What does it mean to be extremely “green”? Living in an earthship! What is an earthship? It is a sustainable house made of natural and recycled materials. In order to be considered an earthship the house must meet 6 different requirements. 1. Run on thermal/solar heating and cooling 2. Produce electricity using solar… Read more »
Notes from the Executive Director, Brooks Paternotte With my favorite holiday just two days away it is hard not to reflect on the last year and comment on being thankful. We are thankful here at Irvine for the incredible support we receive from the community – our members, generous donors, corporate sponsors and partners, and… Read more »
Right now things are quiet here at Irvine Nature Center, but it must be the calm before the storm. Fortunately this storm is one of enthusiastic early childhood educators who will descend upon Irvine’s 116 acre campus for three days of lectures and workshops at our 3rd annual Nature Preschool Conference. We plan on hosting… Read more »
Many of us start thinking about resolutions as the New Year approaches, so I want to dedicate this week’s blog to that topic. We often resolve to lose weight, eat or drink less, quit smoking, or be better people. Sometimes we stick with these for a while, others are failures from conception. Last year I… Read more »
Clearly coyotes are a topic of interest locally! We just hosted one of our most successful “Eat, Drink, and Learn” events here at Irvine Nature Center and the topic was none other than this relatively new local predator. I was reminded of this when listening to Tom Pelton’s weekly “The Environment in Focus” segment yesterday on WYPR addressing… Read more »
With Thanksgiving week upon us and the inevitability of the holidays certain, I will blog about a variety of things tangential to this time of year. First, I am inspired by a tweet from the New York Times about raking versus mowing your fallen leaves. You can see the full article by clicking here. From… Read more »
Last year it was Sandy devastating the Northeast and now it is flooding in Colorado. It is a simple fact in our globalized society that we witness these events in real time and full color and can respond nearly as quickly from great distances. I can recall after a recent super-cell storm here in Baltimore… Read more »
Here at Irvine we have created an outdoor classroom space for our members and their children; The Nature Preschool at Irvine also uses the space regularly. If you are not familiar with concept, please check out the article linked below: http://www.good.is/posts/redesigning-recess-why-kids-need-natural-playgrounds We would love some feedback on our outdoor classroom, so if you have any… Read more »
Would you like to know how to instill a lifelong love of the outdoors and an appreciation for nature in your young child? Look no further than The Nature Preschool at Irvine Nature Center. I had the privilege of welcoming new and returning parents and their children to our preschool orientation today, and the enthusiasm… Read more »
In no particular order, here are some of the books I have read recently with the common themes of nature, the outdoors, exercise, neurology, and environmental education. Just click on the title and author(s) for a link to more information. Please feel free to post comments about these titles or make suggestions of others. Thanks… Read more »
