Bear Buffet menu inspired by a black bear’s diet features salmon catered by Pig + Fig, stuffed mushrooms, salads, a variety of desserts and much more, 6 p.m. Friday at the nature center. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Enjoy a meal fit for a black bear Friday at the Los Alamos Nature Center.
The Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation and Pajarito Environmental Education Center are hosting the second annual bear buffet as a part of Bear Week. The dinner is 6-8 p.m. and tickets are $40 for PEEC members and $50 for non-members. Only a few tickets remain, so reserve a seat soon at peecnature.org.
The dinner will feature a wide array of food, all inspired by the diet of black bears. Pig + Fig Café is catering smoked salmon as one of the highlights of the meal. Guests can also dine on veggie and fruit salads, cheese and crackers from a picnic basket, sub sandwiches served in a trash can, dried fruits and nuts, stuffed mushrooms and a variety of desserts. The buffet-style meal will be served in creative ways that will raise awareness about what black bears eat and demonstrate how they often are able to get food from our own backyards. The evening will be delicious, fun and educational!
The bear buffet also will be the first official zero-waste event in Los Alamos. Attendees will use reusable utensils and any leftover food from the dinner will be composted. Reducing our waste and managing leftovers properly lessens our impact on landfills, and it also keeps our black bear neighbors safer, as they are less likely to dig through trash cans looking for food.
Before the meal, Dr. Kathleen Ramsay will give a presentation about black bear rehabilitation and explain how certain menu items fit into the bears’ diets. The dinner is the evening before Bear Festival, which is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at the nature center.
The festival will feature a wide variety of booths where guests can learn about the latest research on black bears, find out how they can make their yards more wildlife friendly, get a free bear bell for hiking in bear country and learn about keeping both themselves and bears safe in bear country. Kids can make bear puppets, take an adopt a tree hike with Sierra Club, go on a bear-themed scavenger hunt and explore the Rotary Treehouse, which will officially open at 11 a.m. during the festival.
For more information about this and other PEEC programs, visit www.peecnature.org, email programs@peecnature.org or call 505.662.0460.
PEEC was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening their connections to our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies. PEEC operates the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, holds regular programs and events, and hosts a number of interest groups from birding to hiking to butterfly watching. PEEC activities are open to everyone; however, members receive exclusive benefits such as discounts on programs and merchandise. Annual memberships start at $35. To learn more, visit www.peecnature.org.
The Bear Buffet dinner will be the first official zero-waste event in Los Alamos.
Guests will use reusable utensils and any leftover food will be composted. Courtesy/PEEC
