House and Family Festival” in honor of the re-opening of their Nature Center from 10am-3pm. There will be animal presentations, panning for “fools gold”, food, drinks, and activities.*

Sunday 6/21 is Father’s Day and I am sad to say that none of the parks or museums that hosted a Mother’s Day event in May are hosting an event in honor of the patriarch. So, I have some suggestions for ways you can honor those hard-working, loving, giving men we call Dad (or Papa, Daddy, Father, etc).

1. Take him to a State Park and have a picnic. (Don’t forget your SOS signs!)

2. Ride your bicycles along the L.A. River.*

3. Wake up early and go bird watching at Ballona Wetlands or Malibu Lagoon SB.*

4. Spend the day in Griffith Park – you can play a round of golf or tennis, visit the zoo, observatory, Travel Town or Autry museum, ride on the merry-go-round, a pony, or the miniature train, or just throw a frisbee and have a barbeque.*

5. Hike in the Angeles National Forest above La Canada Flintridge and have lunch at Newcomb’s Ranch.*

Week of Monday 6/22 through Friday 6/26

Suggestion for your week:

Headwaters Corner is beginning their first session of “Nature Discovery Camp” for children ages 8-12 from 6/22 – 6/25 9am-3pm. This week’s topics will be stream ecology, reptiles and amphibians, Native American culture, and include a Malibu Lagoon field trip. Reservations are required and there is a nominal fee per child. Contact Susan Haugland at 818-591-1707 ext.181 for information and reservations. (Their next session will be 7/20 – 7/24.)

Weekend

Saturday 6/27 enjoy a beautiful docent-led “Family Nature Walk” through the magical Eaton Canyon from 9-11am.*

Sunday 6/28 the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden’s “Kid’s Adventure Garden has plenty of fun-filled activity to keep your energetic and curious child happy from 11am-3pm.*

Or you can follow our feathered friends with “Birdwatching for Young Children” at Malibu Lagoon SB from 10-11am. They provide binoculars!

Week of Monday 6/29  through Friday 7/3

Suggestion for your week:

Deb’s Park and Audubon Center is offering week-long nature-themed camp sessions for children ages 6 – 10, from 9am-4pm Monday through Friday. Cost is $200 per first child and $150 any additional children. There are also sessions on 7/6 – 7/10, 7/27 – 7/31 and for children ages 9 – 12 from 7/13 – 7/17. Check the website for further details.

*FREE

-Ilana Gustafson Turner

6/13-6/21 CNI & Blueberry Atelier Partner with Natural History Museum!

See our June Calendar of Events for other local nature activities.

I urge all parents and educators to go see this exhibit on view at the Natural History Museum. Children’s Nature Institute is a leader in providing urban youth with nature experiences. I also had the opportunity to hear the director of Blueberry Atelier speak at last year’s CNI Urban Nature Week forum. Her perspective on education is moving and inspirational. Please go see what beauty this collaboration has acheived.

-Ilana Gustafson Turner

Information from the CNI website is below:

Join The Children’s Nature Institute and Blueberry Atelier as they present

“A Sense of Wonder, A Sense of Place: Viewing Nature Through the Images and Words of Our Children”

June 13-21, 2009

In partnership with The Natural History Museum’s Sustainable Sundays, this week-long interactive exhibit will feature the poetry and photography of budding environmentalists in Blueberry’s preschool class. Entrance to the event is included with the cost of museum admission.

Over the past year, Blueberry Atelier Family Child Care and The Children’s Nature Institute (CNI) have been working in collaboration to offer unique, hands-on nature experiences for the parents and children of Blueberry. Once a month, CNI educators, Blueberry teachers, parents and children embarked on an exploration of Temescal Canyon. This canyon became a classroom without walls; filled with places that fed our spirits, imaginations and souls. Through these dynamic experiences, nature came alive in the hands, hearts and minds of the children.

We invite you share this journey as seen through the eyes and ears of our children.

http://www.childrensnatureinstitute.org/index.html

June Nature p.L.A.y. Calendar of Events (part 1)

June

Nature p.L.A.y.

Calendar of Events

(Part 1)

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." - Albert Einstein | Photo by Ilana Gustafson Turner

As summer approaches & children are released from the daily care of their schools, many parents may suddenly find themselves with restless, energetic children who are craving some outdoor fun. Oh no! What to do? Well, it’s a good thing you’re here. This calendar should provide you with plenty of outdoor activities to keep those little beings happy, healthy, & stimulated! Enjoy this opportunity to bond with each other while communing with nature.

* Take action to Save 220 of our CA State Parks from closing by clicking here*

Weekend

Saturday 6/6 is the beginning of Leo Carillo State Beach June campfire series. Every Saturday in June from 7-8pm you can join a ranger for a little toasty talk around the flames. Meet at the campground and bring a flashlight.

On your way to Leo Carillo you can stop by Malibu Creek State Park for their regularly scheduled “Fun With Nature” from 12:30 – 2:30pm with games, crafts and exhibits at the nature center. Parking fee.

Sunday 6/7 your 3-8 year old can take the inspiration from the trail and use it to create their very own masterpiece. Sooky Goldman Nature Center is hosting “Hike and Craft” fun from 10am-12pm.*

Week of Monday 6/8 through Friday 6/12

Suggestion for your week:

On Thursday 6/11 the South Coast Botanical Garden is ready to help your kids learn to love “Hummingbirds and Friends”  in their Children’s Discovery Garden from 10am – 12pm. Oh! Wait! Children love hummingbirds! *

Weekend

Saturday 6/13 join the docents at Deb’s Park for a “Family Nature Walk” through their beautiful grounds from 9:30 – 11am. It’s in Spanish and English so tell all your friends and neighbors to bring their families too!*

Or you can spot a Great Blue Heron and learn about their habitat with the  Ballona Wetlands monthly “Freshwater Marsh Tour” from 10 – 11am. Meet at the entrance near Jefferson Blvd and Lincoln. *

Sunday 6/14 celebrate the scaly at Descanso Gardens with their educational program, “Reptile Family: Lizards, Turtles, and Snakes, Oh My!” at 1pm. Free with admission.

On Sunday you could also enjoy beautiful surroundings while tapping your toes at Peter Strauss Ranch as they kick off their warm-weather “Sunday Concerts in the Park” with celtic-inspired group Banshee in the Kitchen.*

Week of Monday 6/15  through Friday 6/19

Suggestion for your week:

Descanso Gardens is offering 6 weeks of “Toddler Treks with Acorn Bear” on either 6 Thursdays or 6 Fridays from 9:30 – 10:30am or 10:30 – 11:30am where your 2-4 year-old can explore the natural world through their senses. $85/child, $75 members, $50 each additional child. Call 818-949-7980 to register.

(Part 2 on its way!)

*FREE

-Ilana Gustafson Turner

California State Parks Threatened – More Than 80% Could Close

Humboldt Redwoods State Park is threatened

SAVE OUR STATE PARKS

“this is the worst threat to park system in its 150 year history” - California State Parks Foundation

For those of us who grew up in California, our childhoods are most likely marked by at least one experience in a state park. For those who relocated here, it is most likely pictures of the landscape that lured you and an experience in one of our state parks that made you feel that you made the right choice. The smell of campfire smoke mingled with ocean air at El Capitan State Beach. Avoiding banana slugs while traipsing through fern-lined trails under majestic giant redwoods in Humboldt State Park. Arriving in Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve State Park just in time to catch the brief but awesome hillside floral springtime spectacle. Having your breath taken away by the dramatic cliffs while driving the windy road to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

Reading through the lengthy list of proposed state park closures my eyes well up with tears. As a familiar park name scrolls by I mourn for it like I would a friend. Great memories are tied to so many of these places. They have shaped me.  I wonder about those other unfamiliar names – the “friends” I’ve yet to meet – what will I be missing? What will the generations of children after me be missing?

I believe that we should be able to convince Schwarzenegger not to close these state treasures with our personal stories. However, just in case the qualitative doesn’t convince anyone, California State Parks Foundation has some convincing quantitative figures to throw into the argument. Please read what they have to say and write your own personal letters to your legislators today. Let’s give our children the opportunity to build their own memories.

- Ilana Gustafson Turner

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve is threatened.

This is the information straight from the California State Parks Foundation:

“Imminent State Park Closings!

We have just learned the details of Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget plan that if approved will close at least 80% of California’s entire state park system.

Here is the list of the proposed park closures. [download .pdf here]

Beginning July 1st, the Governor will cut the parks core funding in half and then eliminate all core funding in twelve months.  Without this money, there will be no choice but to close the majority of our park system.

Even if you are not planning to visit a park soon, the governor’s short-sighted proposal will impact you and every California resident. It is the very definition of “penny-wise, pound foolish”. Consider the facts:

FACT: The General Fund budget that state parks receive account for less than 1/10 of one percent of the entire state budget.

FACT: Last year alone, there were over 80 million visitors to state parks – and all indications are that this year was going to be even higher.

FACT: For every dollar that funds the parks, $2.35 is returned to the state’s General Fund through economic activities in the communities surrounding the parks.

That means eliminating all funding for state parks could actually result in the state losing over $350 million dollars in revenue.

For the financial well-being of our state, we must oppose this reckless plan.  We have had the displeasure of notifying you of threats to our parks in the past.  But this is the worst threat to park system in its 150 year history.”