Bats and Bugs Highlight Summer Programs at Little River Park

Here's the list of the programs that the park will offer for May through August 2013. We are excited to try some new topics like bat boxes and papermaking. And have a chance to play in the river in July to look for bugs and other water critters.

Tiny Trekkers (age 2-4)

Tiny Trekkers is a series of programs designed for young children ages 2 to 4 years old accompanied by an adult. Trekkers learn about nature through stories, activities, crafts and games.

Things with Wings

 

When: Monday, May 6^th, 10am-11am     

Tuesday, May 7^th, 10am-11am

Where: Large Shelter

Cost: $2.00 per participant

Description:  Trekkers discover what bugs are flying around the park. In addition to a story and a buggy craft, we’ll be releasing some live ladybugs into the garden.

Crawling Critters

When: Monday, June 3rd, 10am-11am

Tuesday, June 4th, 10am-11am

Where: Large Shelter

Cost: $2.00 per participant

Description: Lots of legs, enormous eyes, they skitter and scurry. Trekkers learn some of the cool ways bugs move, listen to a story and make their own little critter.

Buzzy Bees

When: Monday, July 8th, 10am-11am

Tuesday, July 9th, 10am-11am

Where: Large Shelter

Cost: $2.00 per participant

Description: The garden is humming this month with Trekkers and buzzing bumblebees.  Discover what the noise is about with bee stories, crafts and activities.

Hungry Hummingbirds

When: Monday, August 5th, 10am-11am

Tuesday, August 6th, 10am-11am

Where: Large Shelter

Cost: $2.00 per participant

Description: Trekkers try to keep up with the hummingbirds zipping around the park. Participants will learn how they get their food and fly so fast.

Discovery Club (ages 5 and Up)

Discovery Club programs are geared toward children ages 5 & up accompanied by an adult. Programs focus on learning about nature and science through hands-on activities and exploration.  

Bat Box Building

Date: Saturday, May 25th

Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: Small Shelter

Cost: $5.00 per box

Description: Bats are good neighbors – they can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. Learn about these nocturnal animals and construct your own bat house to take home.

Ladybug Release

Date: Saturday, June 22nd

Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Location: Small Shelter

Cost: $5.00 per family/couple/individual

Description:  Help us release thousands of ladybugs into the garden. Find out all about these beneficial insects and why scientists need help studying them. Make a ladybug habitat and bring a few bugs home.

What’s Below?

Date: Saturday, July 27th

Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Location: Small Shelter

Cost: $5.00 per family/couple/individual

Description:  We may not notice them at first but a closer look below the surface of the water reveals many bizarre and interesting creatures. We’ll hike to the river and examine the specimens we net and scoop out of the water. Please note that it is about a 2 mile round trip hike.

Papermaking for Kids

Date: Saturday, August 24th

Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Location: Small Shelter

Cost: $5.00 per family/couple/individual

Description:  Kids will use different types of recycled paper, leaves, flowers, and seeds to produce their own paper. Find out about how trees become paper and forest conservation.

Special Events/Programs

Little River Under the Stars

Date: Friday, May 10

Time:  8:00pm – 10:00pm

Location:  Play Meadow

Description:  The folks from Morehead Planetarium and CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society) bring out the big telescopes and guide us through the night sky. Please call the park after 5pm the day of for cloud cancellation info: (919) 732-5505.

National Trails Day

Date: Saturday, June 1

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm

Description:  Join us for the 21st anniversary of America’s largest trail celebration! Park staff will lead an interpretive hike along portions of the Ridge, North River Loop, and Homestead Trails. Learn about the historic features along the trails as well as some of the flora and fauna found in the park. Or just come out and enjoy the trails! Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy after the hike.

 

Environmental Education at Little River

The Little River Regional Park offers a variety of nature programs for all ages. Regularly scheduled programs and special events are listed below. Park staff can also arrange programs on a variety of topics for schools, scouts, or other groups. For more information, call the park office: (919) 732-5505. Registration is available online: https://server3.co.orange.nc.us/. Pre-registration is required and closes three days prior to the program date.

Spring Star Gazing Dates Announced

Little River is teaming up with Morehead Planetarium again this spring for some star gazing at the park. The telescopes will be set up for viewing in the play meadow with a guided tour of the night sky by Planetarium staff shortly after dark.

Two dates have been scheduled: Friday, March, 15th and Friday, May 10th, from 8-10pm on both nights.

Highlights of this sky watching seesion will be the planet Jupiter and the comet PanSTARRS. There is a new moon on March 11th so we may catch a glimpse of its narrow cresent low in the western sky. And the comet should also be visible for the next few weeks. Watch the skies just after sunset, above and to the left of the sun. The planet Jupiter is visible this month. On the 17th Jupiter and the moon will come into close conjunction,  close to Aldebaran and the Hyades.

Feel free to bring a couple of camp chairs or a blanket, binoculars or your own telescope and a snack. Remember if you bring a flashlight, use a red colored lens to help everyone keep their night vision. Please call the park office at 919-732-5505 after 4pm if the weather looks cloudy.

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This program was made possible through the generous donations of the Trailheads through proceeds from the Little River Trail Runs.

By the Numbers: February 2013

Here are the statistics for February 2013:


Total number of visitors: 2,191

Total rainfall amount: 4.582 inches

Average daily highs: 45.32 degrees

Average daily lows: 29.81 degrees

Mountain bike trails open: 78.3% of the month


For those that like to compare, here are the numbers from January:

Total number of visitors: 3,439

Total rainfall amount: 4.475 inches

Average daily highs: 51.81 degrees

Average daily lows: 34.23 degrees

Mountain bike trails open: 58% of the month

Little River Hosts State-wide Star Party April 5th

State-wide Star Party 

Little River Regional Park and Natural Area will be a part of North Carolina’s first statewide star party, a signature event of the North Carolina Science Festival. Astronomy clubs, state and local parks, planetariums and nature centers will all host public skywatching sessions at dozens of sites across North Carolina on Friday, April 5, 2013.

Participants coming to Little River's Star Party are also invited to take a walk through the planets. A scale model of our solar system will be on display along one of the park's trails. The distance from the Sun to Pluto becomes an easy walk that is less than a half mile.

Citizen Science: GLOBE at Night
 

There will be an opportunity to participate in scientific research by collecting data for the GLOBE at Night worldwide citizen science project. (This research is perfect for children as well as adults.) Count the stars you can see with your unaided eyes in the constellation Leo the Lion. The data collected will help document the darkness of the night sky over North Carolina.

About the NC Science Festival

North Carolina Science Festival is a two-week-long, 500-mile-wide celebration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Across the state, North Carolinians participate in science talks, lab tours, nature experiences, exhibits, performances and other activities, hosted by all kinds of community organizations - schools, colleges and universities, parks, libraries, museums and businesses.
 
NCSF was founded in 2010 by UNC-Chapel Hill's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and is the first statewide science festival in the U.S. Morehead continues to produce the Festival in partnership with many sponsors and event hosts. The 2013 Festival is scheduled for April 5-21, and Time Warner Cable is the 2013 Fesitval Champion.
 
Learn more at www.ncsciencefestival.org. 

Big Donation from Little River Trail Run

The 2013 Little River Trail Run generated an all time record donation from the Trailheads. A check for $8,000 was presented to park staff on February 11th. This was the eighth annual running of the trails and with this year's check the total amount donated to the park over the years exceeds $40,000.

Among other items, the park plans to use some of the money to purchase a zero-turn mower to replace its current mower which is over 8 years old. They will also be able to get a trailer for hauling larger peices of equipment.



Park staff are presented with the donation check from the 2013 Little River Trail Run. Pictured (r to l): Mike DiFabio, Layna Mosley, Dave Elam, and Michelle Pesavento

The Trailheads also presented a check for $1,000 to the Triangle Offroad Cyclists (TORC), the local mountain bike club that helps maintain the mountain bike trails at Little River.



 

 In addition to the monetary donations, the Trailheads also purchased carbon offsets from two different companies. Over the years, the equivalent of 23,000 trees have been planted with the offsets that have been purchased.



By the Numbers: January 2013

One of the features of our print newsletter was publishing some of the statistics that we keep track of here in the park like rainfall amounts, average temperature and the number of visitors. So in keeping with that tradition we begin 2013 with the numbers for January:

Total number of visitors: 3,439

Total rainfall amount: 4.475 inches

Average daily highs: 51.81 degrees

Average daily lows: 34.23 degrees

Mountain bike trails open: 58% of the month

Little River Becomes Smoke-Free in 2013

Starting with the New Year, smokers will have to snuff their butts while in the park. The Orange County Board of Health and the County Commisioners voted last year to adopt a smoke-free public places ordinance which prohibits smoking on county owned property including sidewalks and parks.

So enjoy the fresh, clean air while visiting the park and leave your smokes in the car.

The following is a press release issued by the Orange County Public Information Office about the new rule:

ORANGE COUNTY IMPLEMENTS FIRST PHASE: SMOKE-FREE PUBLIC PLACES RULE

ORANGE COUNTY, NC (January 1, 2013)–Orange County’s Smoke-Free Public Places Rule goes into effect today, beginning with a six-month “soft” implementation period. 

During this period the focus will be on the following aspects: cessation efforts; planning with a focus on education; educating the public about the Rule; and identifying additional funding for cessation support and signage. 

“We need everyone’s help to ensure the implementation goes as smoothly as possible, resulting in a successful outcome,” said Orange County Health Director, Dr. Colleen Bridger.

To ensure a unified and common sense approach, the Orange County Health Department is establishing a Smoke-Free Public Places Implementation Advisory Committee with multiple workgroups focused on: cessation; public education; signage, and enforcement.

The workgroups will be made up of representatives from the County and municipal planning and public works departments, public schools, Prevention Partners, the UNC School of Medicine Nicotine Dependence Program, American Cancer Society, students from Tobacco. Reality. Unfiltered. (TRU), and Orange County’s Parks and Recreation division. Representatives from the Chambers of Commerce have also been invited. Meetings with the police chiefs and Orange County Sheriff’s Department are already underway.

The first phase of public education will promote cessation services, available through the NC Quitline, a free cessation resource for NC residents. In addition, the Health Department, along with partners such as UNC Family Medicine will take a lead role establishing additional ways to help people quit including in person classes and counseling. These resources will be promoted as they become available.

Each town and county manager has been invited to a Smoking Cessation Resources Lunch & Learn event to be held in mid-January, where county/town managers and HR Directors will learn ways to help their employees quit smoking.

Smoke-Free Public Places Background

The Smoke-Free Public Places Rule applies to property owned by Orange County and the municipal governments, including parks and sidewalks. Smoking would also not be allowed on private property where the public is invited. The UNC campus and other state governed facilities will continue operating under their existing smoking ordinances and will not be affected by this new rule.

Beginning on July 1, 2013, a $25 fine may be issued to violators, but the emphasis is being placed on awareness of the consequences of secondhand smoke and reversing people’s behavior in an effort to improve the County’s overall quality of life.

The idea of a smoke-free public places ordinance in Orange County originated two years ago when a group of County high schools students approached the Board of Health, requesting they consider adopting such a rule. After an extensive public education and input period, the Rule was brought to a Board of Health vote following a public hearing on October 24, 2012, and passed 10-1. On November 20, 2012, the Board of Orange County Commissioners approved the Rule with a majority vote.

To view the Rule, learn about existing cessation resources, and learn more about the dangers of secondhand smoke, please visit http://orangecountync.gov/health/smoke-freepublicplaces.asp