|
Kern Valley Spring Nature Festival
2007 Spring Nature Activities at a Glance
Activities and Trips
2007 All Day Trip Descriptions
Spring Nature Bird List
NatureFest Workshops Events
only at KRP NatureFest 5K/10K
Run
NatureFest
Photo Contest River
Cleanup
Youth Essay Contest
|
Click this link for
maps and travel information.
Hotel information may be found via this link
Accommodations. The Kernville Chamber of
Commerce also can provide lodging information
call (760) 376-2629.
Workshop Leaders: Marlene Hensley-Benton (FACT),
Amy & Dusty Allison (Leave No Trace), Jim Lowery (EarthSkills.com), Buz Lunsford (HerpEcology), Marya
Miller (CNPS), Mountain Lion Foundation,
Southern Sierra Research Station,
Sheri Spiegal (Audubon), Bob Steele (BobSteelePhoto.com)
and Reed Tollefson (Kern River Preserve).
2007 SCHEDULE
OF WORKSHOPS
Workshop Schedule At A Glance
Friday, April 27
Faith & Earth Stewardship
Dinner & Program: An
Introduction to the Butterflies of the Kern River Valley and Southern
Sierra Nevada
Saturday, April 28
-
Bird Banding Demonstration at Kern
River Preserve
-
Basic Bird Photography Workshop
-
Kern River Preserve Beginning
Birdwatching
-
Hiking and Biking Safety in Mountain Lion Country
-
Leave No Trace Principles and Workshops
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors
-
Habitat enhancements and stewardship at the Kern River
Preserve
-
Kern River Preserve Festival
Headquarters
-
Advanced Bird Photography Workshop
-
Dinner & Program: Big
Picture in a Small Frame: The Natural History of Kern County and the
Southern Sierra Nevada
Sunday, April 29
-
Bird Banding Demonstration at Kern River Preserve
-
Beginning Mammal Tracking Workshop
-
Kern River Preserve Beginning Birdwatching
-
Reptile ID workshop
-
Children’s Activities at the Kern River Preserve
-
Rescuing Wild Birds
-
Gardening with Native Plants
-
Leave No Trace - a workshop in outdoor ethics
-
Working with Tree-free Paper and Other Environmentally Friendly
Products
-
Mammal Track Interpretation
-
Feeding and Caring for Baby Birds
-
Fundraising Musical Event
FRIDAY April 27th
3:30 pm - 5 pm. Earth-honoring Faith. A
spiritually based appreciation of the environment.
Come and participate in a group discussion on faith and environment in
the Kern River Valley. What makes the Kern River Valley special to you?
What is there about the KRV's environment (defined as surroundings,
especially the natural surroundings) that you find special? How does
your faith fit in with concerns for maintaining a world class, quality
natural environment? Do you have any trouble reconciling faith and
caring for the natural environment? Come share your thoughts/feelings
and hear from others as they also respond to the preceding questions and
others as that may arise. Reverend Chuck
White, Ron Wermuth, and Bob Barnes have volunteered to serve as your
discussion group hosts. Meet at Kernville United
Methodist Church, 251 Big Blue Rd for a 3:30pm
discussion start time. FREE
5pm-7pm Catered Mexican Dinner. (Food
Service at 6pm), Join us for dinner as we share 2007
Nature Festival experiences and socialize with
Festival participants and community guests. Family
Life Center, Panorama & Sycamore, Wofford Heights Fee $20 (includes meal, tax, tip,
raffle ticket, and evening program).
-
7pm-8:45pm - Evening Program. $10 at the door
if only attending the program.
-
Highlights of the 2007
Nature Festival
-
Drawings for prizes.
-
PROGRAM
NEW IN 2007!!! An
Introduction to the Butterflies of the Kern River Valley and Southern
Sierra Nevada presented by Fred Heath
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER: An avid birder since his early teens in New
York City, Fred Heath became fascinated by butterflies thirty years
later in Southern California. This in turn has led to an overall
interest in the natural world. Fred has lectured, led field trips, and
written many articles about birds and butterflies. He co-authored the
National Audubon Society Field Guide to California and is the author of
An Introduction to Southern California Butterflies. Fred serves on the
board of the North American Butterfly Association. He has visited the
Kern River Valley numerous times over the years to enjoy the butterflies
and birds found in the area, all the while gladly and effectively
sharing his knowledge with others, no matter what their prior
experience. In addition to being the Friday evening KRV Nature Fest
featured speaker, Fred will conduct a book signing and lead "An
Introduction to the Butterflies and Birds of the Kern River Valley"
field trip both Saturday and Sunday.
SATURDAY, April 28th
7 am - Noon. Bird Banding Demonstration at Kern
River Preserve. Join the Southern Sierra Research Station
to learn how banding is used to conserve birds, listen to the
heartbeat of a bird and otherwise observe birds up close & personal.
FREE
7 am -
10 am. Basic Bird Photography Workshop with
Bob Steele. Learn how to set-up natural
habitat shots to photograph birds in a semi-controlled setting. Get tips
and techniques for using your camera more effectively.
Minimum equipment requirements: Digital or Film SLR camera, 300mm lens,
teleconverters, tripod, flash (not required, but suggested).
See Bob Steele's website.
FEE
8 am - noon.
North Fork Kern River Earth Day Cleanup.
Join the crew from Mountain and River Adventures and show your
spring pride in the Kern River Valley. Meet at Mountain & River
Adventures Campground just south of RiverKern. RSVP with Mountain &
River Adventures (760) 376-6553
9 am -
11 am. Kern River Preserve Beginning
Birdwatching.
A Kerncrest Audubon Society volunteer will lead this walk and bird
banding demonstration through a portion of California’s largest Fremont
cottonwood and red willow riparian forest; a Globally Important Bird
Area. Meet at the Information table at the Kern River Preserve
Headquarters in Weldon. FREE
9 am -
11 am. Habitat enhancements and stewardship at the Kern River
Preserve. Join Preserve manager Reed Tollefson on a hike around the
restoration sites of the Kern River Preserve. Learn about the ongoing
efforts of habitat improvements and exotic plant removal that has
contributed to greater numbers of nesting species of birds. Meet at the
Kern River Preserve. FREE
10 am - 11 am. Hiking and Biking Safety in
Mountain Lion Country. The Mountain Lion Foundation will
conduct a workshop and presentation at
Sequoia National Forest's Kernville office, 105
Whitney Road on safe travel through mountain lion country.
Limit 25 people repeats at 2 pm. FREE
2 pm - 3 pm. Hiking and Biking Safety in Mountain
Lion Country. The Mountain Lion Foundation will
conduct a workshop and presentation at
Sequoia National Forest's Kernville office, 105
Whitney Road on safe travel through mountain lion country.
Limit 25 people. FREE
3:30 pm -
5 pm. (may run longer), Advanced Bird Photography Workshop
with Bob Steele. Learn how to photograph
birds in flight. This workshop will take place along the shore of
Isabella reservoir. Gulls will be the target species. Minimum
equipment requirements: Digital or Film SLR camera, 300mm lens,
teleconverters, flash (not required, but suggested).
Meet at Kissack Cove in Mountain Mesa just inside the westernmost
entrance (where the speed limit changes).
See Bob Steele's website.
FEE
5pm-7pm Catered Deep Pit Dinner
(beef /chicken - vegetarian option available upon request). (Food Service
at 6pm), Join us for dinner as we share 2007
Nature Festival experiences and socialize
with Festival participants and community guests. Family
Life Center, Panorama & Sycamore, Wofford Heights Fee $20 (includes meal, tax, tip,
raffle ticket, and evening program).
-
7pm-8:45pm - Evening Program. $10 at the door
if only attending the program.
-
Highlights of the 2007
Nature Festival
-
Drawings for prizes.
-
PROGRAM
NEW IN 2007!!! Big
Picture in a Small Frame: The Natural History of Kern County and the
Southern Sierra Nevada presented by Alison Sheehey, Nature Ali
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER: For two decades Alison,
AKA Nature Ali, has been experiencing, photographing,
researching, and spreading the word on both the current and past natural
history of Kern County and the Southern Sierra Nevada
since moving to the county in 1980. Through field trips,
pictures, presentations, products, workshops, writings, and her
wonderfully comprehensive Nature Ali web site (www.natureali.org),
Alison shares with us all the stunning beauty and internationally
significant diversity of nature of this remarkable part of the world.
Currently, Alison is the Outreach Director for Audubon-California's Kern
River Preserve in Weldon. All of the preceding, and much more, is part
of the process leading to the realization of Alison's goal of completing
the writing of the definitive natural history of Kern County and the
Southern Sierra. In addition to being the Saturday evening KRV Nature
Fest speaker, Alison is the festival coordinator and
will lead a "Natural History of the Kern River Watershed" field
trip on Sunday.
SUNDAY, April 29th
7 am - Noon. Bird Banding Demonstration at Kern
River Preserve. Join volunteers from the Southern
Sierra Research Station. Learn how banding is used to conserve birds,
listen to the heartbeat of a bird and otherwise observe birds up close &
personal. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!!
9 am - 10 am. Beginning Mammal Tracking Workshop.
Jim Lowery of EarthSkills.com will hold this beginning tracking
workshop at the Kern River Preserve. Learn mammal track identification
through field practice: how do you distinguish among coyote, dog and
gray fox for example? Instructor Jim Lowery of Earth Skills has taught
tracking for twenty years, including special workshops in tracking
badger, bear, mountain lion and bighorn sheep. FREE
9 am -
11 am. Kern River Preserve Beginning Birdwatching.
A Kerncrest Audubon Society volunteer will lead this walk and bird
banding demonstration through a portion of California’s largest Fremont
cottonwood and red willow riparian forest; a Globally Important Bird
Area. Meet at the Information table at the Kern River Preserve
Headquarters in Weldon. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!! 10am - 10:30am. Reptile ID workshop
at the Kern River Preserve with Buz Lunsford.
This workshop by the founder of Herp-Ecology will
help those in attendance to identify the more common reptiles found in
the Kern River Valley. FREE
10 am - 4 pm. Children’s Activities at the Kern
River Preserve. Nature crafts, storytelling, live snakes & frogs.
FREE
10 am - 4 pm. Kern River Preserve Headquarters.
Kern River Preserve, Weldon: Children’s activities, Information,
Educational & Interactive Exhibits, Field Trip Departures, Live animals,
and more. FREE (Donations welcome).
10 am - 4 pm. Live Native Amphibians & Reptiles.
Kern River Preserve. Educational presentations throughout the day by
Herp-Ecology. On display will be a wide variety of California reptiles
and amphibians. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!! 10:30 am
- 11 am. Rescuing Wild
Birds. Marlene Benton, coordinator of FACT
(Facility for Animal Care & Treatment), will give a lesson in when an
animal needs rescuing, when to leave it alone, and how to safely capture
and transport the animal to the proper wildlife care facility. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!! 11
am - noon. Gardening with Native Plants
at the Kern River Preserve. Marya Miller,
local native plant columnist will introduce visitors to the idea of
gardening with local natives. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!!
Noon - 1 pm. Leave No
Trace - a workshop in outdoor ethics. Amy
& Dusty Allison of Leave No Trace will conduct a workshop on how to keep
the wild WILD so that it can be enjoyed by all who follow. Leave No Trace
Principles and Workshops held throughout the day
include: Plan Ahead and Prepare, Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces,
Dispose of Waste Properly, Leave What You Find,
Minimize Campfire Impacts, Respect Wildlife,
Be Considerate of Other Visitors. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!! 1 pm
- 1:30 pm. Working with
Tree-free Paper and Other Environmentally Friendly Products.
Sheri Spiegal,
Audubon California Annual Fund Manager, will share information on how to
produce tree-free events, from newsletter production, paper cups, and
plastic free disposal silverware. FREE
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Nature Walk. Learn about
the plants, trees, birds and animals that are all part of the Kern River
Preserve. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!!
2 pm - 3 pm. Mammal Track Interpretation.
Jim Lowery of EarthSkills.com will hold this mammal tracking
workshop at the Kern River Preserve. Beyond track ID, learn how tracks
are windows to an animal's body language and biology through
experimentation and field exploration. Instructor Jim Lowery is the
author of The Tracker's Field Guide (Globe Pequot Press, 2006). FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!!
3 pm - 3:30 pm.
Feeding and Caring for Baby Birds.
Marlene Benton, coordinator of FACT (Facility for Animal Care &
Treatment), will give a lesson in when a baby bird needs rescuing, when
to leave it alone, and what to feed them until they are ready for
release. FREE
NEW in
2007!!!!!
4 pm - 8 pm.
Fundraising Musical Event.
Join "Jill Egland and Friends" with Brenda Hunter, David Nigel
Lloyd. Jill is the talented multi-instrumentalist of the bands: "Mama's
Mid-Life Crisis", "Banshee in the Kitchen", and "A Far Cry", "Dave Ogden
and Friends": Dave owns the recording company Clear Creek Recording, and
"Out of the Blue": with the ever popular Michael Gallagher and Pat
Seamount, for a fundraiser to kick off the new Audubon Kern
River Preserve Community Center and Natural History Museum building fund.
At the Kern River Preserve - Sprague Ranch House - 7901 Fay Ranch Road,
Weldon. (this is a section of the preserve that is normally open to the public
only with written permission). DONATION
Five Ecological
Habitats Converge in the Kern River Valley
Chaparral |
Great Valley Grassland |
Great Basin Desert |
Mojave Desert |
Sierran Forest
NatureFest FIELD
TRIPS
This year's SPRING NATURE FESTIVAL will feature Friday through Monday
Kern River Valley and Southern Sierra Nevada birding and natural history
field trips. Destinations will include the GLOBALLY IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS
of the Kern River Preserve, Sequoia National Forest, and South Fork
Valley. The NATIONALLY IMPORTANT BIRD AREA of Butterbredt Spring will
also be a destination. Let experts lead you to experience the region's
"among the best in the west" bird migration and natural history
phenomena. There is no better time to capture this experience than the
end of April. Visit SPRING NATURE FESTIVAL web pages periodically as new
field trips will likely be added between now and SPRING NATURE FESTIVAL
weekend itself.
Trip Leaders to Date: Bob Barnes, Tom Edell,
Gary File, Joe Fontaine, Mary Freeman, Nick
Freeman, Wes Fritz, Fred Heath,
Lee Jones, Kerncrest Audubon Society members, Fletcher
Linton, Dan Lockshaw, Michael McQuerrey, Gary Potter, Roy Poucher,
John Schmitt, Jeff Seay, Alison Sheehey, Steve Sosensky, Southern Sierra Research
Station staff, Bob Steele, Susan Steele, Lee
Sutton, and Reed Tollefson.
Field Trips: Carpooling is encouraged - be sure to start the day
with a full tank of gas before heading out! Participants on long field
trips should pack a lunch and drinks for the day. All field trips held
rain or shine.
COST is $40 for one up-to-all-day trip, $75 for two days, $100 for three or four days,
$125 for five days. We are very happy to tell you that PROCEEDS
will go to Highway 178 Corridor, Kern River Valley, and Kern River
Preserve Stewardship Endowment Funds. The result? By participating in
this year's Nature Festival field trips, you will have the rewards from
time spent out in the field in one of America's great outdoor recreation
areas and of knowing you are helping to insure the quality of those
experiences well into the future. Such a deal!
PRE-REGISTRATION is REQUIRED by e-mail:
krpfriends@lightspeed.net,
or telephone: 760-378-3044 (24 hours answering machine). Spaces for trip
selection will be filled on a first come first serve basis. NO SHOWS do
happen. STANDYBYS will be taken at the start of each field trip no a
space available basis.
PAYMENT by cash or check.
LODGINGS become very crowded in the Kern River Valley by late
April. Be sure to make your reservations sooner rather than later so you
have a comfortable place to stay each night during the Nature Festival.
Click here for local inns.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Weather: Weather in the Kern Valley in late April is usually
spectacular (sunny, 65-80° F daytime highs), but it can be variable. On
mountain trips prepare for very cool to freezing weather. For your
comfort, we suggest bringing water, snacks, a hat, sunscreen, insect
repellent, jacket for cool weather, and sturdy shoes (waterproof boots
may be handy in riparian areas).
Fees/Registration: There is no general entrance fee to attend the
Kern River Valley Spring Nature Festival. All fee activities are limited
to twenty or less participants... usually ten to fifteen. All fees go to support the Festival and are not refundable.
Vendor fees are waved at Circle Park but are 10% of net or $100
whichever is lower for booths selling merchandise at the Kern River
Preserve.
Schedule of Events: Additional events may be added between now
and the Spring Nature Festival weekend.
Volunteer
NatureFest Steering Committee: Steve Kenton, Bill
& Birdie Foster, Reed Tollefson, Jeff King, Ellen Schafhauser, Ron
Gillentine, Sandra Wieser, Darrell and Marya Barnes, Ron Wermuth, Bob
Barnes, Chuck White, Wendy Rannals, John and Rhonda Stallone, Jennie
Cox, Gordon & Chris Hancock, Judy Hyatt, Kernville Chamber, Steve
Anderson, Bob Lowe, Buz Lunsford, Brenda Burnett, Dave Ogden, Justin
Schuetz, Nancy Ivey, Charlotte Goodson, Sheri Spiegel, Scott Yoo,
Valerie Cassity, Dolly Ogawa, Marsha Smith, Lee Sutton, Alison Sheehey
A big thank you to all of the 2007 Festival Sponsors:
Audubon-California (Kern River Preserve),
EK Schafhauser Photography,
Friends of the Kern River Preserve,
Herp-Ecology,
Kern River Courier, KernCrest Audubon Society,
Kern River Valley Revitalization, Inc.,
Kern
Valley Sun, Mountain & River Adventures, Nature Alley,
Rossback & Sons,
Southern Sierra Research Center,
USDA- Forest Service – Sequoia National
Forest,
TLH (Turn-left Here), Valley Wild
JOIN US FOR FUN IN THE CALIFORNIA SUN
|
|
Visit the Kern River Preserve in Weldon, California. Open every day of the year from
dawn to dusk.
|
