Wednesday, October 18, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
up with a kid — or kids —
blasting down the trail with-
out caring about where they
are, and taking the time to
see what’s around them.
Neither she nor parents
want to spend time getting
a kid out of the forest who
Tales from a
has wrapped him or herself
around a tree, or got into
a tussle with a buck deer.
Walden’s adopted the slogan,
by Jim Anderson
“If you can’t do this with
care, then stay home.”
The biking trips cover
topics of Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle, Compost, and
An environmental bik- Water Quality, and they
ing tour set up for kids in come with their own moun-
the Metolius/Camp Sherman tain bike, helmet, backpack,
area is worth going on about. lunch and water-bottle. The
It’s specifically run for kids first few weeks they focus
and it’s operating in the for- on basic bike skills and
est on hiking/biking trails safety, and use trails that are
around Camp Sherman with easy to moderate levels and
the goal of getting kids into not much incline, with many
their natural environment observation (aka resting)
and paying attention to what points! The bikers are pro-
vided with journals, to draw
they’re seeing.
Can’t beat that with a and make our own observa-
tions and trail maps.
stick.
And Shane, one of the
Heather Walden, a bright-
as-a-spotlight, up-and-com- eager eco-bikers had this
ing young mom thought it to say: “It was amazing! It
up. She got to looking around was a blast! We did some art
her and noticed kids with not projects, we biked up to the
much to do. Then she noticed lake. We had fun swimming
the bike trails waiting for in the water after a long bike
those kids to use them and ride from Camp Sherman
she put two and two together to the lake. We stopped by
and came up with the “Black Lake Creek to have lunch
breaks and we would wade
Butte Eco Bike Explorers.”
The current program is in the creek and catch craw-
for kids between the ages of dads. One day my dog Stella
10-13, and because this was rolled around in some human
her first season in operation, poop that some campers left
the program space was lim- behind without burying it.
ited. As the program grows, We were disappointed at how
she and her board will gross the campsites were left
develop a bigger program as by campers along the creek.”
At the end of the sea-
the community recognizes
the value of eco-biking for son, Walden and the bik-
ers developed a trail guide
kids, and interest grows.
It’s a grassroots non- book that others can use to
profit program designed to enjoy the out-of-doors. And
get kids outdoors to learn of course, in those hot days
about ecology and conserva- of summer they rode up to
tion through art and hands- Suttle Lake to cool off and
on mountain bike explora- swim.
During the summer, the
tion. The goals are to provide
kids knowledge and tools to bikers often took time to
make a difference in how return to Camp Sherman in
they see the world of nature, the afternoons to work on art
help improve the environ- projects with treasures they
ment, and keep them from found from nature and/or art
hitting trees, running over from scraps found on their
wildflowers and bumping in explorations.
Kids learned about natu-
to wandering wildlife while
ral habitats of insects, birds,
doing it.
Safety and respect are mammals, reptiles and
the first things Walden hits amphibians, how and what
on every time the kids go
See ECO BIKING on page 29
out biking. She won’t put
25
The Nugget Newspaper Crossword
By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service
Sisters
Naturalist
Kids, bikes,
and nature
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