Happy New Year.
A lot of folks tell me that one of their New Year’s resolutions is to get outdoors more and enjoy nature. If that’s your goal too, a slew of opportunities await you. Several organizations and agencies will conduct free nature walks and other activities throughout the coming year. Here’s a sample:
- The Atlanta Audubon Society at www.atlantaaudubon.org lists upcoming bird walks, led by experienced birders, in metro Atlanta. The site also has descriptions and directions to prime metro bird-watching spots.
- The Georgia Ornithological Society at www.gos.org has links to numerous birding groups statewide that regularly conduct bird walks in their areas. The site also has links to nature centers across Georgia that conduct field trips and other nature-watching activities.
- The Georgia Botanical Society lists upcoming field trips at www.gabotsoc.org. Led by experienced botanists, several outings are held each month to observe wildflowers and other native flora in various habitats.
- Learn about upcoming events in Georgia state parks at www.gastateparks.org. In addition to regular bird walks, wildflower hikes and canoe trips, the parks offer a variety of other nature-based activities. To kick off the new year, several parks statewide are offering guided hikes on New Year's Day.
Other organizations with helpful information about Georgia’s natural areas include Georgia Forest Watch at www.gafw.org; Georgia Wildlife Federation at www.gwf.org; the Georgia Conservancy at www.gaconservancy.org; the Georgia Native Plant Society at www.gnps.org; the Georgia Sierra Club at georgia.sierraclub.org; the Nature Conservancy of Georgia at www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/georgia; and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper at www.chattahoochee.org
Also, check out the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division at www.georgiawildlife.com; the Coastal Resources Division at coastalgadnr.org; and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area at www.nps.gov/chat.
So, go green in ’13. (Sorry, but that’s the best jingle a tree hugger like me can come up with for 2013.)
IN THE SKY: The first meteor shower of 2013, the Quadrantid, reaches a maximum of 100 meteors per hour on Tuesday night (Jan. 1) through Friday night. Look to the north throughout the night, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer.
The moon will be last quarter on Friday. Mercury is low in the east at dawn. Venus rises out of the east about two hours before dawn. Mars is low in the southwest at dusk and sets in the west a few hours later. Jupiter rises out of the east around midnight. Saturn rises in the east about three hours before sunrise.
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