Dayna Kraklio

This summer’s Explore the River Series has been very memorable to say the least! We had our first Channel Cat Talk that was geared towards kids, and it went well. We had many students from the Bettendorf School District on the first Channel Cat Talk, many who had never been out on the Mississippi River before! It was a great first river experience with many birds and sightings along the way.On our Raptors Along the River Channel Cat Talk, we saw a family of eagles in the tree line along the river in Bettendorf. Two adults and their juvenile child, who still had brown feathers! Dave Murcia with the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center did a great job spotting for us even from far away.We have heard from many great speakers like Karen Anderson who spoke at the Steam Boating Along the Upper Mississippi River Channel Cat Talk and Matt Johnson who spoke at the Infrastructure Along Pool 15.If you have not already had the chance, you need to experience the Explore the River Series for yourself! We have our Saving Monarch Butterflies Riverine Walk this week on July 12th from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM and July 15th from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM. This week’s Riverine Walk will take place at Nahant Marsh Education Center, and you will hear from Paige Burke who is the co-founder of the Quad City Monarch Rescue Team about what their team does to help the declining Monarch Butterfly population. You will even hunt for some Monarch eggs and caterpillars in the prairie around the marsh on Saturday morning!If butterflies aren’t your thing, we have plenty of other lectures that may peak your interest like River Landscape Mosaic, given by Dr. Norm Moline and Dr. Reuben Heine on August 1st and 3rd from 8:45 AM – 10:45 AM. At this Channel Cat Talk, river processes and different environmental issues will be discussed with two very knowledgeable professors from Augustana College. There is also Creepy Quad Cities on August 30th from 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM and September 2nd from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM for our spookier audiences. This Riverine Walk will be given by Michael McCarty who is the co-author of “Eerie Quad Cities” and “Ghosts of the Quad Cities”. You will get to hear all about the creepy tales from the Quad Cities that are featured in Michael’s books.We have so many different lectures, there is something for everyone! You can check out more of River Action’s Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks at our website, riveraction.org/education. You do not want to miss out so sign up soon!

The weather has been beautiful and sunny lately and I have been spending a lot of my time outdoors. Some of my favorite things to do are walk through the local parks and ride my bike on Duck Creek Trail. I love watching the trees grow their leaves back and flowers start to bloom. When I am out, I see some people using the green spaces like I am, but not a lot of people and even less kids. It makes me wonder why more people do not utilize these beautiful spaces. How do we encourage people to go outdoors and enjoy nature?River Action has come up with a way to combat summer couch potatoes with our environmental scavenger hunt, Explore & Seek. Explore & Seek is an expansion on our Ride & Seek scavenger hunt last summer as we want everyone, even individuals without bicycles to be able to participate in the fun. Explore & Seek will take friends and families to parks and conservation areas all around the Quad Cities. The goal is to walk, hike, run, or bike to find clues to answer the questions you are provided. If you answer all the questions by the end of June, you will be entered into a drawing to win fun prizes! Some of the amazing places you will go to include Devil’s Glen Park in Bettendorf, West Lake Park in Davenport, and Sunset Park in Rock Island. There are 20 parks and green spaces in all, and you get to choose the route! We will also have the event on the I Naturalist App, where participants can upload pictures of their plant, animal, and insect observations on a platform for everyone to see!We hope that Explore & Seek will encourage friends and families to get outside and utilize the beautiful green spaces around the Quad Cities while promoting environmental awareness. Instead of your family doing separate activities at home like playing video games and watching TV, why not get your family to explore the local parks together while looking for clues!Explore & Seek will begin on June 1st so make sure you sign-up soon while supplies last! Packets cost $30 if picked up at the River Action office and $37 if you would like the event packet mailed to your home. The packet will include two fanny packs, two field guide notebooks, a map, questions and clues for the conservation areas, an answer sheet and coupons for local businesses that are nearby. We hope you and your family will join us this summer to explore the Quad City natural areas!