By Sam November 28th, 2025 When we think of navigation today most people think of using GPS on our phones and cars, but this method of navigating can sometimes be unreliable. Phones can lose battery and service rendering them useless in an emergency. Alternatively, a simple map and compass, and knowledge of how to use Read more »
Author: Sam
The Trashiest Week of My Life: Cleaning Up the Mississippi
The Mississippi River drains water from about 1.2 million square miles of land according to the National Parks Service. Unfortunately, water is not the only thing that makes its way from land into the river. Garbage such as plastic bottles, tires, plastic bags and anything else you can imagine make their way into the Mississippi Read more »
Winter’s Fuzziest Survivors: Woolly Bear Caterpillars
With the temperature outside slowly going down, bears are getting ready for winter. Not drown or black bears, woolly bears! You may have noticed more of what many refer to as woolly bear caterpillars in the fall, but how much do you really know about these adorable insects? There are many different types of “woolly Read more »
The Benefits of Spiders
With summer coming to an end and spiders looking for safe places to spend the winter, I wanted to take some time and try to break some common stereotypes about these incredible creatures. While many people may be uncomfortable around spiders, most spiders are harmless and beneficial in many ways. With over 500 species of Read more »
Bluebird Nesting Season Recap

This summer, I had the joy of monitoring the 24 active bluebird houses located throughout Ney. Aside from being a beautiful native bird, Bluebirds are important to us as humans because they eat a wide variety of insects that can damage crops. Due to habitat loss and the introduction of birds such as House Sparrows Read more »
