by Lottie Bushmann

Hi all.

I hope this finds you well and enjoying some lovely fall weather. I also hope you were able to attend our CAS October meeting that was held on-site at the Boone County Nature School. I left feeling so positive and uplifted knowing that our future would be in the hands of children learning at this amazing school from these amazing teachers. I felt so affirmed that sending teachers to Hog Island Audubon camp in Maine is important and will affect the lives of children in Boone Co. for years to come. If you haven’t seen the Nature School or visited the site, I recommend you make it a priority. Good things are happening there! (So auto correct typed that last sentence as “Good thinks are happening there”. Let me tell you–they are!) These children will be visiting over the course of their 5^th grade year during 3 different seasons and the work they do will travel back with them to their classrooms as they extend their learning into sustainability projects.

THEN, I got to spend the morning at our Band with Nature field trip that Bill Mees coordinates each year for the 2^nd graders here in Columbia. I left there feeling so uplifted, knowing the children were having an amazing hands-on experience. If you see Bill, be sure to thank him for coordinating this fabulous program the last 11 years. At last count, more than 12,000 children have participated in this fabulous field trip that many 2^nd grade teachers call “the best field trip of the year!”  I’m not making this up…I have several friends that teach 2^nd grade, and I’ve heard it first-hand.

I hope you’ll check out the fun events we have planned for November. Robb Jacobson will be presenting at our monthly meeting on the recovery of the Missouri River and we have several field trips planned. All are welcome to come on field trips—especially beginners!

Consider becoming involved with the Christmas Bird Count that will happen in December. We always need experienced birders and are happy to place more novice birders on teams with veterans so that they can learn the ropes. It is the country’s longest on-going citizen science project and is fun! We culminate our busy day of birding with a chili supper to go over our tallies for the day. Total bird nerd heaven! I hope you’ll continue to help if you have in the past and if you’ve been meaning to get involved, shoot me an email at lottie.bushmann@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to get you placed on a team.