Nancy Fusco » arboretum

Take a hike!

Nancy — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:35:59 +0000

Well, I hid another cache recently! I volunteer, as you know, up at the Arboretum and there was only 1 geocache there. What?! 1?!

Now that is unacceptable! So, to inspire more people to visit the Arboretum, I hid a cache out there amongst the Oaks:

As you can see, things are getting rather lush out at the Arboretum – beautiful place to spend a few hours with nature. Just on the other side of this hiking path are some lounge chairs where you can chill and listen to the birds and enjoy the breeze and the sun.

Whoa! I got lost in a moment there… *ahem* My mind went here:

Even if you’re not into geocaching (muggle say what?), the Arboretum is a great place to find your happy place.

Brenton Arboretum Compass Treasure Map

Nancy — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:05:57 +0000

Just finished the design of the treasure map that I’ll be using to teach kids how to use a compass on Earth Day at the Brenton Arboretum. I spent yesterday morning out at the Arboretum getting the bearings and marking which trees, stumps and patches of thick brush I want to hide the treasure markers in. Once I had the coordinates and directional location from magnetic North, I was able to mark them on the map using basic Orienteering symbols and Topography.

The full size image is about 6 inches x 8 inches, of which the kids will get to take home as a poster along with a red piratey carabiner “adventurer’s clip”. Here’s a smaller version. I created this in Gimp and I learned a lot of new techniques that I’ll be writing about over the next few days.

Brenton Arboretum Volunteer Day

Nancy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Another volunteer day at The Brenton Arboretum! Getting closer and closer to spring! Can’t wait to see this place in May, it’s going to be amazing!

From the Brenton Arboretum website: “This unique central Iowa arboretum combines the horticultural study of trees with a commitment to natural landscape management and conservation. At the Brenton Arboretum, visitors can study over 2,500 trees and shrubs, surrounded by a beautiful natural setting of native prairie, wetlands, a lake, pond and streams.”

Read more about this beautiful Arboretum!