Wednesday turned out to be a beautiful, windy day to celebrate Earth Day.
I spent part of the morning with some of my colleagues and a group of enthusiastic kindergartners on a tour of Prairie Ridge, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ outdoor, educational facility in west Raleigh. (www.naturalsciences.org/prairie-ridge-ecostation)
I joined the director of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Betsy Bennett and some of her staff, including Mary Ann Brittain, who guided us on the tour of Prairie Ridge.
Then, came the real excitement of the day. We joined a group of 40 kindergartners from Brooks Museums Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh who spent part of the day at Prairie Ridge. Together, I helped the children plant a pond cypress on the banks of the ecostation’s largest pond. All of us – children and adults – took great joy knowing that we had made some contribution to preserving the environment on Earth Day. What fun!
From there, we left the children as they studied dragonfly nymphs and other tiny creatures captured from the pond and continued touring Prairie Ridge. We checked bird boxes for any new nests and used a pair of binoculars to gaze across the beautiful expanse for birds. We even saw a large, black rat snake, which was spotted by Alvin Braswell, the museum’s deputy director who is also a herpetologist. Well, Alvin did more than just spot the snake. He snatched it from its hiding place so we could all take a better look and then we all watched as it returned to the tall grass.
I must say I truly enjoyed Earth Day at Prairie Ridge. Thanks to my hosts at the Museum of Natural Sciences and the new friends I made from Brooks Museums Magnet Elementary School. If you’re reading this, I encourage you, too, to come out to Prairie Ridge, or just get outside and enjoy nature. You don’t have to wait until Earth Day 2010 to celebrate our wonderful environment.
