Spring 2003 p.3

Text Box: As the dawn climbs higher on the ladder of light, each day’s break finds added volume to the chorus of birds perched in the gentle giants of Loma Mar. Spring has most definitely sprung. This season’s abundance of sun has revealed many wonders for the students that wander through these woods. The eyes of children, young and old, have been opened by the flock of band-tailed pigeons passionately beating their wings through Rode Meadow and over the hill. Pescadero (“Oh, Pescadero!”) Creek unveiled its signs of the season as children spotted the first spawning steelhead earlier last month and a pair of American dippers returned to nest in the bank below the Wurr Road Bridge. Down at the coast the spring tides have opened their curtains to display their inter-tidal splendor – double-digit sightings of sunflower stars last week! The naturalists have been hard at work looking at things differently this year. A training adventure to Mt. Diablo State park gave us a

Text Box: chance to connect with this beautiful mountain that is a common site from nearly every participating student’s backyard. In February an in-service by Hal Aronson of Solar School House enlightened our minds as to how we may more effectively blend solar concepts into our curriculum. The first weekend of April we joined with other outdoor schools in the Pescadero (“Oh, Pescadero!”) Valley to host naturalists from around the state in the Association of Environmental and Outdoor Educators (AEOE) Conference. As the songs of spring heat up and the varied thrushes are gathering to migrate north, my newlywed wife Mary and I are preparing to follow suit by responding to the call of a new adventure. This summer we will be moving to Montana to explore new horizons in the Rocky Mountains. A mountain of thanks go out to all the people that have shaped my life and this place over the past seven years! And if you’re ever near Bozeman please stop in to say hello…Tad

Text Box: a new staff lounge for this spring season that doubles as a rainy day teaching spot and the garden house is under way with plans for completion in July. Thanks to a “Whale Tail Grant” from California Coastal Commission, we will soon have binoculars for beach day as well as costumes to prepare the kids for an exciting day at the ocean! Our strong staff has returned for the spring season and our new addition, Shauna Casey, brings new energy and perspectives! Hope to see all of you at our Ropes Course and Organic Garden Day on June 7th!

Text Box: Spring is upon us here at the Sempervirens Outdoor School (SVOS). We are up and running after a long winter recess and new and exciting growth and changes abound! The garden is great due to the hard work of Garden Coordinator Ulli and many willing 5th and 6th graders. We have a new raptor home thanks to Site Director Barry and Naturalist Huckleberry. Its first resident is a great horned owl on loan from Exploring New Horizons in Loma Mar. We will be returning the owl when her old home is renovated and a red tailed hawk will be moving in at the end of the month! Speaking of new spaces, we have

Text Box: Besides great whale action, nature has also blessed us with hermit crabs, sea hares and giant chitons in the tide pools. Thanks to Kirk’s terrific eyes and skills of identification we have also been able to watch the fastest creature on earth: the Peregrine Falcon. The PEEPstaff—Tod Ilana, Tavis Kirk and myself—have been smiling a lot lately!

Text Box: Nature abounds! Pigeon Point has been experiencing one of those rare mild winters of light rains but no monster storms bubbling up the ocean. With this phenomenon has comes an unexpected delight, we have been able to spot many more Grey Whales heading north back to their feeding grounds in Alaska. What a thrill watching the kids bounce up and down with excitement when they see the blow of a whale!

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Volume 2, Issue 1

Poetry in the redwoods