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Wednesday, May 22, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
KIDS IN PRINT
SPONSORED BY KID MADE CAMP
A service of The Nugget Newspaper
Hikers draw a
“story map” so
they can share
and learn from
their experience
in nature.
PHOTO BY TL BROWN
Photo by JD Berger
Wandering the Whychus willows
By T. Lee Brown
Families from Sisters and Bend gath-
ered for a rare chance to explore Willow
Springs Preserve. It is closed to the
public except during guided tours led
by Deschutes Land Trust.
Nature educator Susan Prince led
everyone on a “Fox Walk + Owl Eyes”
walk. She taught people to walk quietly
like a fox. Then they learned to watch
nature like an owl would—by paying
attention to their peripheral vision. That
means noticing things that are at the
edges of what you can see, without
turning your head.
They spent 20 minutes quietly
observing nature, taking notes, and
drawing among the willow trees. Then
they walked more.
The day was just getting hot as the
group approached a pleasant bend of
Whychus Creek. Kids and grownups
alike kicked off their shoes.
“I’m aliiiiiiive!” sang Lucie W., jump-
ing onto hot sand and rocks. Then she
plunged her feet into the cold creek,
burbling with melted snow.
One mile of Whychus Creek runs
through Willow Springs Preserve. A
campaign to save and restore the creek
allowed Deschutes Land Trust to buy
the 130 acres. The preserve is home to
salmon, steelhead, deer, elk, raptors,
PHOTO BY TL BROWN
Willows shade a hidden curve of
Whychus Creek. The restored curves
give fish a nice place to hang out under
the creek’s edge.
lizards, and many songbirds.
The group moved across grassland
toward a rocky hill. At the bottom, kids
discovered the collapsed remains of
an old wooden structure. They imag-
ined what the stacks of silvered boards
might have once been. “A potato cellar!”
someone guessed.
Susan invited them to sit nearby and
make a Story Map of the day’s adven-
tures. The kids drew pictures of what
they’d seen. They talked about their
favorite moments.
“Being really close up to the geese,”
one said. Another mentioned a tiny,
speckled spider.
While kids drew the Story Map,
grownups heard from Susan about how
stories help people of all ages connect
with each other and nature.
In some indigenous cultures, Susan
said, “scouts would go out during the
day and hunt, and seek.” At night they’d
gather around the campfire with every-
one else, and share the story of their
day.
Storytelling helped them “integrate
what they’d learned, and helped the
community integrate everything: where
the plants are, where the predators are.”
“When you get home from a hike,”
Susan said, “you can ask your kids to tell
the story of their hike to someone else.”
That helps them and their community
learn and understand.
The finished Story Map showed
geese, bugs, birds, rocks, and Whychus
Creek. A young hiker named Ronin
asked, “What else is there to draw?”
“Hmmm,” said Susan. “What are
you sitting under? What’s making the
shade?”
“A tree!” the kids responded. “A pine
tree.” Trees were added to the Story
Map, too.
To help draw the next Story Map,
sign up for “Fox Walk + Owl Eyes.” Susan
will lead hikes to Indian Ford Meadow
Preserve and Metolius Preserve in the
summer months.
Youth ages 8–14 are invited to attend,
free of charge, with an adult. Registration
is required, at deschuteslandtrust.org/
hikes.
TELL US YOUR JOKES!
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
unchline!
A: To see if Sisters kids could come up with a better punchline!
Do you like telling jokes? Making up your own jokes? There are two
new places to share your brilliant wit. Send your jokes to The Nugget t and
they might show up in the next “Kids in Print.” Email kidsinprint@nuggetnews.com.
In June, you can tell jokes in person at the Sunday Showcase Talent Show. See “Mystery Talent”
on this page for more information.
Nature hiker Lucie W. and leader Susan Prince with
a Story Map. It was made by all the kids on the “Fox
Walk + Owl Eyes” hike at Willow Springs Preserve.
Lizards and creeks By Lucie W., age 9
What I found really
exciting was when we sat
down to listen for birds
for 15-20 minutes, and I
sat down on a log… I saw
something moving next to
me.
It was a little black liz-
ard—and that was really
exciting. I went to write
it down, and the lizard
disappeared.
I had a really good time
with the other kids. We
really just talked, and I
made up a funny joke by
the creek. We all had fun
in the creek.
MYSTERY TA
TALENT
Does this dancer look
k familiar? How about the litt
little
ukulele player? They are two kids from Sisters Country
showing their talent—but the photos were taken a few
years ago. Could they be someone you know?
Come find them at Sisters Sunday Showcase Talent
Show on June 16. It’s a fun thing to do on Fathers Day.
If you’d like to perform, too, you can send in an audition
video. It can be a phone video, nothing fancy.
You can also join a kids’ performance workshop. You’ll
make a mini-play to perform at the talent show. Fun!
Sisters Sunday Showcase Talent Show
June 16, 1 p.m. at Fir Street Park
Performance Workshop for Kids: 11:30 am-12:30 pm
Presented by Sisters Farmers Market & Starshine
To register or audition: see starshine-theater.com
KID MADE CAMP
Make, Earn, & Learn
NOWENROLLING—
Summer Day Camps in Sisters & Bend
Is your kiddo a budding chef, entrepreneur, or artist?
They’ll love what’s on the menu at Kid Made Camp
this summer! Now enrolling grades K-4 and 5-8.
kidmadecamp.com | phone 760-415-6345
Looking for writing, photography, & journalism classes?
Email t@kidmadecamp.com.