Happy (almost) Summer! We are currently in the middle of our “Creepy Crawlies” class in Rohnert Park (see picture below) and have had fun exploring the Laguna de Santa Rosa, looking for spiders, spittlebugs, bees, butterflies and other things that buzz around us. We released about 1,500 (literally!) ladybugs, and even got lucky with seeing a few baby frogs and some tadpoles! 

Making Caterpillars!

Our next session is starting up on June 17^th at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa and is called “Pebbles and Plants”. In this session, covering both rocks and various vegetation, children will be encouraged to stop and look at different types of rocks and plants species, while learning about how rocks are formed, how plants grow, and how to identify different types of plant life! (Please note, this class is full – if interested, please call to be on the waiting list).

On the business-side of things, we just completed our first grant application and are also happy to report a generous donation by Circle Bank which will enable us to offer a free session in the fall (stay-tuned for upcoming details). It is obviously a challenging year to attempt to get funding for a new non-profit and if anyone has any ideas, would like to donate, or know someone who does, please contact me!

Thanks, and hope to see you outdoors!

Stephanie Derammelaere 

In our Creepy Crawlies class this month we talked about the differences between insects and spiders. Spiders are not insects, they are in a group of invertebrates called arachnids and have eight legs and two body parts versus an insects’ six legs and three body parts.

This month, you can try to preserve a spider web. Explain to your child that a web isn’t really a home for a spider, it usually acts as a trap for catching small insects that the spiders eat. Not all spiders spin webs and webs can vary greatly. The most familiar in this area are the orb webs made by garden spiders, which you can find on fences, window frames and on garden plants.

Preserve a web (first checking by tapping gently on the web that it is unoccupied!) by mounting them on black paper that has been sprayed with hairspray. Place the paper in a cardboard box before spraying it to protect the area around you from the spray. Work quickly because the hairspray needs to be slightly tacky. If you want the strands of the web to stand out, sprinkle them first with talcum powder. Spray the paper with a protective coating once you get home.

With summer finally arriving this month we also see the arrival of another not-so-fun critter – mosquitoes! This summer, instead of lathering your child in toxic repellents, many of which contain DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents which has been linked to neurological problems in kids and adults and is toxic to wildlife, birds, and aquatic life (about 75% of all U.S. water sources contain DEET), try one of the many natural plant-based repellents on the market today.

If 10,000 people switch to plant-based bug repellents and steer clear of ones with DEET, we’ll keep the weight of 11 people in toxic chemicals out of the environment.

Plant-based repellents (from balms to bracelets) use powerful scents such as citronella, lemongrass, and rosemary to effectively keep bugs at bay. Or, you can try a do-it-yourself version which I learned from being a counselor at a summer camp about 15 years ago! Mix some vanilla extract with water in a spray bottle and spray on exposed skin (your child can help you make this). You get to smell like a sugar cookie AND keep bugs away! Undiluted apple cider vinegar sprayed on exposed skin also works.

Have your child help eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes in your yard by finding and getting rid of standing water sources – unemptied water tables and pails and buckets can all be culprits.