PEEC’s new summer program takes kids out in nature to play, hike and be creative. Photo by Denise Matthews
PEEC News:
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) is offering a new program this summer for 5 to 8 year olds, called Forest Explorers. This hike-and-play club will take children on weekly hikes, every Wednesday beginning June 14 through Aug. 9, with ample time for child-directed play in nature.
Forest Explorers is a 9-week drop off program that meets 9:30-11 a.m. each Wednesday at the Los Alamos Nature Center, starting June 14. The children will take hikes into the canyon next to the nature center and play in the creek and surrounding forest. They will have time to build forts, make seasonal observations, learn to identify different plants and animals, and create their own nature journal.
The Forest Explorers class is taught by educator Jessie Dixon and will allow children to have fun outside while working cooperatively, building gross motor skills, and learning more about the local ecology.
Dixon taught for 14 years in the classroom and alongside the Rio Grande. She worked for the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program taking students outside to collect data, do science, and explore the river and its surrounding landscape. Dixon can be spotted hiking with her three children on local trails.
Admission to this 9-week program is $110 for PEEC members and $135 for non-members. Advance registration is required at www.peecnature.org/events, and space is limited to 20 children.
PEEC was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening their connections to our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies. PEEC operates the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, holds regular programs and events, and hosts a number of interest groups from birding to hiking to butterfly watching.
PEEC activities are open to everyone; however, members receive exclusive benefits such as discounts on programs and merchandise. Annual memberships start at $35. To learn more, visit www.peecnature.org.
