• Assisted visitors with snowshoes and techniques for measuring trees at Fort Snelling State Park for the National Park Service.
• Chaperoned a 5th grade field trip to William O’Brien State Park to learn about and catch bugs.
• Gave tours of my native plants garden for Wild Ones.
• Gave feedback to staff of Great River Greening regarding a presentation they developed.
• Represented the MN Master Naturalists at the first annual Landscape Revival: Native Plant Expo & Market. Talked to attendees about the Master Naturalist program and about the benefits of native plants.
• Represented Great River Greening at a fundraiser at Ten Thousand Villages store.
• Collected sap from maple trees at Tamarack Nature Center.
• Weeded the native prairie demonstration plot at Crosby Farm Park for St. Paul Parks.
• Removed invasive burdock from Hidden Falls Park for the Mississippi River Fund.
• Planted native plants in a terraced forest at Como Park for St. Paul Parks.
• Searched for Jack-in-the-Pulpit berries/seeds and picked up trash at Coldwater Springs for the National Park Service.

I enjoy getting outside to volunteer for the benefit of the environment. Being a Minnesota Master Naturalist motivates me to do so. Master Naturalists pledge 40 hours of their time each year to protecting nature and often end up enjoying it at the same time!

• I took up a new hobby in 2010—birdwatching. I was fortunate enough to tag along with a group of expert birders, logging about 40 hours with them. Not only did I see many birds I had never seen, I also visited many local parks I had never visited. Thanks Monday Morning Birding Bunch!

• I enjoyed the company of my husband and my dog during two relaxing camping trips at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area—near Ely and on the Gunflint Trail. Canoeing, hiking, swimming, birdwatching and stargazing were excellent.

• I attempted to make healthy and sustainable food choices by shopping at a local food co-op and supporting a local farm through a CSA membership.

• I watched my 2nd-year native plants garden grow and observed how the butterflies, bees, caterpillars and birds are attracted to native plants.

• In my own small way of trying to get others interested in nature, I gave Toastmasters speeches about the Minnesota Master Naturalist program and about my EcoStrides blog.

• H and I purchased snowshoes for our Minnesota nieces and nephews for Christmas and then we all went on a short snowshoeing and sledding adventure.

• I logged 47 hours of volunteering as a Minnesota Master Naturalist. My projects included:

1. Pulling invasive garlic mustard at Crosby Farm Park for Friends of the Mississippi River
2. Weeding at Como Lake’s shoreline for St. Paul Parks
3. Removing invasive burdock from Como Park Woods for St. Paul Parks
4. Collecting seed of native prairie plants at Woodbury Conservation Corridor and Lost Valley Scientific and Natural Area for Great River Greening
5. Supervising teens in stacking buckthorn at Lost Valley Scientific and Natural Area for Great River Greening
6. Spreading mulch under new shrubs under the Xcel Energy High Bridge for Great River Greening
7. Cutting and piling brush at Lost Valley Scientific and Natural Area for the Minnesota DNR
8. Cleaning seeds previously collected for Great River Greening
9. Talking to visitors about native plants during a neighborhood garden tour
10. Addressing envelopes for the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
11. Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count

Here’s to 2011 and more outdoor escapades!

Its turquoise waters, tall conifers and snow-capped mountains will take your breath away and make you want to stay forever!

My husband and I visited this glacially-fed lake in June 2006. From the vantage point of the rock pile we saw both a small avalanche and a small forest fire high in the mountains—at the same time! Not something you see everyday—or is it, if you live in the Canadian Rockies?

Renting a canoe to explore this awesome lake was such a treat! I highly recommend it. We also had a lovely lunch on the outdoor patio of the Moraine Lake Lodge. If you have limited time in the area, skip Lake Louise and spend your entire day at Moraine Lake. I must return here! Maybe next time we’ll splurge and stay at the lodge. It’d be worth it.

Please do not use photos without my permission.

08/23/10 — Gunflint Trail, Minnesota — It was a hot and windy day so we opted to hang out around camp instead of going out in the canoe. The Nuthatches were my entertainment for the day. It’s fun to watch them flutter around pine cones, picking out seeds and bringing them to another tree. Their calls sound like nasal beeps.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch was just one of the species involved in entertaining me on vacation. Here is the list of birds I saw on our week-long camping trip at the edge of the Boundary Waters. (One thing I’ve learned about birders is that they like to make lists.)

1. White-throated Sparrow
2. Cedar Waxwing
3. American Robin
4. Black-capped Chickadee
5. Red-breasted Nuthatch
6. Dark-eyed Junco
7. Gray Jay
8. Common Grackle
9. American Crow
10. Common Raven
11. Ring-billed Gull
12. Hairy Woodpecker
13. Northern Flicker
14. Pileated Woodpecker
15. Common Nighthawk
16. Common Loon
17. Hooded Merganser
18. Mallard
19. Turkey Vulture
20. Osprey
21. Bald Eagle

08/23/2010, Gull Lake, Gunflint Trail, Minnesota

They were all inspired by nature.

In her book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus describes biomimicry as a “new science that studies nature’s models and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems.”

I find this topic fascinating. I first learned of the concept of biomimicry years ago from an article in Utne Reader, Mimicking Mother Nature. More information can be found at the non-profit Biomimicry Institute, and from the TED talk video (below).

It seems obvious that scientists and engineers should be looking to nature for ideas, but what about the rest of us? Could we apply biomimicry to everyday living? It’s time to go outside and start looking at flora and fauna from a new perspective.

Video clip showing the tranquility of canoeing on Lake One near Ely, Minnesota