Sandy Creek Nature Center

A reminder, since Cedar Waxwings are arriving back into town... Nandina berries can be deadly to birds. Consider removing them from your yard, or at least trimming the berries and disposing them in the trash.

Here's a unique photo taken around 2:30 pm Monday, Oct. 19, 2020 with Sandy Creek Nature Center's Coronado Personal Solar Prominence Telescope by Dr. Maurice Snook. This special telescope allows one to view the sun in the wavelength of glowing hydrogen gas at 656 nm which is in the red part of the spectrum. Solar prominences are huge gaseous plasmas (ionized gas) ejected from the sun and sometimes form loops following the sun's magnetic field lines. They frequently arise n...ear sunspots although we are currently just coming out of a sunspot cycle minimum. Sunspot cycles last 11 years. The prominence in the picture is many times larger than the earth. (Estimated to be about 50 earths across!) Before the invention of these specialized telescopes, the only way to see prominences was during a solar eclipse. Some may have seen them during the 2017 eclipse if you were in the path of totality. Technical details: 1/25 sec exposure, f/5.6, ISO 1600, 18-55 mm zoom lens set at 55 mm. Camera hand held at the eyepiece. See more

Laurie Loftin, the Water Conservation Coordinator with Athens Clarke County Water Conservation Office is full of puns. This is a bright start to any Friday and we love all the puns in this clip. A huge thank you to Laurie Loftin for all the puns and as always we hope this makes you smile. Don't forget to go outside and enjoy nature. Find something that makes you happy!

Field trips look really different these days. Kate and Brittany, naturalists at Sandy Creek Nature Center, are leading virtual field trips for 3rd & 4th graders... in Clarke County School District. Students have been learning about habitats, ecosystems, & frog calls this fall. Kate and Brittany are splitting time between the classroom at the Nature Center and Claypit Pond. Students, teachers, & naturalists all get to interact in real time to answer questions. When challenges come, we try to find a way to continue to serve the Athens community. Technology has been helpful but we are excited for the days of in-person field trips again!

Watch NASA's attempt to gather samples from an asteroid this afternoon!

On Saturday, volunteers from the UGA Arnold Air Society/Silver Wings helped out with the nature center trails. We checked them all for issues from the flooding earlier this month & performed basic maintenance as well. Volunteers make a huge difference at Sandy Creek. If you'd like to be a trail maintenance volunteer, you can become a TrailKeeper and adopt your own trail. Contact us for more details.

Our Friends at East Athens Community Center had their own cooking experience today. Michelle visited and took a little footage to get inspired for our Snailed IT program!

We saved the best for last! Our finale for the day is Dr. Maurice Snook. It isn't Scary Oozy Slimy Day without Dr. Snook! He shares with us some scary, oozy and slimy experiments. Check out the website for links to some experiments you can try at home.

Snailed It! Staff compete for bragging rights.

Now that you've learned what might make noise at night, you can see two of those in person. Join Megan Hong, from Bear Hollow Zoo, to learn about two of their program ambassadors that are nocturnal.

Do you hear squeaks or scratching at night? What could it be? Most likely an animal is outside or in your house. Learn about noises made by animals at night.