community clubs
Get together, expand your knowledge of the natural world, meet other folks, and have a good time!
Tracking Club and Nature Book Club meet monthly, are free, and are open to all.
Tracking Club and Nature Book Club meet monthly, are free, and are open to all.
Tracking Club
Beaver tracks and a branch drag on the left, found at a recent club meeting.
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There will be no organized Tracking Club in May Sunday, May 28 Come out to Oxbow and track, but this month there will be no host to guide or answer your questions. |
Join us as we explore along the Sandy River for signs of wildlife!
The floodplain at Oxbow Park hosts a diversity of wildlife. Some of the tracks and signs we've encountered there have been left by mountain lion, coyote, bear, deer, toad(!), mink, beaver, otter, and more! You never know who you might find.
The floodplain at Oxbow Park hosts a diversity of wildlife. Some of the tracks and signs we've encountered there have been left by mountain lion, coyote, bear, deer, toad(!), mink, beaver, otter, and more! You never know who you might find.
Last Sunday of every month, 9am-12pm
Where: Oxbow Park. Meet at the Floodplain, which is the first parking lot on the left after you enter the park.
Cost: Free - but $5 entrance fee to Oxbow Park per vehicle.
Where: Oxbow Park. Meet at the Floodplain, which is the first parking lot on the left after you enter the park.
Cost: Free - but $5 entrance fee to Oxbow Park per vehicle.
Tracking club is open to everyone. Whether you're an experienced tracker, completely new, or somewhere in between. Led by two Cascadia Wild Tracking Leaders, this is an informal gathering where you can practice your tracking skills and learn from each other. It is a space for people to get together, learn and share knowledge, encourage each other along our journey, and have fun.
Not only is tracking a skill you can enjoy no matter your experience level, this is also a great activity for many ages and levels of physical ability. Much of the time is spent at a casual pace as we look for tracks and sign, or spent huddled over something interesting! The terrain at Oxbow is relatively flat and is a mix of sand and grass floodplain, with a few (usually dry) channels to walk across. The shore of the river is sloped and has some river rocks in the wet sand or mud. There is a bathroom facility at the meeting area. Wear sturdy shoes if you need them and always dress for the weather.
Each month will have a different theme to inspire exploration of different aspects of tracking and to welcome different parts of our community.
Themes for 2023:
Not only is tracking a skill you can enjoy no matter your experience level, this is also a great activity for many ages and levels of physical ability. Much of the time is spent at a casual pace as we look for tracks and sign, or spent huddled over something interesting! The terrain at Oxbow is relatively flat and is a mix of sand and grass floodplain, with a few (usually dry) channels to walk across. The shore of the river is sloped and has some river rocks in the wet sand or mud. There is a bathroom facility at the meeting area. Wear sturdy shoes if you need them and always dress for the weather.
Each month will have a different theme to inspire exploration of different aspects of tracking and to welcome different parts of our community.
Themes for 2023:
- January - Aquatic Mammals
- February - Rabbits and Rodents
- March - Ungulates
- April - Gaits
- May - To be determined
- June - Kids and Families
- July - Birds
- August - Show and Tell
- September - Spiders and Other Invertebrates
- October - Being the Animal
- November - Gratitude
- December - Ring Out the Old Year
Nature Book Club
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Next Meeting Tuesday, May 23 at 6:00pm.
Life Between the Tides
by Adam Nicholson In Life Between the Tides, Adam Nicolson investigates one of the most revelatory habitats on earth. Under his microscope, we see a prawn’s head become a medieval helmet and a group of “winkles” transform into a Dickensian social scene, with mollusks munching on Stilton and glancing at their pocket watches. Or, rather, is a winkle more like Achilles, an ancient hero, throwing himself toward death for the sake of glory? For Nicolson, who writes “with scientific rigor and a poet’s sense of wonder” (The American Scholar), the world of the rock pools is infinite and as intricate as our own. Everything is within the rock pools, where you can look beyond your own reflection and find the miraculous an inch beneath your nose. “The soul wants to be wet,” Heraclitus said in Ephesus twenty-five hundred years ago. This marvelous book demonstrates why it is so. |
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This club is a great way to keep up on your nature learning, meet new people, read new books, and participate in discussion about the ways nature writing shapes our experiences and relationship to the natural world.
New folks are always welcome to join!
Fourth Tuesday of each month, 6:00pm-7:30pm
Where: Online, contact us for the meeting link
Cost: Free
New folks are always welcome to join!
Fourth Tuesday of each month, 6:00pm-7:30pm
Where: Online, contact us for the meeting link
Cost: Free
Upcoming selections:
April: Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World's Most Successful Insects by Jonathan Balcombe
May: Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicholson
June: Finding the Mother Tree by Susan Simard
July: Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World by Kristin Ohlson. Come talk with the author!
August: Walking With the Great Apes: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas by Sy Montogomery
September: Boundary Layer: Exploring the Genius Between Worlds by Kem Luther
April: Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World's Most Successful Insects by Jonathan Balcombe
May: Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicholson
June: Finding the Mother Tree by Susan Simard
July: Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World by Kristin Ohlson. Come talk with the author!
August: Walking With the Great Apes: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas by Sy Montogomery
September: Boundary Layer: Exploring the Genius Between Worlds by Kem Luther
Also check the calendar for upcoming meeting dates and the books that will be discussed.
