Martin Park Nature Center offers “Shadow Day” for area students

(January 24, 2008) - Punxsutawney Phil may not make an appearance, but if the staff of Martin Park Nature Center have their way, Groundhog Day will bring shadows aplenty on Saturday, February 2 for the park’s first-ever “Shadow Day.” Students from 9-20 years old are invited to shadow a park naturalist from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to learn about a naturalist’s job as well as other career options in nature sciences.

“We’ve designed this program to help students make informed choices about their career options in nature science and conservation,” said Neil Garrison, naturalist.  “We want to make this as fun as possible, with lots of activity, but also be realistic about the scope of our work.”

According to Garrison, student participants will get a hands-on learning experience working alongside park naturalists as they go through their regular round of daily duties, including inspecting trails and animal feeding stations, tackling maintenance and repair projects in the park, and working on education and conservation initiatives.

“A lot of our job has to do with observation,” said Garrison.  “Observation of the natural world around us, observation of animal and insect behavior, and even of weather patterns and similar stimuli.  With almost everything we do, we are collecting data of some sort to use for education and decision-making.”

The “Shadow Day” program is open to all students area wide.  Space is limited so registration is required by calling Martin Park at 405 755-0676.

As for that pesky Groundhog?  Notes Garrison, “if Phil’s shadow can help us predict the weather for the immediate future, perhaps this program will help our student shadows predict what careers they may see in their own futures.”

Martin Park Nature Center is located at 5000 West Memorial Road, on the south side of Memorial between Meridian and MacArthur.  The park is open every Wednesday-Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. except July 4, Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s.  For more information, call 405 755-0676 or visit online at www.okc.gov/parks.