Courtesy photo
PEEC News:
Celebrate our black bear neighbors with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center and Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation at the second annual Bear Festival! The festival is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 and the nature center’s schedule is packed full of bear-themed programming all week long leading up to it.
The week will kick off Tuesday, Aug. 21 at a talk called “A Cub’s Life” from U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist Daryl Ratajczak. Ratajczak will discuss the life of a black bear cub from the moment it’s born in a darkened den to its first steps as an independent yearling bear. The talk is free and will begin at 7 p.m. at the nature center.
PEEC and LEWF will host the second-ever “Eat Like a Bear Buffet” from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 24. Attendees will eat a dinner completely inspired by a black bear’s diet. The menu will feature smoked salmon catered by Pig + Fig, stuffed mushrooms off the grill, ants on a log, a big salad, rose hip tea, sub sandwiches served from a trash can, log cakes, chocolate acorns and more. The night will be fun, educational and delicious!
Tickets for the dinner are on sale now at peecnature.org and are $50 for non-members and $40 for PEEC members.
Bear Festival will be the culmination of this week of bear-themed fun. Come to the nature center anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Aug. 25 to enjoy hands-on educational activities and learn more about sharing our home in Los Alamos County with black bears. Attendees can even get a free bear bell to take hiking in bear country, while supplies last! Bear Festival is free to attend.
The Los Alamos County Council recently declared August 2018 Bear Month in order to raise awareness about how Los Alamos County residents can keep both themselves and our black bear neighbors safe and in honor of the events that PEEC and LEWF have planned.
For more information about this and other PEEC programs, visit www.peecnature.org, email programs@peecnature.org or call (505).662.0460.