Whether your favorite outdoor
getaway is a mountain retreat or a seaside sanctuary, a good natural
history class taught by an expert instructor will open up new vistas of
awareness and adventure. Many national parks now have master class
programs led by naturalists and park rangers, but the nation's oldest
park has one of its finest.
Most visitors to Yellowstone
National Park experience its natural beauty
through their windshields or along its busy roads during the summer.
For a more personal acquaintance, sign up for one of The Yellowstone Institute's
one- to six-day field courses and go horsepacking in the backcountry
with a wildflower botanist, learn landscape painting from Yellowstone's
artist-in-residence, or try fly fishing with a veteran river guide.
Other courses include llama trekking, backpacking, birding, canoeing,
star gazing and exploring the Yellowstone ecosystem. The Yellowstone
Association, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY
82190.
Conservation groups and natural history museums are another good source
of master classes. The
National Audubon Society has been offering summertime
field ecology courses at Hog Island in Maine for more than 50 years.
Located on a mile-and-a-half long spruce-covered island, Audubon Camp
features informal workshops on various aspects of estuarine, island,
forest and pond ecology. National Audubon Society, 613 Riversville Rd.,
Greenwich, CT 06831.
On the dry plains of central Oregon, The High Desert Museum
sponsors a year-round program of field excursions led by
scientists and historians. The High Desert Museum, 59800 S. Highway 97,
Bend, OR 07702; (503) 382-4754.
For birdwatchers, Victor
Emanuel Nature Tours offers expert guides on packaged
birding trips throughout the world. Stateside tours provide
opportunities to observe and learn about raptors at Hawk Mountain in
Pennsylvania, waterfowl on the central California coast, and sage
grouse in the high country of Colorado. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours,
P.O. Box 33008, Austin, TX 78764.
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by MichaelHofferber@outriderbooks.com
Copyright © 1994-2008. All rights reserved.
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Sanford Meisner Master Class
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