This is the forty-eighth in a series of articles from the staff of the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center that will provide resources, ideas, and suggestions for families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch for future articles with outdoor activity ideas for students and families. The public can help the nonprofit NWDC get through this challenging time by making a donation at https://hikeandlearn.org/donate/. Join NWDC for guided hikes and other exciting nature programs listed here: https://hikeandlearn.org/programs-and-events/.
Wintertime can be an excellent time to stargaze because cool air is usually less humid and less turbulent than warm air. Cool, dry conditions are a key to seeing the most stars possible with the naked eye. The total number of stars that can be seen with the naked eye is 9,095, according to the Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Edition. This number includes both hemispheres of our planet, so at any one time or place, only about half of these are visible. A y
This is the forty-seventh in a series of articles from the staff of the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center that will provide resources, ideas, and suggestions for families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch for future articles with outdoor activity ideas for students and families. The public can help the nonprofit NWDC get through this challenging time by making a donation at https://hikeandlearn.org/donate-covid-19-pandemic-relief/. Join NWDC for guided hikes and other exciting nature programs listed here: https://hikeandlearn.org/programs-and-events/.
With the extended bout of cold weather lately, many are wondering about Pueblo’s winter happenings. Why do we flip back and forth between sunny, warm days and cold, cloudy bouts? Why can’t whoever’s pulling the weather strings make up their darn mind? These variations are all part of our long-term climate patterns, which shape day-to-day weather.
This is the forty-sixth in a series of articles from the staff of the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center that will provide resources, ideas, and suggestions for families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch for future articles with outdoor activity ideas for students and families. The public can help the nonprofit NWDC get through this challenging time by making a donation at https://hikeandlearn.org/donate/. Join NWDC for guided hikes and other exciting nature programs listed here: https://hikeandlearn.org/programs-and-events/.
We are in a period celebrated by the Gaelic calendar as Imbolg (or Imbolc) a word that means “in the belly” and refers to the time when the “new Sun,” having been conceived at Winter Solstice, is gestating but nearing its time of birth in Spring. I find this time of year to be especially suited to looking for early signs of change that denote the coming of warmer weather and springtime. One of these signs in Beulah’s Pueblo Mountain Park is “mud s
This is the forty-second in a series of articles from the staff of the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center that will provide resources, ideas, and suggestions for families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch for future articles with outdoor activity ideas for students and families. The public can help the nonprofit NWDC get through this challenging time by making a donation at https://hikeandlearn.org/donate-covid-19-pandemic-relief/. Join NWDC for guided hikes and other exciting nature programs listed here: https://hikeandlearn.org/programs-and-events/.
Amidst winter’s general slowdown, some stay busy. Mammals as a group are adapted to maintain activity across the seasons, benefiting from active metabolisms, shelter-building, and thick fur. Though some, like bears, enter into a period of hibernation, many do not and are common sights this time of year. Among these are beavers, our largest rodent species and a powerful shaper of ecosystems.