Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Creepy Crawly Night, 2012!

Happy Halloween from Aspen Center for Environmental Studies! On the evening of Monday, October 22nd, ACES hosted 'Creepy Crawly Night' for all Aspen Elementary School second grade students and their families. The Hallam Lake Nature Center was decked out in spooky decorations, spider webs, and information and crafts involving our favorite creepy crawly Aspen animals, like spiders and bats. Some of our resident indoor animals made a special appearance, such as the ball python, the Eastern box turtle, and the Western tiger salamander. Many 'creepy' animals ended up painted on second grader cheeks and across their noses!

Aspen Elementary School second graders have been studying animal adaptations in environmental education since the beginning of September. They have learned about the four different types of camouflage, and even created their own “Creature Features”, animals decked out in any 3 adaptations that the students can imagine – as long as they somehow help that creature to survive. This event gives them the chance to bring their families to ACES and demonstrate their knowledge on why animals have certain physical and behavioral adaptations: wings to fly, spots to camouflage, or a shell to hide. Fun was had by all, and it was such a treat to see the second graders and their whole families at Hallam Lake!

Enjoy the spooky day today!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Join us for ACES' Annual Harvest party at Rock Bottom Ranch

This Saturday Rock Bottom Ranch hosts a harvest festival like no other! Enjoy pumpkin carving, face-painting, ranch games and pony rides. Party-goers can learn how to press their own apple cider and visit with our beloved farm animals! But this party isn't just for the little ones: a delicious lunch by Crystal River Meats and Whole Foods will complement beer and wine sponsored by Four Dogs Fine Wine and Spirits, and hard cider generously donated by Blossomwood Cidery. Perhaps the most exciting addition to this year's party will be live music by Grammy-nominated band Missed the Boat, who are traveling from Steamboat Springs to entertain our Harvest Party crowd!

So please join us Saturday, October 20th, from 12 - 4pm. This is a car free event. Ticket and shuttle information below. See you at the Ranch!

• Tickets $10/person
• Members’ kids free
• Kids under 2 free
Membership starts at $50/year 

This is a car-free event! 

Please ride your bike, walk, or horseback ride down to RBR.
- OR - 

Park at one of our FREE SHUTTLE LOCATIONS to hitch a ride to the Ranch:

-El Jebel 'Park and Ride (on El Jebel Rd behind the Wendy's)

-Basalt Middle School

Questions? Please call RBR at 970-927-6760

Friday, October 12, 2012

Backpacking with Kids: A Whole New Adventure


“Mami, are we there yet?”

Right. If you’re a parent you know exactly what that means. And no, we are NOT on a road trip. “Mami, really, we must be there soon, right?” Luka, my 4-year old son echoes the earlier statement from Zala, my 6-year old daughter. We are about two and a half hours into our backpacking trip. It’s been raining on and off, luckily just a drizzle for now, though ominous looking clouds lurk too close for comfort.  It’s the last weekend before school starts and we haven’t backpacked yet this summer. So, sunny or not, we’re going for it.
Summertime in the Rockies is simply magical, and we love all things outdoors – be it car camping, short exploratory hikes, biking, floating down the river, or backpacking. The latter takes a bit more preparation and a LOT more patience. Backpacking with kids is a whole new adventure no matter the level of experience in your previous life (remember, that life before kids?). We attempted our first backpacking trip as soon as our kids were big enough to walk with a backpack for about half an hour. Knowing our limitations of low mileage and low carrying capacity made this a fun challenge. But little people mean little impact, so off the trail we went and found wilderness experiences about half a mile away from the car, perfect. Filtering water, finding firewood, looking at stars and waking up to greenness around us was magical. The kids were hooked! Or so I chose to see it...
“MA-MIIII!!” Right, time for a snack. Time for yet another break, just short enough to put something in their mouths as I frantically try to change the flow of energy from exhausted to excited: “Wow, look at these ants carrying a big leaf" and, "oh, this flower has such an interesting pattern. Do you think you can count the petals? Oh, see how the shadows make this tree look so giant? Wow, this rock looks like an egg…” Constant mouth diarrhea as I try to distract, change focus, pack up and get going before they realize they’re walking again. We make up funny stories, rattle off nature facts, do math, talk, listen, be quiet and just keep walking. Then somehow, like a miracle, there we are. Just at the right time. We find an awesome spot, this time in real wilderness, quite a few miles away from the sounds, lights, and busy-ness of everyday life. Kids get it; they play, explore, and run around as if the last four hours didn’t happen. Crazy.
The tent goes up and soon we’re cozy and exhausted in our sleeping bags. “Mami, can we hike some more tomorrow?” My heart sings as I hear that. But as Zala and Luka drift off in their sleep I can’t help but think that the reality of hiking tomorrow will again be the schizophrenic pattern of happiness and overload, just like today. Walk and bask in the excitement of Zala’s voice as she watches the little butterfly land on a flower just so. Walk and listen to Luka’s whiny voice telling you how he REALLY can’t go any further. Walk, laugh, distract, try to be patient as they ask “Are we there yet?” for the fiftieth time. Walk and keep walking. Because magic happens at every step and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Being Bear Aware


One of the most enjoyable aspects of living in Aspen is the ease of access to nature.  The close proximity also gives many animals easy access to the city. As Aspen dwellers, we must live responsibly in this place in order to facilitate safe urban/wildlife interactions.


In September, bear activity goes into hyperdrive.  Bears will begin hibernating in late October/early November, so now is their final push to gain as much weight as possible. This time of year, bears feed for up to 20 hours per day, hoping to consume at least 20,000 calories before heading into a hibernation that may last 7 months.  In fall, bear encounters in town are not uncommon, especially after a dry winter and summer that yielded low crops of berries and other natural food sources. Bears will eat almost anything, which is why we must be so careful.

How can Aspenites be more bear friendly? I'm glad you asked:
  • Obviously, do not feed bears!
  • Safely dispose of trash in bear proof trashcans. If unavailable, do not move trash out for pickup until immediately before garbage truck arrives (Since June 1, 2010 the city of Aspen has required residents to utilize bear-resistant containers for "day of" pick-up.)
  • Store pet food indoors
  • Do not use bird feeders from March to November. Or, hang bird feeders in a bear-inaccessible location like off of a strategically hung wire, instead of from a tree (easy pickings for a black bear)
  • Do not leave food in your car and be sure to lock your car doors
  • Keep your dog on a leash
  • When camping, store food properly in bear canisters or bags far from campsite
  • Do not leave marinated steak on your porch for weeks on end...
Bears are wild animals, but they will make use of any food source they can find.  When bears find an easy food source in town, they quickly become habituated, thus endangering themselves and potentially the community.  Bears associating food with humans, trashcans or towns causes the overwhelming majority of conflicts. Please do your part to help!

To learn more about how to live "Bear Aware" visit these two helpful sites:
http://www.aspenpitkin.com/Departments/Police/Aspen-Bears/
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/LivingWithWildlife/Mammals/Pages/LivingWithBearsL1.aspx



Thursday, October 4, 2012

Smuggler Mountain Restoration Work


ACES' For the Forest Program is excited about upcoming collaborations with local and federal government agencies to promote healthy,
Gamble Oak on Smuggler Mtn
Overgrown gamble oak on Smuggler Mountain
resilient forests.

Beginning today ACES, the City of Aspen, and Pitkin County Open Space are working together on three restoration projects in the wildland-urban interface on Smuggler Mountain. Each project seeks to improve wildlife habitat, and reduce fuel loads in different vegetation types: Gambel oak, lodgepole pine, and aspen. These projects will be visible from popular hiking and biking routes on Smuggler.

In the absence of periodic, natural disturbances such as fire, vegetation in this area has become old and overgrown, leading to increased fuel accumulation and lower quality forage for wildlife. The restoration projects taking place next week seek to mimic natural disturbance events by mechanically opening up the understory and stimulating new growth.

If you're hiking or biking on Smuggler in the next few weeks, keep an eye out for ACES' interpretive signage detailing the ecological benefits of each of these projects. The signs will be located at the site of each project, so you will be able to track progress.

Further questions about ACES' collaboration with the City of Aspen and Pitkin County on these restoration projects can be directed to Jamie Cundiff, ACES' Forest Health Programs Director, at jcundiff@aspennature.org.

Monday, October 1, 2012

A Sapsucker's Busy Work

When scanning a cluster of river-side serviceberry bushes through my binoculars on a recent birding excursion, a light honeycomb-shaped mosaic caught my eye. After closer inspection (and a hint from ACES' Naturalist Rebecca Weiss) we decided the grid was the result of a busy red-naped sapsucker. The serviceberry trunks in front of us were home to multiple generations of sap-wells; some barely visible scars of wells from seasons past, and others brand-new, still oozing sap and darkening the bark around them.  Rebecca began to explain the fascinating details about these sap-wells. To begin with, they are feeding hot-spots; not only for the red-naped sapsucker, but also for an array of other species that come to rely on the bird's work. There were two kinds of wells littering the surface of this particular serviceberry stand; some were the diameter of a quarter and are holes that the sap-sucker must continually maintain to keep sap flowing. The others holes and bark scars showed punctures, akin to a Parcheesi board and no wider than a pen, where the sap suckers uses its bill to probe the tree looking for sap.


The gallery of holes, regardless of size, were all carved in the soft bark of the tree by a bird no bigger than my hand. The red-naped sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis, is a medium sized-woodpecker. These industrious creatures are denizens of lower elevations of the Rocky Mountains.  Both male and female boast red feathered throats; perhaps their most identifiable characteristic. However the red-nape that their name suggests refers to a tiny patch of red at the back of the head/neck. The red-naped sapsucker seek out nooks in soft-barked trees like willow, aspen, poplar and fruit trees where decay has softened generous spaces. Sap suckers develop real estate in their chosen trees over the years: beginning by building out hollows close to the ground and subsequently building spaces higher and higher in the tree. Like all sapsuckers, they eat insects, fruit and sap which flows within trees' cambium layer, the living tissue just beneath the outer protective bark. Insects and other sap-feeding bird life come to rely on sapsucker feeding holes. One might call this crucial behavior characteristic of a keystone species, which by definition, is an organism in the ecosystem that many other species depend upon for continued survival and support. However the opportunistic sapsuckers will also eat the insects attracted to their wells, doing so by the dramatic fly-catching technique made possible by their small tongues. The sap sucker will use its beak and tongue to poke, pry and tap bark for insects, and it's tongue to fly-catch and sip or lick sap.

Next time you hear a slow, irregular tapping in the lowland forests of the Rocky Mountains, keep your eyes peeled for these beautiful creatures and the feeding hot-spots they create.

Sources:
    •    Rebecca Weiss
    •    http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/Keystone+species
    •    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-naped_Sapsucker
    •    http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-naped_Sapsucker/id