Rainbow Sandals Foundation in partnership with WildCare is providing access to outings and activities that connect children and families to the natural world in a meaningful and inclusive way. This program continues the inspiring legacy of Zeva Longley, a passionate and renowned environmental educator. It is designed to help under-represented children and families in the Canal District of San Rafael, CA overcome barriers to first-hand experiences in the outdoors and in our region’s parks and open spaces.
The third hike of the summer was at Tennessee Valley on Saturday August 24. Here is a summary of the hike from WildCare’s bilingual (Spanish/English) nature educator, Cecilia:
The morning was overcast and it even rained for maybe an hour or so. I made sure to text the families to confirm the hike was not canceled and encouraged them to bring jackets and raincoats. Fortunately, it did not rain on us and we even got the sunshine and the nice smells of all the plants after it rained.
Although Tennessee Valley was busy, we were still lucky to find some creatures like caterpillars, lizards, and snails! We had a few moments of quietness and took advantage to listen to the birds and other sounds of nature. I was very proud when I heard some of the kids already identifying turkey vultures and herons when we spotted them!
The kids and their parents were very engaged in completing the Bingo I prepared for them, and thanks to Deb and Mare we all learned new things about the flowers and plants we found along the way. We even tasted the pollen of Yarrow and found eucalyptus seeds with stars of 4, 5 and 6 points!
The hike was definitely longer than the past ones, but everyone was very eager to get to the beach. Once we got there we enjoyed our lunch and the beautiful views. Everyone felt in their element and enjoyed different activities like playing soccer, building sand structures, looking for pebbles and identifying them or just walking and sharing some good times with the group. Particularly one of the parents was very happy and shared with me that her son with autism was very calm once he touched the sand, he spent most of the time at the beach feeling the sand on his hands and feet. It was wonderful to see everyone having fun in their own way at the beach!