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The invitation was enticing: “Experience a beautiful day in Huddart Park” by joining other area families and individuals for a free event that would include arts and crafts, short and long nature walks, educational programs, book-readings — even “family-friendly yoga stretches to connect to nature.”
And nearly 325 accepted that invitation on Saturday, Oct. 26, converging on the county park off Kings Mountain Road in Woodside to celebrate fall in an evergreen forest.
Arts and crafts projects included mini-pumpkin painting, and fall leaf and yarn art projects. Participants learned from volunteer docents about animals whose skulls and hides, displayed and available for hands-on examining, were found over time in the park, and about birds whose nests were recovered and available to observe.
Master Falconer Antonio Balestreri joined the nature-lovers at Huddart with two owls for a presentation on the special nature of the raptors.
The two-and-a-half-hour event was sponsored by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), San Mateo County Parks, and the Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks. “Our goal with this free event is to engage families and individuals all over the Bay,” wrote Rose Cheng of POST in an email.
“We want to connect the youth to nature at a young age and show them how special the outdoors can be,” she added.
“We also work to impart the message that protecting open space where we live is crucial to our physical and mental health — and organizations like POST and County Parks help support that mission.”
POST sponsors a series of events designed to get people outdoors and connected with the natural environment — one set for the near future for those who enjoy sunsets and are in good physical shape for hiking is a Dec. 7 hike at Mindego Hill in the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, from 2 to 5 p.m.
For a schedule of future events, go to the Open Space Trust website.
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A 1-mile nature walk drew families and individuals eager to experience the beauties and wonders of Huddart Park on Oct. 26. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
A mini-pumpkin painting activity brought out the artist in both young and old. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
A sample of the pumpkin artwork from a painting activity at Huddart Park. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
Dick Young, docent with the Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks, answers questions about local animals living in the Huddart Park habitat. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
Docents displayed nests of birds who inhabit Huddart, along with photos of them. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
Participants were unhurried on the 1-mile nature walk. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
Sharon Savatski, volunteer docent for the nonprofit Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks and POST, with a trio of fellow travelers on the 1-mile nature walk. Photo by Federica Armstrong. -
Docent Dick Young explains the eating habits of woodrats that inhabit Huddart Park. Photo by Federica Armstrong.
