new plant book - hot off the press!

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.
Upcoming FANs Events:
Click on the title for more info and to register.....
Please remember that registration generally opens one month prior to the event.
 
October 6 - Guided Hike: Alder Springs Autumn Colors
October 15 - Lens on Learning: Golden Eagles
November 19 - Lens on Learning: Mule Deer Biology
December 2 - Holiday Party   (details coming soon)
January 21 - Lens on Learning: Dark Sky Initiative
Click HERE to learn about our Youth Stewardship Education Field Trip with the Redmond Proficiency Academy!
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.
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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!!!
PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP.... TODAY!
Our renewal date each year falls on July 1!  This means that if you last donated any time during 2021, 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
The videos below will pique your interest and inspire you to join us.....      Enjoy!
"Beauty in the Canyons,"  by Tom Iraci, features images from the Deschutes Canyon Area.
Friends and Neighbors of the Deschutes Canyon Area
fansofdeschutes@gmail.com
P.O. Box 2127, Terrebonne, OR  97760