Many states have a Master Gardner program, typically managed through the local county extension agent’s office.  These programs teach people to become better gardeners and to pass on that training to others.  A similar program is often called Master Naturalist, but goes by different names in different places including: California Naturalist Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist Iowa […]

Nature Kids Radio, an audio podcast, has a mission of getting kids outside, but it doesn’t stop there.   Host Kenny Ballentine, founder of Nature Kids Institute, says, the podcast is “completely dedicated to reconnecting children families and the entire human species with the wonders of nature.” That dovetails nicely with our mission of getting […]

The United States Mint began issuing a series of 56 quarters featuring the National Parks as part of their America the Beautiful Quarters Program. This year is the seventh year of the program and five new quarters will be issued. I mentioned in the Friday News last November that the U.S. mint had their designs for a series of […]

Games for Change has developed a game for your iPhone or iPad that is designed to get you and your friends to  volunteer in national parks. “Save the Park” is available for free via the app store.  It was created through a $250,000 grant from American Express.  If nothing else,  you should download the app and try it out […]

O.A.R.S. recently released a video that they call 100 Years, A National Park Love Letter.  It puts the words of Theodore Roosevelt over video of some of the greatest natural places in the U.S. Roosevelt Said   The Video Teddy Roosevelt Theodore “TR” Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was an American statesman, author, explorer, […]

Our friends on the forum at Camping Babble, have a thread called “Wanna” see YOUR magnificent trails…  Participants are invited to post information and photos of their favorite trails.  Recently @NorthernDancer highlighted the Long Range Traverse located in Newfoundland.  The closest I’ve ever been to Newfoundland is the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but the description […]

The National League of Cities has an initiative called Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN).  The initiative is intended to “ensure that all children have the opportunity to play, learn and grow in nature, from city parks to the great outdoors.”  Partners include  National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education & Families (IYEF), the Children & Nature […]

Yosemite National Park offers a wide range of outdoor adventures, but something rare to see is the firefall. The Real Firefall It was the summer of 1962 when I first visited Yosemite National Park.  A highlight of the visit was the firefall.  Every summer evening a crew would start a large fire high above Curry Village at […]

There are a lot of state parks in the U.S. and every one of them offers some great excuses to get out and explore.  If you are new to an area it can sometimes be difficult to find nearby state parks and what they offer.  If your goal is to explore the U.S. the many […]

Turns out that bacteria are critical to your health.  In fact some researchers suggest that microbes may outnumber human cells in a typical body by as many as 10 to 1 and many of those microbes are bacteria.  We know that a few species of these bacteria are good for us and a few are bad […]