My Sycamore Canyon
Getting to Know Our Hiber-neighbors
2016’s first Second Saturdays event was a great success! Visitors of all ages came in to participate in craft activities and learn about the different sorts of hibernators living in the area- our hiber-neighbors!
Bears aren’t the only animals that hibernate! This fun event informed visitors of the various animals that hibernate, the different kinds of hibernation, and why it’s important. If you missed this fun event, don’t worry! There’s one every month! Next month the nature center will focus on birds and their mating habits- just in time for the Great Backyard Bird Count! These events are free and family friendly. Check out our events page HERE for more information on upcoming events.
Walking with the Mayor
Saturday January 9 was a busy day at the nature center! Not only was it our regularly scheduled Second Saturdays program day, but it was also a walk with the Mayor! Health is very important to our daily well being. Walking is an easy and enjoyable way to get in shape- especially when it’s through our beautiful Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park! All citizens were invited to attend. Mayor Rusty Bailey came out to the park in the brisk winter morning to start things off right with some stretching. A nature center staff member and naturalist was present for the walk and accompanied the group to answer any questions and to provide information while on the trails.
After their return, many visitors stopped into the center for a look around and break. The Mayor even stayed for a while to color with a young visitor! The Ameal Moore Nature Center was happy to host this event and looks forward to more events like this one in the future. For more information on upcoming events, check out our events page HERE.
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- Pre-hike stretches
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- On our way!
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- Coloring with the Mayor
We Love Homeschoolers!
The Ameal Moore Nature Center offers field trips to small groups of students (limit 25 students) who schedule ahead of time. Field trips include guided hikes, talks with taxidermy, science activities, and a craft. The month of December 2015 the center was pleased to welcome two separate homeschool groups!
If you are interested in scheduling a field trip to the nature center you can visit us HERE for more information.
Holiday Schedule
The staff at the Ameal Moore Nature Center hope you have a wonderful winter season! We will be adhering to the city holiday schedule and will have the following modified hours:
Thursday December 24, 2015 hours of operation: 9am-2pm
Friday December 25, 2015 hours of operation: CLOSED
Saturday December 26, 2015 hours of operation: 12pm-5pm
Thursday December 31, 2015 hours of operation: 9am-2pm
Friday January 1, 2016 hours of operation: CLOSED
Thank you for your continued support and patronage. See you during your next visit!
Cal Naturalist Classes Are Here!
We’ve been talking about it for months, and now it’s finally here! UC California Naturalist classes are now available! Presented by The Riverside Metropolitan Museum and hosted at The Ameal Moore Nature Center, this 10 week, 40+ hour course offers students the opportunity to become certified California naturalists. Classes will be taught by professionals in the fields of botany, ecology, geology, interpretation, and more!
The course will run from March 10-May 19 with classes held Thursday evenings at the nature center with field trips on select Saturdays.
Cost is $350 per student (price of textbook not included). Space is limited, so REGISTER today! Contact Teresa Woodard at Twoodard@riversideca.gov with any questions.
Join the new constituency for nature! Become a certified California naturalist today!
Owl Day was a hoot!
This Second Saturdays event was all about owls! Visitors were able to come in and learn all about these awesome and beautiful avian predators. With staff supervision, visitors learned through touch about owl wings and feathers before seeing a silent flight demonstration. Visitors were also encouraged to get down and dirty with owl pellet dissection! Like all our events, this was a free and family friendly day with fun crafts for all ages. If you missed this event, don’t worry! We do events every month! Check our events page for future events.
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- Visitors dissect owl pellets
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- Visitors paint owl magnets.
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- Visitors dissect owl pellets.
BioBlitz Success!
Saturday, October 17, 2015 was the Riverside Citizen Science BioBlitz! The Ameal Moore Nature Center hosted the event where scientists and naturalists from UCR, SAWA, Western Riverside County’s Regional Conservation Authority, the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, and more came out to interact with the public and lead scientific studies in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park.
Visitors came prepared with proper clothing for hikes, binoculars for spying animals, and their smart phones with the free Nature Spotter app pre-loaded to ensure that any finds they made were reported to the Riverside Citizen Science Project for further study and sharing with the scientific community in Riverside.
During the day visitors searched for and recorded various birds, mammals, herps (amphibians and reptiles), insects, and plants. In the evening, a bat biologist came out to lead a group to record bat calls and species, and UCR entomologists set light traps to attract insects!
We had a great time and look forward to hosting another event similar to this one in the Spring of 2016! For upcoming events, be sure to visit our events page!
Riverside BioBlitz
Please join us at the Ameal Moore Nature Center Saturday October 17, 2015 from 10am-4pm as we host a BioBlitz! A BioBlitz is an intense period of biological surveying conducted by scientists, naturalists, and volunteers. We encourage people of all ages and abilities to participate in a variety of tasks led by scientists and naturalists from Western Riverside County’s Regional Conservation Authority, the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, UCR, and more.
Activities during the daylight hours will include mapping wildlife burrows to understand some of our rarest species, comparing insect diversity in grazed and ungrazed portions of the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park, and looking at the phenology (seasonal changes) of perennial plants. Evening activities will focus on bats.
Make sure you come prepared with water, snacks, sunscreen, and sensible shoes. Don’t forget to download the Museum’s free Nature Spotter app to help catalog what you see! It’s free and a great tool to have with you year round. For more information contact Teresa Woodard (twoodard@riversideca.gov) or Erin Conlisk (erin.conlisk@gmail.com).
Can’t make the whole day? Not a problem! Come in whenever you can and see how you can help us document the park! We look forward to seeing you here!
Cal Naturalist Classes Coming Soon!
Have you ever wanted to increase your knowledge of the local landscape for your own enjoyment or to become a better informed volunteer? If so, the Ameal Moore Nature Center has just the program for you! Starting this upcoming Spring 2016, the nature center will be hosting California Naturalist classes for all citizens interested in learning more about our beautiful Sycamore Canyon and greater Riverside areas.
The California Naturalist Program is a 40 hour evening and weekend course spread over 10 weeks that will train its students to be stewards of the environment. Sessions will be a combination of indoor and outdoor lectures and field trips that will increase environmental literacy and help course takers become better informed naturalists. Instructors will be individuals affiliated with or employed in the relevant fields of ecology, geology, plant communities, and more.
Course cost, topics, dates, and times will be announced soon, so be on the look out for upcoming announcements!
Fourth Fridays: Starry Skies in Riverside
Our last Fourth Fridays event went very well! The Ameal Moore Nature Center saw almost 200 visitors come through for the event! The two hour event featured special guests from the Riverside Astronomical Society (RAS) and their amazing telescopes! Visitors were able to ask questions about the skies and view stars and planets through the various telescopes outside while the center was open inside for fun crafts and activities. This was our last evening event of the summer, but don’t worry if you missed it! There are still plenty of other events happening throughout the year! Check out our calendar for more information!
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- RAS volunteer sets his equipment up
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- Visitors enjoyed painting galaxy designs on reusable bags
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- Visitors enjoy painting galaxy designs on reusable bags