Nature Rangers Prairie Pathways Winter Edition
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Prairie
Pathways
Outdoor Activities
to Learn in Nature!
Winter Edition • 2025
Observe the Wild
World Around You!
Learn about Animals,
Birds, Plants, & More!
Adventures &
Exploration!
Sunrise & Sunset
Have you ever watched the sun rise or set? If you have, how did your senses react?
Did you notice:
• The color and light in the sky change as the day progressed?
• The scent of the air change throughout the day?
• Changes in bird and animal activity throughout the day?
• The direction flowers face change?
• Shadows shrink and lengthen?
Sun rises in the east..
..and sets in the west.
Sunrise
Sunset
Consider journaling about
your nature observations
throughout the day or
even through the seasons.
Another fun activity is shadow tracing.
Visit the PBS LearningMedia website for a
1-minute video of shadow tracing ideas.
2
Q&A with a Naturalist
Lisa R.
Kane County Certified Naturalist Program Member
1.) Name a bird you find fascinating.
Crows! They are very intelligent birds and can use tools to
get food.
2.) Name a tree that you find attractive.
Ginkgo trees - Their leaves look like tiny fans and in
autumn their golden-yellow color is spectacular. Ginkgo
trees are one of the oldest tree species and survivors of the
last ice age!
3.) Name an insect you think is cool.
I like all types of insects but praying mantises are super
cool! They’re so interesting looking with their long legs,
powerful forearms, and large eyes. You can see when they
turn their head to look at you!
4.) What season do you most enjoy.
Summer is my favorite season. I love the fact that so many
things are in bloom. Plus, there’s an abundance of wildlife
to observe and photograph.
5.) Tell us something interesting about an animal.
Bats are the only mammals that fly!
6.) Can you recommend a book?
Why Do Owls and Other Birds Have Feathers?
By Holly Beaumont
Click me
GAILBORDEN.INFO/NATURERANGERS
3
Star Gazing
Did you know that your eyes have night vision?
It takes about 10 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, but
at least 30 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to night vision.
Bright light affects your night vision and causes your eyes
to adjust to the darkness again. Should you stroll outside at
night to star gaze, bring a red light with you to see where
you’re going. Red light does not affect your night vision.
Here’s how you can make a red light to help protect
your night vision. It can even be used indoors!
1. First, ask for your parents help.
2. You will need a flashlight.
3. Secure red plastic wrap or cellophane over the end of the
flashlight and secure it with a rubber band.
You can also use a red balloon, or red tape.
4. Add more layers of red covering until the flashlight shines
more red light than white.
Visit the Instructables website with your parents for more
tips on creating a red light, complete with illustrations.
Learn how to find four stars
and the constellation Orion in
the book Stikky Night Skies.
Click on the book to check it
out from our collection!
4
Moon Phases
New
Moon
Waxing
Crescent
First
Quarter
Moon
Waxing
Gibbous
Full
Moon
Waxing
Gibbous
Last
Quarter
Moon
Waning
Crescent
Did you know that the sun illuminates the moon?
This is why it appears to shine brightly in the sky. What we see is
sunlight reflected off the moon’s surface.
As the moon travels around (orbits) Earth, different parts of it are lit by the sun.
This changes the way the moon appears in the sky over the course of its 27-day
orbit. These are called phases, and each of the eight moon phases have a name.
For more information about
astronomy clubs and dark sky
locations, visit the following
websites:
Dark Skies IL
Fox Valley Astronomical Society
Illinois Astronomy Clubs
Look at the moon each night throughout a 30-day period and observe the phases with
your own eyes. Also, challenge yourself to find the constellation Orion in the sky.
5
GAILBORDEN.INFO/NATURERANGERS
Fresh
Air
Friday
Spending time outdoors is great for your
physical and mental health! Plus, there are
so many fun things to do outdoors!
Go for a walk with your family at one of the
local forest preserves each Friday and make
Fresh Air Friday part of your week.
Tyler Creek Forest Preserve is this issue’s featured Forest Preserve. It
offers bike and nature trails, picnic areas, and two shelters. You can
view the preserve map at the link above.
A fun fact about Tyler Creek Preserve is that it is one of the four
original preserves in the Forest Preserve District of Kane County!
Bring a camera with you and take pictures of the
wildlife you see. Once back at home, see if you can
identify what you spotted.
There are several Midwest and Illinois field guides
in our collection to help you. Here are links to just
a few – click on the book covers below.
Pick-up a Rangers Create-a-Star starter kit at
the Rakow Branch. Use it with materials that you
find outdoors to create a 5-point star.
Ask for one at the Rakow Help Desk.
Email a picture of your star to
naturerangers@gailborden.info
to be entered in our grand prize giveaway.
Remember to include your name
and telephone number, too.
6
Check out a Nature Rangers
Exploration Backpack to
take on your next outing!
Available at the Rakow Branch,
Exploration Backpack themes include:
Tree Exploration
Insect Discovery
Birds of Illinois
Dig Into Soil!
The Exploration Backpacks include books, guides, and
other fun things like binoculars, magnifying lenses, and
shovels to explore the wild world around you!
What backpack theme would
you like to see?
Share your ideas with staff at
the Rakow Branch!
Look for new backpacks
coming to the Nature
Rangers collection soon!
GAILBORDEN.INFO/NATURERANGERS
7
Snowflakes
Did you know that snowflakes are made of ice crystals that form
on tiny particles of ash, dirt, or salt in the air? It’s true!
That tiny particle becomes the center of a snowflake!
As more ice crystals form around that particle, the heavier
the forming snowflake gets, so it begins to fall toward Earth.
Before you know it, it’s
snowing!
Each year, at least 1 septillion
snowflakes fall from the sky! That’s
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
When it snows, try to catch snowflakes so you can
take a closer look at them.
1.) Set a piece of foam core outside so that it gets cold, but make
sure it remains dry. It needs to be cold so that snowflakes won’t melt
when they land on it.
2.) After 10-minutes, hold the foam core out and catch a few
snowflakes on it.
3.) Use a magnifying lens to look at them. You may see crystals as
well as snowflakes. Count how many different shapes you see.
8
Gail Borden Public Library offers a range of programming for all ages.
Visit our Events & Classes webpage for more information.
The Forest Preserve District of Kane County is celebrating 100 years!
Visit their website to discover all the forest preserves in Kane
County, as well as public nature programs they offer for all ages.
Link index:
PBS LearningMedia: https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/buac18-k2-sci-ess-shadowtracing/shadow-tracing/
Instructables: https://www.instructables.com/Astronomy-Hacking-a-Redlight/
Illinois Dark Sky Places: https://www.go-astronomy.com/dark-sky-parks-stargazing-state.php?State=IL
Fox Valley Astonomical Society: https://fvasil.org/
Illinois Astronomy Clubs: https://www.go-astronomy.com/astro-clubs-state.php?State=IL
Tyler Creek Forest Preserve: https://kaneforest.com/location/tyler-creek
Nature Rangers: https://gailborden.info/naturerangers
Gail Borden Public Library: https://gailborden.info/ | Library Events & Classes: https://attend.gailborden.info/events
Forest Preserve District of Kane County: https://kaneforest.com/
Public Nature Programs: https://kaneforest.com/public-nature-programs
Main Library
270 N. Grove Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-2411
Rakow Branch
2751 W. Bowes Rd.
Elgin, IL 60124
847-531-7271
South Elgin Branch
127 S. McLean Blvd.
South Elgin, IL 60177
847-931-2090