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The newly revised and expanded Guide to Native Plants of the Deschutes Canyon Area is now available! Books can be purchased at any FANs event, on our website, or in our local tri-county bookstores.
Click HERE for more information. |
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Upcoming FANs Events:
Click on each program below to learn more and register. Please remember that registration generally opens one month prior to the event. April 15 - Lens on Learning Program: Northern Paiutes of the Malheur presented by David Wilson April 19 - Sand Ridge Trail wildflowers hike: Guides are Marilynne Keyser & Trish Nevan April 29 - Rim Rock Springs wildflowers hike: Guides are Marilynne Keyser & Trish Nevan May (date TBD) - Lens on Learning Program: Geology history presented by Al Albin followed by a local hike FANs to Adopt "Springs to Sprouts" Field Trip
By Robin Galloway, FANs President Sadly, the Coalition for the Deschutes (CFD) organization closed its doors in December. The CFD organization has been a partner to FANs with shared visions for many years. Their founder and sparkplug, Gail Snyder, recently approached FANs about continuing one of their educational events, called Springs to Sprouts (S-2-S). The FANs board voted unanimously to adopt S-2-S. Gail has committed to organize the June 10, 2023 field trip. One of the goals is to help make new connections between the FANs and the Jefferson County agricultural community. Both CFD and FANs have water issues as central themes. We want to educate the public about the balance between the needs of agriculture with the needs of fish, reptiles and other wildlife that depend on the Deschutes River for survival. The goal of the field trip is to introduce urban folk to members of the agricultural community in Jefferson County. 
FANs Booth at Sisters Farmers Market
By Robin Galloway, FANs president The Sisters Farmers Market provides a booth for non-profit community organizations. On August 7th, FANs filled that spot with an educational hands-on activity for youth. Rubber animal tracks could be stamped onto a piece of paper so the child could learn about wildlife living in the Deschutes Canyon Area. New FANs member Leslie Grelle, and president Robin Galloway were the volunteers staffing the booth. They also informed the public about the organization, accepted new members, and sold the book Common Weeds of the Deschutes Canyon Area written by Penny Radtke (FANs weed coordinator) and Marilynne Keyser (FANs native plant coordinator). Go to our website at fansofdeschutes.org for more information. We need you!
Will You Volunteer to Help FANs:
Many of you volunteer for specific stewardship projects throughout the year, and we deeply appreciate your commitment. However, as a non-staffed organization that is growing quickly, the FANs leadership is looking for volunteers for very specific needs. If your are willing to make a commitment for at least a year, please contact Marilynne Keyser, our past-president, by email at mtkeyser@gmail.com. Lens on Learning Program Coordinator and/or Committee Members: If you have enjoyed our programs in the past, and would like to take a role in the production of these great events, we have a place for you! We need a group of imaginative and detail oriented folks to brainstorm program ideas, contact potential presenters, arrange dates/times of programs, reserve the Juniper Room, follow through with presenters to determine their needs and requests, and be physically present to help host the programs. If you think you would enjoy this type of involvement in FANs, please let us know!!! |
NEW WEBSITE FEATURE!
Wildlife of the Month Articles - Click HERE to read about our canyon country neighbors, the northern river otter. Past wildlife articles are also available! PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP.... TODAY!
Our renewal date each year falls on July 1! This means that if you last donated any time during 2022, it's time to renew your membership. Click HERE for more info. If you are not sure when you made your last gift, check with Sue at suekeeper@gmail.com. Night Sky Exploration Adventure was Worth the Wait!
By Eric Hanson (FANs Trail Monitor/Hike Leader)
After 5 years of cancellations, postponements, fires and Covid, FANs Night Sky Exploration Event finally took place on August 20th. As Pine Mountain Observatory volunteers, Jeff Scheetz (FANs member) and I decided to try an educational evening of observing the night sky. This inaugural event came together in a spectacular way, as we wowed 30 FANs members and friends who were willing to shorten their nightly sleep to explore the canopy of celestial objects.
Pictured below, participants were able to explore the night sky with three different types of astronomical telescopes (Refractor, Reflector and Catadioptic).
As the evening progressed, we discussed the importance of dark sky preservation (www.darkskyOregon.org) and viewed wonder after heavenly wonder. We identified over a dozen constellations and asterisms. This is a partial list of our observations…
Visual and Binary Double Stars… Albirio, Mizar, Alcor, Polaris Globular Star Clusters… M4 Scorpius Cluster, M13 Hercules Cluster, M22 Sagittarius Cluster Open Star Clusters… Perseus Double Cluster Planetary Nebula… M57 Rig Nebula Diffuse Nebula… M8 Lagoon Nebula, M20 Trifid Nebula Galaxies… M31 Andromeda Galaxy, M32 Dwarf Galaxy, M110 Companion Galaxy, M81 Galaxy, M82 Cigar Galaxy , M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and companion , Milky Way (our home galaxy) Planets… Saturn with its rings, shadow, and moons. Jupiter with equatorial banding and its moons By the end of the evening, everyone was excited and awestruck by the experience. Participants agreed that tonight's event was worth the wait, and asked about having another “star party” next year! Clear skies to you all and don’t forget to look up |
