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The microfossils a bit too small to see, but the smiles (and concentration) on these kids’ faces is undeniable!

naturalsciences paleontologists and the_dinosaur_cowboy got to spend the day with 12 awesome 8th graders at Garfield County High School. Not only were they the first class to …experience cretaceouscreatures before it expands to other states across the nation, but they’re the students who live on the land near where these microfossils were found!

This is one of the best parts of working in #citsci or #publicscience: meeting the people in the communities you collaborate with to see the impact in person, and in turn, be impacted by their knowledge and enthusiasm.

Create your own tapestry inspired by wattles with expert Valerie Kirk! 🧵

🌿Dates: 17 – 31 October 2024 (3 weeks)
🌿Days/Times: Thursdays 1.30pm – 4.30pm
🌿Venue: NatureArt Lab Studio, M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, ACT

Suitable for both beginners …and advanced weavers. This tapestry workshop concentrates on looking at wattle as an inspiration for tapestry design and weaving. Beginners will warp up a small loom and learn the basic techniques of flat and cut pile tapestry weaving, moving on to weave a simple design with variations of colours in the weft. Experienced weavers will design and weave their small tapestry focusing on blending colours and tone in the weft, flat and cut pile weave. Advanced techniques and problem solving will be covered. The beginners’ and advanced students’ tapestries will be cut off the loom and finished off to display.

Sign up for this class today by visiting our website or via our shop links!
https://natureartlab.com.au/collections/courses/products/tapestry-weaving-wattles-with-valerie-kirk

#citsci #nature #arttherapy #canberra #natureart #botanicalart #whatsoncanberra #natureartlab #botanical #education #weavingtapestry #weavingworkshop #weavingloom #weaving

Naturfreunde aufgepasst: Vom 20. bis 30. September findet das zweite deutschlandweite Monitoring für Igel und Maulwürfe in diesem Jahr statt. 👀 Wenn ihr in diesen elf Tagen einen oder mehrere der beiden Insektenfresser entdeckt, könnt ihr das im Rahmen der bundesweiten Aktion „Deutschland …sucht Igel und Maulwurf“ melden. 😊 Die Sichtungen helfen uns dabei, ein genaueres Bild über die Verbreitung und den Bestandstrend der beiden Arten zu erhalten. Bisher ist die Datenlage dazu noch lückenhaft. Ob ein Igel im Park oder frisch aufgeworfene Maulwurfshügel im Garten, ob lebende, tote, verletzte Tiere oder auch keine Funde – alle Meldungen sind wertvoll.

🔗 Hier könnt ihr eure Sichtungen melden (Link in Bio): https://igelsuche.de und in Bayern: www.igel-in-bayern.de/

🦔 Igel könnt ihr am besten nach Anbruch der Dämmerung beobachten. Auf der Suche nach Nahrungsreserven für den Winterschlaf sind sie momentan sehr aktiv. Wenn ihr regelmäßig Igelbesuch im Garten habt, könnt ihr versuchen, diesen mit einem Foto zu dokumentieren. 📷 Maulwürfe hingegen sind das ganze Jahr über aktiv. Ihre frischen Erdhügel sind aber ein guter Nachweis von Vorkommen.

📊 In den vergangene beiden Monitoring-Phasen wurden insgesamt über 16.600 Igel und 3.200 Maulwurfshügel gemeldet. Dank dieser aktuellen Informationen über das Vorkommen können wir wirksame Schutzmaßnahmen leichter entwickeln und durchsetzen. Ein großes Dankeschön an alle von euch, die bei der Aktion mitmachen und sie unterstützen. 🫶

➡️ „Deutschland sucht Igel und Maulwurf“ ist ein gemeinsames Projekt von der Deutschen Wildtier Stiftung, NABU|naturgucker, dem Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung, der Deutschen Gartenbau-Gesellschaft 1822 e. V., dem NABU Bundesverband und dem Landesbund für Vogel- und Naturschutz in Bayern (LBV). Ziel ist, ein langfristiges Monitoring zu Verbreitung und Vorkommen von Igel und Maulwurf in Deutschland zu etablieren. Die hieraus gewonnenen Erkenntnisse erlauben zukünftig eine Bewertung der Bestandssituation von Igel und Maulwurf. Darauf aufbauend können auch gezielte Artenschutzmaßnahmen initiiert werden.

Learn all about colour pencil as a medium for nature-inspired art! ✏

🌿Dates: 16 October – 6 November 2024
🌿Days/Times: Wednesdays 9:30am – 12.30pm
🌿Location: NatureArt Lab Studio, M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, ACT

Not sure where to begin with …creating your own colour pencil drawing? This course will cover the basics of colour pencil drawing, getting familiar with colour pencil types and equipment choices. The course includes colour theory, learning how to mix and blend colours and create a range of textures.

Sign up for this class today by visiting our website or via our shop links!
https://natureartlab.com.au/collections/courses/products/introduction-to-colour-pencil-with-renee-prescott

#citsci #nature #arttherapy #canberra #natureart #whatsoncanberra #natureartlab #education #drawing #illustration #drawingclass #illustrations #howtodraw #colorpencil #sketching #colourpencil

Black Rustic moth 🖤
Such a beautiful autumnal moth, and quite possibly one of my favourite rustics!
Not just black in colour but blue, green, purple- with a beautiful yellow kidney mark on each wing.

There’s not many moths I’d stumble around in the dark for during a power cut at 1.30am, but for a Convolvulus Hawkmoth…I most certainly did! ✨
Our streets power went out last night which (thankfully) triggered some shop alarms which woke me up. I figured my moth trap light would also be… out (it was) so I fumbled around with my phone torch light to see which moths were still around. As light rain was forecast I had put my trap out in my porch as it helps trap more moths in, and keeps everything/everyone dry. As soon as I unlocked and opened my kitchen door a huge WHOOSH went over my head as something very large flew into the kitchen. I knew exactly what it would be.
I had no moth pots big enough on hand to catch it, so had to make do with a small Pyrex container.
It (of course) landed on the highest point on the ceiling, meaning I had to climb on the counters in the darkness. With great success I held one of the biggest moths I’ve ever caught in the UK ✨ I promptly popped it in the container into the fridge next to my leftover casserole, to observe and lose my shit over in the morning 🌅 . Which is exactly what happened 5 hours later ✨✨
Moth trapping is seldom this dramatic 😂
Please note how huge their eyes are…I had no idea until I took this photo!

Just because summer is over doesn’t mean there isn’t still some colour out there ✨
I very rarely try for a staged group photo, as it can be a pickle getting everyone to sit still and I like to release them as soon as I can…but it was so chilly this morning that no one seemed to be in a …hurry!

Each has adapted in their own way to live in this world. Isn’t that marvellous 😍
Photo one: September thorn, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Burnished Brass, Ruby Tiger
Photo 2: Ruby Tiger, Burnished Brass
Photo 3: Rosy Rustic (because they’re ❤️‍🔥)