Trip Leaders Get Social

Over 70 Venture Outdoors trip leaders, their friends and family, celebrated at North Park Lake on Friday, May 4th at the annual Spring Trip Leader Social. The event, put on by Trip Leader Council and VO Staff, is an opportunity to thank our dedicated volunteers the best way we know how — with food, activities and awards! Read more

Kayaking the Cove

Ready to kayak The Cove with VO North? Read more

Trail Technology: An Intro to Mobile Apps for the Outdoors

So you have a smartphone, great! You use it for making phone calls, sending text messages to your kids, and the occasional Words With Friends or Angry Birds during your lunch break. It’s likely that you already know about taking high resolution pictures and sharing on them on Facebook, but did you know that your phone has some advanced technologies as well? A GPS, something called an accelerometer, and access to thousands of “apps” in a virtual store? Did you ever think about how you can harness all of this pocket-sized technology in the outdoors?
Read more

Spring Peepers Walk

With nets in hand, we walked and “scooped” our way along the shorelines of the ponds and around the wetlands of this beautiful area that is home to the Beaver County Conservation District for our family-friendly Spring Peepers Walk. Joined by guest Susan Boser, water quality educator for the Penn StateExtension/BCCD, we were there to learn about Spring Peepers as well as other residents that are active at the education center at time of year. Read more

Our Newest Navigators

• Caving Exploration – Sunday, May 6
• Day Trek – Raccoon Creek State Park – Saturday, May 12
• Wilderness Survival 101 – Saturday, June 9

Check out more images from the trip:

Earth Day, Rainy Day

For the third straight year Mother Nature tested our mettles by giving us a some challenging, chilly weather for last weekend’s Earth Day celebration! The steady downpour didn’t deter a few dozen hardy folks from coming out and enjoying the day though!

While Tyler wrangled folks for an introduction to geocaching, I camped a-ways up the Meadow Trail under my big blue tarp. What else was under this big blue tarp? A small, but mighty, campfire, and plenty of marshmallows!

Everyone visiting the big blue tarp tent had a chance to hone their roasting skills and learn a few facts about conscious firebuilding. We even had a few return customers from last year, (which was even colder and rainier,) that remembered all the important points and demonstrated their own firebuilding skills.

I, for one, like a good rain. If nothing else, it makes a dry spot and campfire even more inviting!

-chris!

Easter Egg Geocaching

Easter Egg Geocaching in North Park

The sun was shining in North Park on Saturday, April 7th as the sold-out Easter Egg Geocaching program participants gathered for a fun-filled afternoon. The group celebrated Easter by finding ten candy caches hidden throughout the woods using handheld GPS units. Read more

April Fool’s Mad Libs

This Mad Libs-inspired post was written in honor of April Fool’s Day. Have ________(noun beginning with “F” and rhyming with “sun”)!

_________(adjective) Fun in Duff Park

On April 1st, 15 __________(adj.) participants had a lot of fun ________(verb ending in -ing) in Duff Park during the ½ Day Hike lead __________(adverb) by Joe Walko and the ________(adj.) assistant leaders Veronica White and Janée Romesberg. It was a/an __________(adj.) Spring day and the abnormally warm temperatures had caused the spectacular, ____________(adj.) wildflowers to bloom much earlier in the season than usual. Duff Park, located in Murrysville, has the ___________(adj.) honor of being designated a Wild Plant Sanctuary by the _____________(state beginning with “P” and ending with “A”) Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The excited participants listened ___________(adv.) as Joe taught them how to identify Trillium, Wake Robins, Spring Beauties, Dutchman’s Breeches, Hepatica and other __________(adj.) native wildflowers. There were ________(number greater than 1) surprises in store for the hikers, one of which included a/an _________(adj.) animal sighting! Joe had mentioned at the beginning of the program that there were many wolves, ___________(plural large animal), and bears found in Duff Park, but the group still wasn’t prepared for a ____________(adj.) wolf to jump out at them from behind a tree! The wolf (also known as 8-yr-old Trevor Walko wearing a wolf hat) did no harm and actually decided to join in on the hiking fun. When the group later stopped for a snack break, Joe surprised the group again- this time with Garlic Mustard Pesto. But this wasn’t an April Fool’s joke- pesto is a delicious and ____________(positive adj.) way to get rid of that ___________(negative adj.), ___________(an even more negative adj.) invasive plant! A lot of fun was had by all (including the wolf)!

If you want to try making Garlic Mustard Pesto yourself- check out the recipe below!

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) Pesto
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Cup Pine Nuts or Walnuts
1/2 Cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
Enough Garlic Mustard leaves to choke a horse (or to clear a forest floor)

Finely mince the walnuts and garlic mustard. An electric coffee grinderworks like a charm.
Add Oil and Cheese, serve with pasta or rice or other whole grain. For vegan pesto use Nutritional Yeast instead of Cheese.

Harvesting Garlic Mustard: take out the entire plant including the rootsearly in the season before it has a chance to flower. Young first leaves are best for pesto (and for salads or as a steamed green). Use only the leaves for this recipe. Remove the roots from the area you are clearing as they will re-establish themselves if left in a pile on the ground. If you pull up garlic mustard after it has flowered beware as it will develop the seedhead even after it is pulled from the ground.

Found on http://www.maipc.org/morerecipes.html, a great website on edible invasive plants and how to use them!

Having trouble filling in the blanks above? Join us on one of our upcoming programs!

Trillium Trail Wildflower ID Walk
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Day Trek – Laurel Hill
Sunday, April 22, 2012

Banff Mountain Film Festival Delights Sold-Out Crowds

From a cute dog and highline hijinks, to the ravages of an oil pipeline and lessons of a wooly mammoth, the Banff Mountain Film Festival, presented by Straub Beer, delighted sold out audiences. Read more

Spring Garden Walk

Take a relaxing Sunday morning stroll with VO North and naturalist Ryan Stauffer on the grounds of Succop Conservancy during our Spring Garden Walk on April 15th. As part of this activity, we’ll make our own seed balls. We’ll use clay, compost and native seeds. Read more

Next Page »