OLLI Summer Classes at Wolf Creek Educational Center

Back To Camp: Lifelong Learning in the Redwoods. You can register at this link.

Gisela Rohde and I will be teaching two classes on August 2, 2022 at the Wolf Creek Educational Center in Humboldt County, California. The surrounding forests are close to the Prairie Creek State Park and we will take full advantage of our location to learn a lot about field journaling and how to help scientists monitor our changing environment.

1) Morning Session: FIELD JOURNALS: WITNESSING OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Join us as we use our field journals to improve our observational skills, foster curiosity, and record our experiences in the majesty of the redwood forest. For centuries scientists and explorers have considered their journals to be a valuable tool for discovery of and connection with their environment. The process is so valuable that schools from kindergarten through college are designing curriculum based on journaling as a way to learn science and natural history. We will also be looking at the ways we can use our work to become Citizen Scientists.

Topics: Tips for working outside, the importance of recording data, using maps and charts, using our five senses to write, techniques for developing intentional curiosity, prompts for improving observations, easy sketching techniques, and resources for further work.

Materials to bring:
Journal (at least 6” x 6”), pen, pencil. Optional: colored pencils, watercolors & brushes.

Resource Materials: http://micheleolsen.com/OLLI_Summer2022

2) Afternoon Session: A DEEP DIVE INTO FERNS

Bring your journals and become a Citizen Scientist with your participation in the Fern Watch project sponsored by the Save the Redwood League. Because ferns respond quickly to variations in rainfall they are good indicators of shifts in our climate. Monitoring ferns help scientists study changes in our redwood forest; we will collect and analyze data, document discoveries, develop questions for further research, and use sketches as a tool to learn. We will also discuss other ways you can become a community-based Citizen Scientist.

Materials to bring: walking shoes, measuring tape (metric preferable), journals (at least 6” x 6”), pen, pencil. (Optional) field lens, colored pencils, watercolor & brush.

Resource Materials: https://www.micheleolsen.com/olli_cs/