A Thank You Note I Received — Thank you, Angel
We love teaching children about nature!
Our field trip programs will start for the fall in October.
kenne
Archive for the ‘Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists’ Category
I loved my field trip to Sabino Canyon 3 comments
We love teaching children about nature!
Biomes Of The Santa Catalina Mountains 5 comments
October 7th, SCVN naturalist David Dean conducted an advanced training tour of the Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
We began the tour by meeting at the McDonald’s at Catalina Highway where David provided an overview of the biomes of the Catalinas. Before starting the car caravan up Catalina Highway, David covered the lower biomes, the Saguaro-Palo Verde (100′ – 4,000′), which includes the dominant cacti and legume trees; the Desert Grassland (3,800″ – 5,000′) with grasses, succulents & shrubs being dominant.
At about the 5.5-mile marker, we pulled off at Molino Basin where David lead a discussion on the Oak – Grassland biome (4,000′ – 5,600′) and Oak Woodland (5,000′ – 6,000′) biome. Here he used posters and the natural taurine to cover; Trees: Emory Oak, Mexican Blue Oak, Silverleaf Oak, Arizona White Oak, Alligator Juniper, Western Soapberry, Border Pinyon Pine: Shrubs: Mountain Yucca, Soap-Tree Yucca, Shindagger Agave, Sotol, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass; Grasses: AZ Panic Grass, Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Cane beard grass, Spidergrass, Bush Muhly, Bull Grass, Lehmann Lovegrass; Oak – Grassland: Oaks & Junipers, Chihuahua Pine, Buckbrush, Golden-flowered Agave, Mt. Yucca.
Our next stop was along the highway near Bear Creek to discuss the Riparian Corridor (Not a biome) where we found AZ Sycamore, AZ Walnut, Gooding Willow, Fremont Cottonwood, Velvet Ash, AZ Cypress, AZ Alder.
At the approximately the 5,400″ elevation we stopped at the Middle Bear Picnic/Green Mountain Trail Head to learn about Pine-Oak Woodland biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, Chihuahua Pine Silverleaf Oak, AZ White Oak, Emory Oak, Black Cherry, Alligator Juniper.
Next, we stopped at Windy Point Vesta(6,500′), a popular place for tourists driving up the scenic Catalina Highway. At this location, David talked about the Chaparral biome, which includes Silver Oak, AZ Madrone, Border Pinyon Pine, Alligator Juniper, Manzanita, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass, and Buckbrush.
At the 19.3-mile highway marker (7,825′), David leads a discussion on the Pine Forest biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Ponderosa Pine and occasional Douglas-Fir.
As you can see, David used live plant specimens on his posters.
Ever wonder how Mt. Lemmon got its name? The highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9,152′) was named after Sara Plummer Lemmon, a respected botanist from New Gloucester, Maine, who arrived in Arizona after living in coastal California. Her Arizona fate was sealed when she attended a botany lecture in 1876 led by her future husband, John Gill Lemmon, and the whirlwind romance was on. After four years of courtship, the two wed and worked together cataloging the flora of the West, which would lead them to the Coronado National Forest in the southern section of what was then the Arizona Territory.
A discussion on the last biome in our tour, Mixed Conifer Forest (Above 8,000′) took place at Bear Wallow (8,100). Here David illustrated the common plants in the Mixed Conifer Forest: Ponderosa Pine, AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Douglas-Fir, White Fir, Quaking Aspen; Silverleaf, Netleaf, and Gambel Oaks; Rocky Mountain, Big Tooth, and Box Elder Maples.
In hindsight, I wish I had done both photography and video of the biomes tour. Near the end of the tour, I did think about doing a video clip, which is what follows.
Note: Much of the copy in this posting is from David Dean’s handout, Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains
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Rainy Day Reflections Leave a comment
Two of My Fellow SCVN Hiking Guides, Ricki and Tosh (August 2013) — Image by kenne
This Sunday we are experiencing some rain, the first since early August (already several inches of snow on Mt. Lemmon), so I’ve been going through some of my old photos and ran across one of two my favorite people.
This photo is on the Aspen Loop on Mt. Lemmon, this part of the trail, which was burned during the 2003 Aspen Wildfire.
— kenne
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Leading Nature Walk In Sabino Canyon Leave a comment
Leading Nature Walk In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
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Learning About Nature Is Fun! 2 comments
Park Ranger and Kid at Mesa Verde National Park — Image by kenne
During our recent visit to Mesa Verde National Park, I watched a Park Ranger at a demo table doing something we as naturalists do at Sabino Canyon to education visitors to the canyon — couldn’t pass up taking a photo and watching the child’s reaction.
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist at Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) programs and nature demonstrations start in October.
— kenne
“Children the world over have a right to a childhood filled with beauty, joy, adventure, and companionship.
They will grow toward ecological literacy if the soil they are nurtured in is rich with experience, love, and good examples.”
— Alan Dyer
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Buckbush Butterfly Moments and Fire On The Mountain Poetry 2 comments
Marine Blue Butterfly On Buckbush Blossoms
Marine Blue Butterfly On Buckbush Blossoms
Lupine Blue Butterfly On Buckbush Blossoms -- Images by kenne
Fire On The Mountain Down valley a smoke haze Rises above the Catalinas Six days of fire and heat After 100 days of no rain. I try to remember the smell of rain Of mid-afternoon thunderstorms In the Sky Islands of my beautiful desert Nurturing wildflowers and butterflies. I turn and go back to Mt. Lemmon Thinking of the recent moments Hiking with friends through young aspens and pines caught on steep ridges Between heaven and earth. -- kenne
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Hiking The Aspen Loop In The Santa Catalina Mountains — Photo Essay 6 comments
Hikers in a New Aspen Grove Up from Marshall Gulch On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
In 2003 the Aspen Fire destroyed many homes in Summerheaven and thousands of acres on Mt. Lemmon. Last Friday the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists led hike was on the Aspen Loop that goes through some of the areas destroyed, now recovered by new aspen and pine groves.
A precursor to the Aspen Fire was the Bollock Fire, 2002 in the eastern part of the Catalinas. Parts of the area burned in 2002 is now experiencing the Burro Fire that started Friday and has now consumed 9,000 acres. The Burro Fire is one of a half-dozen wildfires in the Coronado National Forest. Did I say it is hot and very dry in southeastern Arizona?
— kenne
Slideshow images by kenne
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Hiking the Box Camp Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains — Photographic Essay Leave a comment
(Click on any image for a larger view in a slideshow format.)
Hiking the Box Camp Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains (June 9, 2017) — Images by kenne
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Children, A Stream And Connecting With Nature Leave a comment
Children, a Stream, and Connecting with Nature — Computer Art by kenne
A picture may seem not what it is.
Two teens may appear more interested in a
phone than a stream slowly passing at their feet.
Like most images, it’s up to the viewer
to place it in some element of their reality.
Put in the contact the image was taken,
the teens are sharing pictures taken in
my iPhone photography class where they
learn to connect the eye, to the mind, to the heart.
— kenne
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Final Week For The SCVN Elementary Program In Sabino Canyon Leave a comment
Panning for Garnets In Sabino Canyon Creek — Imaged by kenne
(Click on any of the tiled images for larger view in a slideshow format.)
The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists will be conducting the final week of the spring semester for Elementary School children in Sabino Canyon. It has been another great year for the national award winning program, now in its 40th year.
— kenne
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Predator And Prey 1 comment
On Thursday of this past week, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists were teaching two first grade classes about predator and prey in a program we call “Now You See It.” My responsibility for the month of April is to coordinate the Thursday schedule with the teachers. Once the children are in the canyon, my job is one of “managing by walking around.”
While in the riparian area near the creek and dam I could hear a nearby cooper’s hawk. Following the sound, I spotted him on a dead limb high above the creek where he had caught a small bird. What a “real time” example of predator and prey for the day’s lesson. What follows are images and a video of the encounter, which I shared with the children.
— kenne
(Click on any of the tiled images for a larger view in a slideshow format.)
Cooper’s Hawk Images and Video by kenne
Predator And Prey — Cooper’s Hawk
The varying modes of flight exhibited by our diurnal birds of prey
have always been to me a subject of great interest,
especially as by means of them I have found myself enabled
to distinguish one species from another,
to the farthest extent of my power of vision.
— John James Audubon
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Hiking Bug Springs Trail 2 comments
Yesterday’s Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists Friday hike was the Bug Springs trail. Six years ago Joy and hiked this trail with the “Monday Morning Milers.” During the hike, Joy’s hiking shoes began to hurt her feet, so Edi Moore and I kept a slower pace with her.
Near the end of the hike, there’s a fork in the trail. At the time there was not a trail marker. When Edi and I reached the fork, we didn’t realize Joy had fallen back and therefore would not see which way we turned. As fate would have it, she turned left toward the toward Sycamore Reservoir.
We didn’t realize that Joy was not behind us till we got to the Bug Springs parking lot, then I turned back to get her. To say the least, Joy was pissed. “How could you go off and leave me?” she said. To this day Joy has not hike again with me. She will never let me forgot that I had gone off and left her. A lesson learned but not forgiven. The above image is for Joy — Love you!
— kenne
Hiking Bug Springs Trail, April 14, 2017 — Images by kenne
(Click on any of tiled images for a larger view in a slideshow format.)
“Wrongturn” Turner
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Living In The Now 1 comment
Image by a Friend
“The most painful state of being is remembering the future,
particularly the one you’ll never have.”
— Søren Kierkegaard
The Now
(In the Zen of the now,
past and future exist as one in art.)
Living for the moment
Creates a false state of being,
Of setting you free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Being in the moment is to
Have a beginning and an end,
Boundaries in which you cannot be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Having a beginning and an end
Is to not have a past or future,
Without which you cannot be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Self-fulfilling nature of the moment
Creates a fear of the unknown,
To fear the unknown is to not be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Experiencing the now is to
Know the past and learn of the future,
Releasing fear and setting you free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Learning takes place only in the now
Containing life’s recipe (the past),
And future directions to being free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Giving of the now
Is to create a future,
In which you can be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Living for the now is to give worth
To the past and value to the future,
A future of being free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Living in the now is to experience
Love and life’s peak experiences,
By which others can be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
— kenne
The How of the Now
(Everything exists in the now. Live it!)
You are born with the ability to live for the moment, but you must learn to live for the now — The learning is easy, the living is not.
LOVE
- Love what you are doing.
- Love is present when needs are met.
- Love is necessary to live in the now.
- Love involves responsibility.
- Love that is responsible is empathic.
- Love abhors waste, especially waste of human potential.
COMMITMENT TO PURPOSE
- Anything worth doing is worth improving.
- To get what you want, you must do what it takes.
- You are truly the results of our efforts.
- Change is constant — to improve, things must change.
TRUST AND ASSERTIVENESS
- Trust is a basic to living in the now.
- Trust is based on assertive behavior.
- Assertive people are:
- Direct
- Honest
- Loving
- Trustworthy
- Caring
- Sharing
- Purpose driven.
COMMUNICATION/LISTENING
- Encourage people to question and make suggestions.
- Share information and clarify expectations.
- Access to information helps improve the process.
- The quality of the now is determined by the quality of your communications.
- Acknowledge the need for feedback.
- If life is a game, share the rules.
CRITICISM
- Avoid at all cost…it doesn’t work
- Criticism tends to make people feel inferior.
- If you blame other people, they blame you.
- Avoid the use of labels.
- Avoid being judgmental.
GIVING CREDIT
- Praise before criticizing.
- Recognize those who make an effort.
- Don’t take a good effort for granted.
- Give credit only within a context of listening to and caring about the person.
COOPERATION
- Cooperation is making others feel that they count and that they are important.
- Move people from the position “me” to “we.”
- Cooperation reduces barriers, rivalries, and distrust.
- Common struggles for others, not separate struggles for power.
RESPECT
- Respect is based on the concepts of caring and sharing.
- Respect says one has worth.
- The individual is the source of all significance, all meaning and all value.
- One’s true significance is in living life is to actualize the now.
VALUE AND THE ART OF GIVING
- When people feel valued, they rise to the level of giving.
- Always practice the principle of lighting candles.
- Give without conditions.
BOUNDARIES
- You can’t put the now in a box.
- Avoid imposing boundaries on others.
- Individuality cannot be subject to limitations and restrictions.
- Boundaries put limits on improvement
- “Conformity is the cup which holds the tea, and the shape of the cup does not determine the taste of the tea.” —Clinton R. Meek
INVOLVEMENT
- The absence of involvement produces a “them-against-us” mentality.
- Always look for things in common.
- Involvement is the practice of caring and sharing.
QUALITY
- Focus on the now
- Unity of purpose
- Looking for faults in systems
- Teamwork
- Lifelong learning
Lessons for The Now, written December 24, 2000, during the age of the Capricorn.
kenne
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Desert Rose Mallow Leave a comment
Desert Rose Mallow– Image by kenne
Wildflowers
You belong among the wildflowers,
You belong somewhere close to me.
Far away from your trouble and worries
You belong somewhere you feel free.
— Tom Petty
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Bee On Fairy Duster Leave a comment
Bee On Fairy Duster — Image by kenne
Insect lover of the sun,
Joy of thy dominion!
Sailor of the atmosphere,
Swimmer through the waves of air,
Voyager of light and noon,
Epicurean of June,
Wait I prithee, till I come
Within ear-shot of thy hum,–
All without is martyrdom.
— from The Humblebee by Ralph Waldo Emerson
