Audubon just wrapped up our first week of summer day camp, which means I spent a decent amount of time outside with 8 – 11-year-olds exploring, hiking, and playing in the woods and wetlands. Along one of these hikes, one of the campers stopped to look at a daisy and found a small, white ...
I often write or talk about the wonder and beauty of nature. But nature can also be uncomfortable and risky. Dangers that first come to mind may be large predators such as bears and mountain lions. But it’s the little things that we are more likely to encounter, specifically ticks. These ...
Baby birds on the ground, turtles in the road, and fawns seemingly abandoned by their mothers. It is that time of year when all sorts of wildlife seem in desperate need of our help. But do they really need us? Most of the time, the answer is easy: no. Seeing a helpless animal, especially a ...
Photo provided to the Times Observer The Forest Service has planted over 300 tree seedlings along Irwin Run. The trees were planted on May 21 as part of the agency’s Plant-A-Tree Program. In September 2023, the Forest Service partnered with Trout Unlimited to remove a large culvert from ...
Recently, I led a group of first grade students through the woods behind Warren Area Elementary school. The students were bent down on the forest floor, magnifying glasses in hand, shouting out discoveries. Amid this enthusiastic flurry, one student stood up, looked around and said “I forgot ...
In hindsight, I don’t actually remember the last time that jaw literally hung open in awe. I forgot what it feels like to be so incredulous that you start to almost hum with excitement. The eclipse recently came close to producing that feeling, but not quite. Standing under a dark sky in my ...
