Journey into the magic and mystery of nature as we explore the woodlands and waterways of Mount Pisgah. Hunt for natural treasures, do a Gnome Roam, and make fairy houses in the forest! Ages 6-9, max 12 kids. After-care 3:00-4:00pm! Outdoors in Mount Pisgah Arboretum. $55 members/$65 non-members. Scholarships available. Register online or call 541-687-9699.
Learn all about the bees that help bring the plants in our Learnscape Garden to life. Enjoy a special presentation with live bees by beekeeper Chip Keiger, make a simple mason bee home from natural materials, and play fun bee-themed nature games. Nearby Nature members FREE, non-members $7/family. Pre-register online or call 541-687-9699.
Get to know the tall trees in Hendricks Park on a family-friendly forest treasures scavenger hunt hike. Build an animated group tree and play a fun Find Your Tree game! Nearby Nature members FREE, non-members $5/family. Meet at the Wilkins Shelter in Hendricks Park. Pre-register online, or call 541-687-9699.
Get down in the dirt as you investigate the dark, slimy world of the FBI – fungus, bacteria, and invertebrates, oh my! Learn about the organisms that create our soil and clean up nature’s trash. Find cool fungi, build an unstoppable arthropod, and make slime art.
$45 members/$50 non-members. Scholarships available. Ages 6-9, max 12 kids. After-care 3:00-4:00pm! Outdoors in Alton Baker Park. Register online or call 541-687-9699, ext. 2.
Can owls spin their heads all the way around? Do bats drink blood? Do some bugs glow in the dark? Learn to separate fact from fiction as you discover the secrets nocturnal critters! Play echolocation games, dissect owl pellets, create spider webs, and make glow-in-the-dark art.
$45 members/$50 non-members. Scholarships available. Ages 6-9, max 12 kids. After-care 3:00-4:00pm! Outdoors in Hendricks Park. Register online or call 541-687-9699, ext. 2.
Go on a creepy-crawly bug safari in the meadows of Alton Baker Park! Use butterfly nets, magnifiers, bug barns, and more to catch and learn about all sorts of cool critters. Meet outside the Nearby Nature Yurt.
Members FREE, non-members $5/family. Pre-register online or call 541-687-9699, ext 2.
Nibble your way through the Edible Schoolyard as we sing garden songs, learn about the six plant parts and create some beautiful rainbow art! Enjoy outdoor nature play in our Learnscape plus toddler and pre-school activities and stories. Rain or shine! Kids 5 and under only, with an adult. Members FREE, non-members $5. Pre-register online or call 541-687-9699.
Join us for citizen science investigations, including data collection, observations, photography, and more. This month we will focus on garden pollinators, pests and pathogens. Event open to all but designed especially for adult participants. If you have a smartphone or a camera, please bring one to take pictures. Smartphone users please load the iNaturalist app (https://www.inaturalist.org/) onto your phone if possible. Meet outside the Nearby Nature Yurt.
Members FREE, non-members $5. Pre-register at 541-687-9699 or online.
Join us for citizen science investigations, including data collection, observations, photography, and more. This month we will focus on aquatic invertebrates! Events open to all but designed especially for adult participants. Meet on the Waterwise Garden patio outside the Nearby Nature Park Host Residence in Alton Baker Park — see directions. (Note that there is a concert in Autzen Stadium later in the day. If you enter the park by car and you encounter parking attendants, let them know you are attending a Nearby Nature event at the Park Host Residence, not the concert.)
Members FREE, non-members $5. Pre-register online. Questions? Call 541-687-9699.
The world around us is teeming with life! Come take a closer look at this web of life on Saturday, April 27, by participating in a bioblitz of Nearby Nature’s Learnscape and surrounding areas of Alton Baker Park. Volunteers of all ages will take photos of different plants, animals, insects, and fungi and upload them to iNaturalist for identification and a final species count.
A bioblitz is an event in which volunteers work together within a defined area to observe and identify as many different species as possible in a set amount of time. It’s a fun way to look at nature nearby while creating useful data for science and conservation. You don’t even need to be a skilled naturalist to do it. Can’t tell a maple from a cottonwood? No problem. It’s easy to take a photo with your phone, a camera, or another device. Then, upload the images to iNaturalist and let one of our expert naturalists add the species identification afterward.
Follow the Nearby Nature signs to our site in Alton Baker Park and look for the check-in table by the yurt. Drop-in any time between 9 am and 4 pm and participate for as long as you’d like – though, signing up in advance is still appreciated, since it always helps to know how many people to expect. For those interested in learning from and working alongside an expert, we will have skilled naturalists on hand throughout the day to lead small groups in more focused observation.
More detailed schedule coming soon!
What do you need to participate?
To help streamline check-in, it’s recommended that you download the iNaturalist app, register your profile, and join the “Nearby Nature Learnscape” and “Alton Baker Park Natural History” projects. During the event, we’ll provide a short training on the use of iNaturalist at the top of each hour as needed. (Or you can get a head-start in learning it yourself.)
Nearby Nature will provide:
Through the use of iNaturalist for observations, all of our efforts on April 27 will automatically contribute to the metro-wide Eugene-Springfield City Nature Challenge, which runs April 26-29 and is part of a friendly international citizen science competition to document wildlife in cities around the world. Observations of the Learnscape will also support Nearby Nature’s own efforts to foster biodiverse habitat within our gardens and outdoor classroom space.
Questions about the event and how to participate may be directed to Shaun Daniel at parkhost@nearbynature.org or by calling 541-687-9699.