Happy Earth Month

Happy Earth Month!

This issue is chock-full of ways to help our Earth, enjoy our Earth, celebrate our Earth, learn about our Earth, and get kids doing all of the above. Read on!

Earth Month Fun

--4/1-5 Spring Day Camp

--4/8 Registration opens for Summer Day Camp

--4/6 Family Hike in the Dunes

--4/13 Washoe Lake Family Hike

--4/14 Banff Mountain Film Festival; visit our table.

--4/20 Reno Earth Day; volunteer at our activity table

--4/22 Staff training starts for Tahoe science camps

4/27 KTMB clean up & picnic; do something nice for the Earth!

4/30 Tahoe spring science camps begin

Double Family Hike Month--April 6

Our Easter weekend Family Hike in the sand dunes at Washoe Lake was snowed out and postponed to this Saturday, April 6. We were expecting a good crowd and hope you'll all re-register for this Saturday and that the weather cooperates. Our family hikes are good for all ages and run from 10 am 'til noon.

See details and register on our website.

Another Family Hike Saturday, April 13

Catch the view from the top of the Deadman's Creek Trail in Washoe Valley and bring your camera for the wildflowers. Our family hikes are good for all ages and run from 10 am 'til noon.

See details and register on our website.

Teach with Us at Tahoe Science Camps

We can't wait to be back at Tahoe for overnight science camps and are hiring more naturalist educators to join us teaching about Earth, our favorite planet, and a little about other planets as well. Join our team if you're passionate about sharing our great outdoors with students and helping them understand the natural sciences of our world. April 22- May 24 with option to continue for Summer Adventure Day Camp in Reno in June and July. Position description and application details here.

Summer Adventure Day Camp

Registration opens Monday, April 8. Save your spots here!

You Can Help!

Be a guest presenter to 6-12-year-olds at day camp. Share your expertise in 45-minute presentations.
Volunteer at Adventure Day Camp.
Help at an activity table at a public event in April.
Share your skills and contacts.
Apply to serve on our Board of Directors.

Email Emily or call her at 775-324-0936.

The Solar Eclipse

We won't see the total solar eclipse here in Nevada on April 8, but we can watch a partial eclipse in the Reno area from about 10:20-12:20. Be sure to use safe glasses. We have found them at the Discovery Museum and at the University of Nevada's Fleischmann Planetarium where they will also have telescopes set up and tickets for special screenings of "Totality" inside the planetarium's dome.

Learn more about the eclipse from NASA using the latest 3D interactive technology. Using your mouse or touchpad, interact with Earth to witness the eclipse. See NASA's multiple articles and interactive sites here.

Fall Science Camps for Classes

Teachers, start your school year with a special field trip to bond your students and introduce science topics you can build on the rest of the year.

Talk with Emily about the perfect fall day or overnight science camp experience for your class and see more on our website.

Pictured here is a great UNR volunteer with our students last fall at Spooner Lake. Read about her and our Tahoe overnight science camps in UNR's article from Nevada TODAY.

Quote from a teacher who brought her class in the fall:

“I was especially happy that we came up in the fall. It was a wonderful way to start off the year. The students are in a different mind-set about school, are able to focus on their work, and were able to get to know their classmates in a way that they couldn’t before… I see them working well together in groups and showing good leadership and responsibility. We have become a team! I feel very strongly that this program is most beneficial in the fall as the team-building aspect of the program is most noticeable. We are anxious to come again next year!”

Reno Earth Events this Month

We applaud the work of local nonprofits Nevada Land Trust and Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, and we will have a Great Basin Outdoor School table at their events.

We'll welcome help at our GBOS tables at any of these events, especially Earth Day as it's an all-day event.

Experience the exhilaration and inspiration of outdoor adventure at the Banff Mountain Film Festival Sunday, April 14 at 4:00 pm. at the Downtown Reno Ballroom. Tickets available from REI and online. Proceeds support Nevada Land Trust work protecting our great Nevada outdoors. Visit our Great Basin Outdoor School table and lots of other booths. Snacks and drinks available and raffle tix for great prizes.

Reno Earth Day

Saturday, April 20 in Idlewild Park from 10-6. Music, food, drinks, crafts, and demonstrations. Learn about sustainability, recycling, energy and much more from local nonprofit and educational groups.

We'd love help at our children's activity table. Please sign up for an hour or two with Derik by emailing him here. Thanks!

Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful Great Community Clean Up

Saturday, April 27 from 8-12 at various community locations followed by a picnic at Bartley Ranch. Volunteer at this link. And visit our GBOS table at the picnic.

Help Us Teach Kids to Love the Earth

Your donations help us connect children and families with the joys of nature and the science of our natural world. Think about the world you want to leave your children and grandchildren and how you can share your values. Any size contribution is appreciated and there are many ways to give. Did you know we have an endowment fund at the Community Foundation? That you can give appreciated assets or annual required minimum distributions or set up monthly giving?

Thank you for helping us teach kids to love the Earth.

Donate online securely here

or mail checks to:

Great Basin Outdoor School, 1000 Bible Way #53, Reno, NV 89502.