Building with Nature at the Environmental Education Center

The  hosted a free afternoon of unstructured activities with natural materials on Sunday. The idea was sparked by the Children in Nature Collaborative, which has organized similar activities.

"We want to bring families together," says Mary Roscoe of the Children in Nature Collaborative. About 60 parents and children gathered to build things using materials such as tule, pinecones, branches, twigs, maple leaves and sage.

Children were not the only ones taking advantage of nature; adults were also making elaborate crowns, belts and even bow and arrows out of the materials. Depending upon the outcome of this play day, the refuge may hold similar events once every several months.

Check out events held at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge on the activity calendar online.