Pam Boedeker
SaddleBrooke Nature Club meetings will resume on October 12. During the summer months the Executive and Program Boards are making plans for next season.
At a recent board meeting members reflected on some of their favorite programs and field trips.
Ron Andrea, vice president, recalled the club’s fieldtrip to Cottonwood. The train ride, the dinner show and Ghost Riders in the Sky made the trip most memorable.
Dan Chase, past president, talked about the club’s field trip to the Tucson Wildlife Rescue Center. We saw injured animals being treated and older animals acting as surrogates to babies that had been orphaned. The hospital, which is now open, was under construction at the time of our visit.
Sam Sollenberger, president, was impressed with the fieldtrip to Sweetwater, a local 700 acre preserve where we saw an amazing variety of birds on a beautiful day in Tucson.
Karen Moore, treasurer, remembered the field trip to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park for a behind the scenes tour. A highlight was a drooling camel that wanted to make friends with reluctant club members. There was also a very pregnant giraffe that just couldn’t make it happen while we were there.
Pam Boedeker, secretary, loved the presentation by Nancy and Steve Zalewski about backyard birding and the proper way to use binoculars. The field trip to their backyard revealed just how many birds we can see right here in SaddleBrooke.
In over four years SaddleBrooke Nature Club has had a wide variety of speakers and topics. Doris Evans has now become an annual favorite with her up-close photography and in-depth study of local flora and fauna. Her presentation on the roadrunner and Bobcat Mountain were two that Carole Chase found especially memorable.
We have eaten cookies made from mesquite flour.
We learned about San Pedro River Project and followed up with a field trip with Dave Gann from The Nature Conservancy. We were informed about poisons in the desert; how to recognize and treat them. We’ve heard about bees and bats, reptiles and ranchers, archaeology and arachnids and so much more!
Next season starts October 12, 4:00 p.m., in the Coyote Room at the HOA 1 Clubhouse. A speaker from Tohon Chul will give a program on Ethnobotany. A fieldtrip to the park should be an interesting follow-up.
For further information about SaddleBrooke Nature Club check out the website SaddleBrookeNatureClub.com.