Savor the Summer

The new school year is quickly approaching! It's time to get those last minute summer time leisure activities in! What have you been doing so far this summer? We wanted to offer a few ways to think "outside of the tent" for the remaining sunshiny weeks!

Hike your camping gear into a site, rather than car camping
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Camping

Camping is quite possibly the greatest nature activity there is during the summer season. That being said, it’s also quite an obvious one. The possibilities to connect with nature via camping are endless: hiking, making a campfire, playing in a river, viewing wildlife and so much more. These endless options are what make camping such an appealing way to get outdoors, especially when the weather is nice. This summer, we challenge you to take camping to the next level. Think about your typical camping experience and plan a future trip that explores something new. Think outside the box. Do you typically car camp or “glamp”? Plan a trip that requires you to hike yourself and your gear to a site. Typically travel with flashlights and lanterns? Challenge yourself to camp with only the light of a fire. Try sleeping under the stars instead of inside of a tent. Do you have friends who would never dream of going camping? Find a way to get them outdoors and show them how much fun camping can be! The challenge is to turn your normal camping trip into a brand new adventure!

Find a Wildlife Refuge near you and spend
the day viewing wildlife.
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Explore a Wildlife Refuge

Summertime is a great time to visit a National Wildlife Refuge. We always have exciting and free activities going on at refuges across the Pacific Region (and around the globe) during the summer. Kids are out of school and it’s the perfect opportunity for an outing with family & friends! Visit our National Wildlife Refuge System website to find your refuge, learn about a new one you haven’t before visited, and learn about the events and activities they have to offer. While you’re there, learn a bit about the refuge and its species. Chat with an onsite volunteer naturalist who can help you find spots to bird watch, tell you about any new or rare species that have been spotted, and provide you with materials to connect with nature during your visit! Make sure to take lots of photos, make some memories and share them with us!

Ever "Frolfed"? Half frisbee, half golf? Sports like these take you deep
into nature!
Credit: Grolser/Flickr Creative Commons

Sports

Playing outdoor sports is not only a great way to enjoy summer, but an even better way to connect with nature! There are, of course, the usual outdoor sports like football, baseball, soccer, golf, etc. but don’t forget about the ones that really take you deep into nature! Like to run? Try trail running instead of track, street or treadmill. Instead of street biking, take a bike out to your nearest park or mountain if you’re feeling extra adventurous. Don’t forget about sports like archery, or even frolfing! Finally, take your children out, or resurface your inner child, and spend a day in the woods playing those awesome childhood summer camp games. We’re talking capture the flag, water balloon fights, freeze tag, or even hide and seek. You are never too old to be a kid in nature!

Learn about a species like the Taylor's checkerspot butterfly.
Credit: Ted Thomas/USFWS

Learn about a species

With all of the summer free-time, and great weather to spend that time in, why not learn about a species in your area? Make a full and fun project out of it. Pick a species that you care about, maybe one that is endangered, or even one you simply think is adorable! Spend some time learning about the species. Grab a book from your local library or search the internet (and don’t forget to take your reading materials outside). Once you find you are a new expert on the species head out to its local habitat and see what else you can learn! Record any sitings of your species or any traces it may have left. Take notes and photos and share them with friends and family. Before you know it you just might be that species’ newest conservation activist!

Cook and eat dinner around an outdoor fire, rather than a dining room.
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Take your indoor activities outside

Finally, if you still find you aren’t getting out and enjoying the summertime, pause for a second next time you’re doing something indoors. Ask yourself “is this something I could do outside?” The answer is almost always yes. Reading a book? Working on schoolwork? Grab your book or homework and head to your nearest park with a blanket. Soak in the nature while enjoying your indoor activity in the sun. Want to watch a movie? Check local listings to see if any groups or parks are hosting any outdoor movies. Head to a park for dinner and grill up some treats instead of using your stove at home. The possibilities are endless if you put your nature-brain to work!

If you can think of anymore summer time activities that you enjoy doing – let us know. We are always looking for new, fun ways to connect with nature!

A Fishing Day for All: The Sequel

Dana Perez, USFWS Chief of Diversity & Civil Rights, assists Armond in
catching his first fish! (one of the largest of the day!)
Photo Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

About a year ago, we shared the story of a newly installed accessible fishing platform at Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery. We spent the day with a group from United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon & Southwest Washington out on the dock, fishing poles cast into the lake, hoping for a bite. It might have been the season, the time of day, or the noisy excitement echoing from the shore that kept the fish away, but our catches were few and far between. This didn’t seem to bother the happy crowd on the lake by any means, some who had never fished before and were so happy to just be out there. I still couldn’t help but wonder about the amount of joy I would have witnessed if the satisfaction of catching a fish was thrown into the mix. I didn’t know then that a year into my future I would find myself again fishing with this amazing crew, but this time with almost too many fish to handle!

Public Affairs Specialist, Amanda, sharing the moment.
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

New and old faces

I found myself this past week at Bonneville Hatchery, along the Columbia River in Oregon awaiting the arrival of my old pals. Through a partnership with CAST/Catch a Special Thrill Foundation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon & Southwest Washington, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and area Kiwanis chapters, we were able to provide a group of almost 40 visitors and their families fishing poles, tackle boxes, a delicious outdoor lunch, and of course, a wonderful day of fishing. Many of the faces I recognized from the year before, and many faces were new, and all were smiling.

USFWS Microbiologist, Matt, checking out the sturgeon viewing pond
with David.
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Fishing buddies

After grabbing their tackle boxes and poles, our eager visitors were each matched up with a fishing buddy before making their way to the pond. Within less than ten minutes, I heard cheers from the far side of the dock. I looked over and saw the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Pacific Region Deputy Director, Richard Hannan and Robert laughing and cheering joyously as they reeled in what appeared to be a bite. Sure enough, it was, and I realized right there that my suspicions had been confirmed. Watching the excitement not only on Robert’s face, but the faces of every volunteer and friend around the lake, was truly unlike anything I have before experienced. 

Robert catches his first fish of the day, an inspiring moment.

Video credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Volunteers and visitors share in the joys of fishing!
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Nature’s true joy

After the first catch, one after another was to follow, and soon enough the only things to be seen around the hatchery were smiles (well, and bags of prized fish). What could really be seen in this day was the true joy that nature brings to all of us. Reflecting on the fishless, but smiling faces from last year, and seeing them back for another go says so much about how important connections with nature truly are. It’s not always about catching the biggest fish; sometimes it’s just about having the opportunity to get out there.

For our full set of photos from the event be sure to check out our Facebook album.
Also check out more great blogs on the event from USFWS Pacific Region and the Columbia River Fisheries Program Office!

Between Recreation and Conservation

The boys' campsite, squeaky clean after Leave No Trace training.
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

As a child, the love for nature begins with adventure. The chance to go outside and run around in the grass with friends. The chance to walk through the woods and cool off in a lake. Making S’mores around a fire. In the midst of such excitement, it’s easy for kids to forget the value of what surrounds them. Part of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s mission is to pass along this love for nature, but also educate the next generation on its preservation. Last week, on the beautiful San Juan Islands in Washington State, Boy Scout Troop 351 enjoyed a weekend full of both adventure and hard work.

Practicing kayak techniques for their kayaking badge.
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

The Recreation

The troop’s week in nature was fronted by the ultimate goal of achieving their biking badges. To earn this, the troops had to complete 25-to-50 mile bike rides and learn the mechanics behind the bike itself. Each morning, the boys embarked on a journey around the San Juan Islands, some biking almost 60 miles in one day! The hilly terrain made each day of biking a weighty challenge, but I’m willing to bet the gorgeous, natural views played a role in fueling those pedals. When the boys and their accompanying parents weren’t biking, they were kayaking, swimming, bird-watching, fishing, exploring, or camping. Every outdoor adventure you could name was a part of their week. But we asked the scouts: what would happen if there weren’t any bike trails to travel along, no lakes to paddle across, or no fires to roast marshmallows on? This set of boys already knew the answer to these questions, and were as enthusiastic to preserve the land that provided them their adventures as they were for the adventures themselves.

The whole group after their beach clean-up at Grandma's Cove!
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

The Conservation

On the third day of the camping trip, the scouts biked their way to the southern tip of San Juan Island to American Camp National Park to begin their conservation efforts. After a short history lesson about the island, the group of scouts journeyed down a short trail to Grandma’s Cove for the first steps in their USFWS Leave No Trace training. This cove was a small beach recommended by USFWS partner Friends of San Juans as the perfect location for a beach clean-up. This small cove was rarely visited by beach cleaners and the boys were eager to see what kind of trash they could gather and clean from the shore. To make their efforts even more exciting, we added in a citizen science spin and let the boys record data on the beach debris they were finding and cleaning to be used by the Friends group. As the group scurried about with compostable trash bags and data sheets, it wasn’t long before a group of scouts spotted a washed up life raft along the back banks of the cove. Weighing in at 128 lbs., the life raft looked to be a piece of debris from the 1960s, according to its label. After about a half hour of strategizing, the group of discoverers was able to hoist the raft up and out of the cove with a bit of lifting and a lot of team work! Almost ten full trash bags showcased the spotless cove we left behind!

CPWN team member, Julie, teaches the troop about water contaminants.
Photo credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Adventures in Clean-up

As the week of camp wound to a close, the troop discussed Leave No Trace back at the campsite. Hearing that improper care of their camp site could eventually lead to toxins in the lake they swam in all week prompted the group to do a full camp clean-up. Recycling stations were set-up, trash was divided, and within an hour the entire campsite was spotless. Pretty impressive for a group 20 teenage boys! As the night closed out with kayaking until dusk (which enjoyably was around 10pm) the group reflected on the connections between recreation and conservation. Great adventures were had by all, and by the time the adventure was over, not a trace was left to be found!

Check out all of our photos from the weekend here!

A Year with Pollinators

This week, we’ve been celebrating National Pollinator Week at U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFWS). If you’re unfamiliar with pollinators, this week might not mean very much to you. Coincidentally, before beginning my internship with the Connecting People with Nature Team a year ago, I myself knew nothing about the word “pollinator.” In fact, I didn’t even know that the term referred to a special set of species. I remember thinking “What is that, like a spray you put on plants or something?” Throughout the past year, I went from neither knowing, nor caring about the significance and importance of pollinators to having a great understanding and appreciation for all they do. This week, in celebration of National Pollinator Week, I wanted to take you all through my year of learning to care about this wonderful set of critters and try to pass on the connection!

Me at the Wallowa County
Watershed Festival
Photo Credit: Gretchen Sausen

Crash course on Pollinators

My story begins a year ago during the first week of working with the Connecting People with Nature Team. I was about to head off to the Wallowa County Watershed Festival in Enterprise, Oregon as my first event with my team. My task was manning a booth to show visitors the anatomy of a flower and how it is pollinated. Not having thought about flower anatomy since high school, I requested a crash course on the topic and was graciously sent a set of fact sheets all about pollinators, flowers, and foods. This is where I learned exactly what pollinators were, and the abundant numbers of plants and foods we eat that depend on them.

The beautiful backyard garden where the friend I mentioned pollinated
a tree by hand.
Photo Credit: Skip Flinn

No Bees in the Backyard

When I returned from Wallowa County, I found myself more interested in pollinators and more aware of their presence. I even found that my fear of being stung by a bee was replaced with the thought “oh, that little bee is just busy working” (A good sell I must say for teaching those with a fear of bees). Now that I was more aware, I saw the problem come to life first-hand one summer day when visiting a friend. For the past few years he had been growing an expansive garden in his back yard. While explaining to me the different plants throughout the yard I excitedly asked him “Do you see a lot of pollinators back here?” I was surprised when he responded “Actually, this year there weren’t many so I had to pollinate these flowers myself by hand.” Here was the decline in pollinators, right in our own backyards!

A group of students work in their pollinator garden
as part of the Schoolyard Habitat program
Photo Credit: Joseph Charter School

Schoolyard Habitat

Shortly down the road, I learned about the focus that USFWS places on schoolyard habitats. Schoolyard habitats are common projects that the Connecting People with Nature Team helps fund annually to help students, teachers and families develop gardens at their schools. Come to find out, the majority of these gardens specifically work towards growing pollinator habitat. As threats to pollinators, such as loss of habitat, force a decline in their numbers, it’s more important than ever to not only educate younger generations on the issue, but allow them to play a role in the conservation of pollinators via school and home gardens. It doesn’t stop there, USFWS has been diligently working to protect pollinators across the nation, and this week offers us all a week to celebrate in their conservation.

Spread the word!
Photo Credit: Andrew McLachlan/USFWS

Get Out and Help the Pollinators!

Now, here I am, a year later with a calendar full of National Pollinator Week events and passing on the spirit to care about pollinators like I have learned to. So my prescription for this week is that as the week winds down, and the weekend rolls in, make a plan to do something for the bees, birds, butterflies and bats that quietly watch over the beautiful gardens all around you. And once you make your connection – pass it on!

¡Celebración de Las Aves!

Volunteer Naturalist, Gary, prepping a group of excited bird lovers
for a trail around the refuge!
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

As bird migration season flies on (pun intended), bird festivals continue across the globe. Near Portland, Oregon, a particularly urban festival comes around each May, inviting bird lovers and friends out to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. This year, the day began with hundreds of volunteers swarming the refuge, enthusiastically setting up various booths around the grounds. From the entry way, local partners were seen setting up activities from archery to birdhouse building. Inside the visitor center, arts and crafts tables were quickly covered in colorful paint jars, while the telescope in the corner was positioned to view an eagle fledgling in its nest. Just a short trail's journey away from the busy entrance, volunteer naturalists scurried to set up their stations, from a pond critters area to a casting target practice area. The refuge was poised and ready for the annual TualatinRiver Bird Festival.

One of the many families who came out to enjoy bird festival!
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

Expanding Accessibility

One of the most exciting parts of this year's festival was the recent partnership between U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Univision. Over the past year, the USFWS Pacific Region has been working to make our events and information more accessible to the flourishing Latino community in and around the region. This year, programs and other materials at the festival were available in both Spanish and English, while a number of bi-lingual volunteers around the refuge were available for Spanish speaking guests. This milestone marks the first steps from USFWS in assuring our programs are easily accessible to all members of the community.

Excited to make a close-up investigation of what was left behind
by a Spittlebug!
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

 If It's Gross...

As the morning rolled forward, my first stop at the festival was a "Slugs and Bugs" nature walk led by volunteer naturalist, Gary. A group of about twenty, made up of tots, children, parents and grandparents took off on the trail ready to spot bugs, birds and more. Our first find was a flower that appeared to be covered in spit. A small group of boys perked up at the mention of something potentially gross. One of the boys wasn't fooled though, explaining to the rest of the group that the substance was from an insect called a spittlebug. After continuing through the trail, spotting a few birds, and learning about the Tualatin River, the group parted ways to enjoy more of the festival.

Homemade binoculars, great for bird watching!
Credit: Meghan Kearney/USFWS

All Things Migration

Next, I headed back up to the Refuge entrance. I first visited the salmon migration miniature golf course, where throughout the day children and families would stop before and after trail hikes. The USFWS Pacific Region Fisheries department also set up a tank housing live Pacific lamprey ammocoetes, which were a huge hit among the kids! Like birds, salmon and Pacific lamprey also migrate, so they were welcomed guests at the festival. Closer to the visitor center, Audubon Society of Portland sparked excitement among all visitors with their live birds of prey. Some of the happy visitors were even seen using homemade binoculars to get close-up views of the birds. Though as the day pressed on and the weather clouded over, it didn't stop the crowds from throwing on their raincoats, dressing up the kids in Puddle Stomper gear and enjoying the rest of the refuge. At the end of the day, it was another successful Bird Festival at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge!

Visit and like us on Facebook to see even more great photos from this year's Tualatin River Bird Festival!