Nature & Outdoors
ExploreCranston: Discover Where the Wild Things Are
Shuffling between shopping plazas and crouching between cul-de-sacs are forests, rivers and a bay. You might be living next door to one. Steven Stycos and a band of volunteers are offering three events this summer to reveal the secrets of these hidden places. The program, called ExploreCranston, includes a range of activities such as fishing, photography and sailing.
“I had been thinking about doing more outdoor education programs for children with Friends of the Pawtuxet,” said Stycos. “I went to a workshop at URI this spring where the state parks chief Steve Wright described the state program Parks Pursuit and a smaller effort by the West Greenwich Land Trust.”
“I think we need to expose kids to the outdoors. I find the kids enthusiastic to learn about nature, but unaware of basic information like what poison ivy looks like and names for basic plants like milkweed.”
ExploreCranston embarks on Saturday June 20, with an event called Farm & River Day; a day of birdwatching, canoeing and a later that evening, a firefly walk. On Saturday July 18, explorers will get a chance to try some fishing, photography, and and a nature walk at an event called Nature Close Up. On Saturday August 8, ExploreCranston concludes with Take Yourself to Sea, an afternoon of sailing on Narragansett Bay. All the events are free.
Adults and children over 7 are asked register for ExploreCranston in teams. A team could be a family, a single adult, or any other combination, as long as each team has at least one adult. Teams can sign up for any number of events.
If it’s successful, Stycos hopes to expand the program into other parts of the city next year.
Learn more about ExploreCranston and register for the events online at explorecranston.org
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