"Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ‘Embraceable You’ in spats."  And so began the pinning ceremony for the certified members of the Wood River Valley Master Naturalist program at a group potluck this past Tuesday. 

The ERC and Sawtooth Botanical Garden are partnering up with local youth groups BCTAC, BCTAC2, the WRHS Environmental Club, and the Silver Creek High School to educate our community about the ecological and economical consequences of junk mail. Join us on Saturday, January 15th from 10 am–12 pm at Tully's and Iconoclast in Ketchum and Hailey Coffee Co in Hailey.  At each venue, we will be providing information on how to tame the junk mail in your life and will even have a computer available for you to sign up to start managing your mail immediately.  Reducing your junk mail is one small, easy step every one of us can take to start reducing our carbon footprint.   

For some fast facts on junk mail to get you excited about participating in our event, continue reading.

This winter the Environmental Resource Center is offering two Science After School (SAS!) programs for 4th and 5th grade students at Woodside Elementary and Hemingway Elementary. SAS! at Woodside will run Tuesdays, starting January 18th, from 2:30-4. There is limited space available on the afterschool bus for Woodside students. SAS! at Hemingway will run Thursdays, starting January 20th, from 2:30-4:30.  Both SAS! courses will focus on “Animals in Winter” - we will spend most of our time outdoors talking about animal winter survival strategies, looking for animal signs, and learning how to identify those signs we find.

Join others throughout the valley to deepen your connections with nature!

January 11th, the Environmental Resource Center, Wood River Land Trust, and Sawtooth National Recreation Area will launch the third year of our local Idaho Master Naturalist chapter.  Each year begins with a 43-hour training course which provides participants with a broad background in the natural sciences - this session includes topics such as astronomy, botany, rangeland management, and snow science, and will bring new presenters into the fold.