ALERT! Our apologies, but a corrupt link was found in our enews sent out this morning, so we're re-sending with that link under "Thank Your Spiders" removed. So please enjoy and share this version of our newsletter instead. (Remaining links for spiders and everything else should be fine.)

We Love Sharing Fall & Winter with Students!

The aspens are golden and the snow will be sparkling soon. Let's put on our layers and our daypacks and explore!

Fall Adventure Day Camp October 6-10

Have you registered your kids yet? Get your kids or grandkids outdoors during fall break for new learning adventures.

Register here while we still have openings!

Contact Day Camp Director Kit for more Adventure Day Camp information for your 6-12-year-olds or to volunteer.

Let us know if you can share a couple of 45-minute presentations yourself. Share your skills and passions!

Teachers, bring classes for day field studies at Galena Creek or Spooner Lake October 13-17 or in February for snowshoeing. We'll help students meet multiple science standards as they hike in the forest and do fun hands-on activities.

See more about science day excursions here .

There's just one session still open January 20-21 for overnight winter ecology and snowshoe trips on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe Science Camp info and registration here.

Contact Executive Director Emily right away to plan for cool science on cool days for your cool kids.

Fall Color Family Hike October 11

Thomas Creek always puts on the best show with glowing golden aspens, and we hope we timed a good date for it. This will be an easy hike from 10-noon for all ages with an aspen activity for the kids. Bring your layers, camera, water, and enjoy!

Details and Registration here.

Aspen Facts

• The leaves shimmer and quake with the slightest breeze due to their flattened stems called petioles.
• They clone themselves forming vast groves connected by their roots making them the biggest single creature on earth.
• They're the most widely distributed tree in North America found from coast to coast.
• Their distinctive white bark contains salicin, useful for alleviating fever, pain, and inflammation.
• They are quick to repopulate after fires or logging and symbolize resilience and transformation.
• Beavers love to feed on them and build with them, and they also provide food and shelter for other animals.
• They like moist well-drained habitats and help stabilize the soil and reduce erosion.

Meet Our Team

We're proud of our naturalist educators. They're so fun and knowledgeable and have a lot to share with our students. You can read about some of them on our website here, and it will be updated with the rest of them soon.

Can You Boost Your Attention Span?

"A University of Michigan study found students’ test scores rose nearly 20% after a nature walk, compared with minor gains from walking in urban settings. Psychologist Marc Berman and others attribute this to “attention restoration theory,” which suggests our limited focus gets depleted by daily life and replenished by nature’s “softly fascinating” stimuli, like watching rolling ocean waves. Natural patterns, such as curving rocks or falling snowflakes, may give our brain a rest."

--New York Times, August 2025

Thank Your Spiders

We sing about thanking spiders with our students, and there are many reasons why. As skilled predators they help control insects and other pests, and in turn provide food for birds, lizards, and frogs in the web of life. Their silk is stronger than steel for its weight and has endless potential biomedical and engineering applications. Studying their venom, silk, and intricate hunting strategies can help unlock nature's secrets.

Learn eight strange but true facts about these fascinating arachnids.

Easy Paper Spider Webs

Decorate for Halloween with these cute and easy spider webs. If you've made paper snowflakes before, it's the same idea. Find paper folding and cutting instructions from LittleRedWindow.com here. For extra effect, add some fake spiders.

Thanks for Program Support

We're excited to be back on the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe at Camp Galilee again this month. This beautiful camp with cozy heated cabins, scrumptious meals, and proximity to other outstanding field study sites such as Spooner Lake and the Tahoe Environmental Science Center has been our home for overnight multi-day science camps for over twenty years. We appreciate how they work with us making this paradise accessible to local children, many of whom who have never even seen Lake Tahoe before.

The children pictured above spent four days and three nights on Tahoe's shore with us becoming young botanists, geologists, and astronomers, hiking in the forest, and making lifetime memories. This was only possible for this Title I school with a lot of community support for which their families and teachers are forever grateful. Please help keep these experiences accessible for kids like this with your generous support.

Thanks for caring about our students experiencing nature's benefits.

or mail checks to:

Great Basin Outdoor School, 1000 Bible Way #53, Reno, NV 89502.

A No-Cost Way to Support Our Kids

Our friends at Gear Hut are accepting winter gear this month and will sell and re-home your clean modern used winter gear to support our youth programs if you specify your donation is for Great Basin Outdoor School. See details on what they can accept here. They're at 318 Broadway in Reno.

Please share these opportunities.

Forward to colleagues who care about kids and our Earth.

See more on our website and our Facebook page.

GREAT BASIN OUTDOOR SCHOOL

1000 Bible Way #53 - Reno, NV 89502

775-324-0936

Emily Baldwin, Executive Director

Kit Huntington, Day Camp Director

Sue Jacox, Board President