June 20, 2022
The Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (FCNSM) have started an exciting new environmental education partnership with the Crest at Willow-Witt and the Medford District Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The effort is intended to enhance the outdoor experiences of students enrolled in the Crest’s Summer Nature Day Camps. The FCSNM’s Interpretive Rangers are now offering one day of place-based education every Wednesday throughout the summer at select sites within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The Nature Day Camps are offered by the Crest to students aged 6-11 and programming includes hiking the trails, exploring outdoors, making crafts, and learning about the unique species and ecosystems within the Monument.
Our first Monument Day Camp kicked off at the Hobart Bluff trailhead on June 15, 2022. Due to spectacular conditions, programming was focused on wildflower education! With hand lenses and field guides in-hand, 30 students and their instructors scoured the Hobart Bluff and the Pacific Crest Trail for as many wildflower species as they could find. Many meadows and clearings were packed with paintbrush, lupine, wallflower, and desert parsley species. Additional wildflower highlights included Great camas (Camassia leichtlinii), checker lily (Fritillaria affinis), goat’s beard (Tragopogon dubius), and the Roundtooth ookow (Dichelostemma multiflorum).
Throughout the day, students also played games, told stories, recorded observations in their nature journals, and completed Junior Ranger activities offered by the BLM. Additionally, younger campers were invited to create their own butterfly suncatcher craft (pictured below).
We are looking forward to new adventures with additional students in the coming weeks!
Words by Interpretive Ranger, Elizabeth Mackey
