My Sycamore Canyon
Second Saturdays: The Real Death Eaters!
This Second Saturdays event we talked about decomposers, the REAL death eaters! Decomposers are an important part of the world. Without them, we’d have a lot of rotting matter to deal with. Decomposers and scavengers include fungi, insects, birds, mammals, and more!
Visitors joined us for some fun activities, crafts, and information. If you missed this event, don’t worry! We’ve got another one coming next month!
Second Saturdays: Rock Rock Rockin’ Around the Canyon
This past Second Saturdays event was all about geology! The day focused on rocks, what they’re made of, and why we love them! Geology is a very important subject to us because the entire canyon is made up of Decomposed Granite that dates back to the age of the dinosaurs! Without rocks, the park wouldn’t be the same.
Visitors got to make their own granite ingredient bracelets as we talked about minerals (the building blocks of rocks) and rocks! If you missed this event, don’t worry, there’s another fun event going on next month!
The Canyon After Dark: Twilight Highlight
Most people know the meaning of the words diurnal and nocturnal, even if they aren’t familiar with the words themselves. Humans tend to be diurnal. That means we’re usually active during the day and sleep at night. Animals that are nocturnal are active during the night. But there’s a third term for the time in between day and night- the hours of dawn and dusk: crepuscular! Crepuscular animals are those that are active during the twilight hours.
The Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park is home to several crepuscular animals, including coyotes and bobcats. Our summer evening series, The Canyon After Dark, came to a close August 26th with a final evening on these twilight dwellers: The Twilight Highlight! Visitors heard from special guest the Mary S. Roberts Animal Shelter on coyotes and got to visit with several furry friends that they brought with them. Visitors also learned about the relation of coyotes and bobcats to their house pets and were able to view similarities and differences in skulls, pelts, and traits.
Though the summer evening event series is over, there are still plenty of events to come check out at the Ameal Moore Nature Center!
Second Saturdays: Estivation Activation
The hot summer weather causes us all to look for ways to stay cool. Animals are no different! When the weather gets too hot, reptiles and amphibians will estivate. Estivation is similar to hibernation, only it’s done in the summer time to keep cool and survive extremely hot temperatures. Animals that estivate will wait out the hot weather and come out again when it’s cooler and resources are more plentiful. This Second Saturdays we looked at the animals in the Riverside area that estivate. Visitors were invited to learn about estivating animals and make crafts.
If you missed this fun event, don’t worry! There’s another one right around the corner! Next month we’ll be talking about the decomposed granite rocks in the park!
Gotta Spot ’em All!
The Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park is home to many animals, but recently, we’ve had a slew of new residents… the Pokemon!
Have you noticed the world wide craze of Pokemon Go? People everywhere are transforming from every day citizens into Pokemon Trainers! Social media has been flooded with posts about Pokemon- and we’ve noticed! The hashtag #pokeblitz is one of our favorite new things!
As people get outside and play the game, they’re running into animals that peak their curiosity- has this happened to you too? If it has, we can help! Take a photo of it and hashtag #pokeblitz. You may just get an answer about what you’re looking at from a member of the scientific community! Pretty neat, right?!?! If you like that, then you’ll love what we’ve got! The nature center is a joint effort between several partners, including Riverside Citizen Science, an effort to engage the Riverside community in observing and documenting Riverside’s natural environment. Our free Nature Spotter app lets you do the same thing. Simply download the app and allow it to locate you via GPS. Then start spotting things and snapping photos! The app will email us your photo and we’ll help you identify it!
The Ameal Moore Nature Center is happy to welcome all Poketrainers to the park but would like to give everyone of a few safety reminders:
- Always pay attention to the weather report- extreme temperatures are dangerous
- Always bring plenty of water
- Always wear sun protection
- Always wear appropriate footwear and clothing
- ALWAYS LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING
The park is a wilderness preserve, so please remember that there are wild animals in the park, including coyotes, bobcats, and snakes. It’s ok to catch Pokemon, but please, don’t try to trap or kill any of our other non-virtual critters (they’re all protected by law!). We hope you enjoy your time in the park, and do so safely.
Happy catching, Poketrainers!
The Canyon After Dark: Insect Rave
Our second Canyon After Dark event, the Insect Rave was a blast! We had it all! Techno music, spin art, glow sticks, and of course, INSECTS! UCR Entomology Department joined us for this fun night! Visitors were invited into the park to look for insects while at the center we painted posters with spin art.
If you missed it, don’t worry! There’s still one more summer evening event left! Join us on August 26th from 8-10pm for our Twilight Highlight!
Second Saturdays: Nature’s Misfits
Are you a misfit? As we grow up, we don’t always feel like we fit in, and that can be difficult. But being different isn’t a bad thing- it’s actually pretty great! We’re all different and unique in our own ways. That’s part of what makes life so interesting and diverse. But in nature, being different can be a bad thing if an organism can’t adapt to its environment. But sometimes, being different is a very, very good thing!
This Second Saturdays event we talked about some of Nature’s misfits (organisms that don’t quite fit in, but do pretty well anyway). Here in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park, you can find several animals that have unique adaptations that help them survive and thrive! Visitors came in and learned about the Rosy boa (a snake that gives live birth), the Burrowing owl (an owl that’s active during the day and lives in a burrow in the ground), and moss (a plant without roots or flowers), and got to create a homemade terrarium to take home.
If you missed this event but are interested in our other events, please see our schedule. Our next upcoming event is the 2nd of our FREE summer evening events of the year, The Canyon After Dark: The Insect Rave. Come out July 22nd from 8-10pm for music, activities, and UCR Entomology’s insect attracting light!
The Canyon After Dark: Twinkle Twinkle Riverside
Summer time is here- it’s time for long days by the pool and bright nights under the stars! It’s also time for our summer evening event series, The Canyon After Dark! Each 4th Friday of the month from June to August, the Ameal Moore Nature Center will be hosting free, family friendly evening events from 8-10pm. This past Friday we hosted Twinkle, Twinkle Riverside- a fun astronomy night with special guests Riverside Astronomical Society (RAS).
Outside visitors were invited to come out and view the stars through large telescopes focused on several of the planets in our solar system. Inside visitors painted canvas bags in galaxy style print.
Our Canyon After Dark evening events are always free and family friendly! Join us for our next event, The Insect Rave on June 22! UCR Entomology Department will be joining us as we hunt for insects in the park and party with a DJ at the center.
Second Saturdays: Blood Suckers!
This past Second Saturdays event the nature center was all about Riverside’s blood suckers! With summer upon us, there’s lots of fun in the sun and water to be had! But uninvited guests can buzz in and cause an itchy mess! Lucky for us there are people dedicated to helping fight the itch!
To help us tackle nature’s vampires (mosquitoes and flees and ticks- OH MY!) Bill with the Northwest Mosquito and Vector Control District joined us and brought along some of his pesky friends! Visitors were able to ask Bill questions, get up close to mosquitoes in all stages of their life cycle, see mosquito fish, and participate in some fun craft activities!
Thank you Bill for the great event! The nature center is always happy to welcome visiting guests and hopes to partner again with the Northwest Mosquito and Vector Control District in the future!
If you are interested in contacting the Northwest Mosquito and Vector Control Disctrict, you can visit their website at northwestmvcd.org
Pollinators with Sullivan Homeschool Group
The Ameal Moore Nature Center hosts a variety of groups, including homeschoolers! Nature based learning is key for learning good stewardship practices. The Sullivan Homeschool Group was our latest tour full of bright students. Students enjoyed a guided hike, a chat about pollinators, and a craft!
Pollinators are an important part of our world! Without them, we wouldn’t have the fruits and vegetables that we all enjoy! Bees, butterflies, and moths make up just some of our pollinators in the park- we also have other insects, rodents, bats, and reptiles! If you’re curious about pollinators, come into the nature center!
Thank you Sullivan Homeschool Group for the fun morning!