It’s hard to imagine snow canceling a “Snow Moon” event on Saturday, but that’s exactly what happened at the Highlands Nature Center this past weekend.
Nature center environmental education specialist Paige Engelbrektsson has been hard at work over the past year developing new programs for students of all ages at the Nature Center, 980 Horse Cove Road in Highlands.
“We’ve been hosting the Knee-High Naturalist for children between 3-5 years of age not enrolled in a pre-school or daycare program throughout the winter,” she said. “I was looking to create a program for three-to-five year-olds and on Fridays mornings I thought the Nature Center could provide something experiential, about the environment and outdoors as much as possible.”
The Knee-High Naturalist, an hour-long fun and learning session in the children’s room at the Nature Center, meets every Friday from 10-11 a.m. and fell victim to the threat of snow.
“We pick a topic and read the children a story then, weather permitting we either head outside or into the museum where we have activities planned.”
On Saturday, the second victim of the weekend weather was the moonlit walk through the gardens.
“The full moon in February is called the ‘Snow’ moon,” she said. “Just as the January moon is the Wolf moon and in March it’s known as the ‘Worm’ moon.”
The snow moon is called such in February after the snow on the ground, Engelbrektsson said.
And on the day the Nature Center intended to celebrate the snow moon, it snowed.
“We try to schedule these events as close to the full moon as possible,” she said. “And this year, the snow moon fell on a day it snowed. I was hopeful we could still do something, but it didn’t happen.”
January’s wolf moon was named for the wolf’s howling. The Worm moon is the last full moon before the vernal equinox, which signals the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
During the monthly moon events, visitors are invited to walk the Botanical Gardens awash in the light of the full moon.
“Normally the gardens are open from dawn until dusk, but during the full moon we meet at dusk,” she said.
Other monthly events carrying the Nature Center through the winter include Nature 101 and A Garden in Every Season.
Nature 101 meets on the third Tuesday of every month, though in March, the group will meet on Monday, March 17 from 10 – 11:30 a.m.
“Nature 101 is a basic nature class for those who don’t have a lot of experience outdoors in the mountains,” Engelbrektsson said. “Recently, we showed the class how to identify a tree without any leaves on it.”
A Garden in Every Season will meet monthly from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. though an exact date has yet to be determined.
“The premise of ‘A Garden in Every Season’ is just that, different types of gardens you can plant for each season,” Engelbrektsson said.
Engelbrektsson, 29, came to Highlands by way of Southern Oregon University where she received her Master’s degree in Environmental Education. A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Engelbrektsson has lived in a variety of mountain environments.
“I love the mountains here and I love the people,” she said. “I have lived in all the mountain ranges, but here you have proper winters, and have such lovely springs and falls.”
Charlotte Muir, executive director of the Biological Station Foundation called Engelbrektsson a valuable addition to the Nature Center staff.
“Paige has taken the Nature Center from a summer place to a year round place,” Muir said.
The Highlands Nature Center will open for the season on April 2 for weekends only, until May.