Muddy Boots Family Nature Club finds home at Tryon Creek

Muddy Boots Family Nature Club hits the trail at Tryon Creek

The Friends of Tryon Creek are excited that the Muddy Boots Family Nature Club, started in 2010 by Jess Hoylman and Angela Fojtik, is now a part of the Friends' family.

In February 2011, Jess and Angela partnered with the Friends of Tryon Creek to provide the Muddy Boots Family Nature Club with a full day of activities at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. The partnership was a great success, so it was natural that the Friends' were entrusted with the nature club's administration earlier this year, as Jess and Angela moved on to other endeavors.

Connecting children and adults with nature is the Friends' bread and butter, and is a great fit for Jess and Angela's original goal for Muddy Boots, "to connect families with one another so they can get outside together". The Friends put these concepts into practice this past Saturday, April 28th, 2012, when we hosted the "Muddy Boots Family Trail Day" kick-off event featuring a day of fun family-oriented activities on the trail:

Derek Mellinger, the Friends' Education Intern, instructs Muddy Boots families on the Chinook salmon

Muddy Boots' families get a chance to pet a beaver

Families explore the park's flora and fauna

In the months ahead, families in the Portland metro region can look forward to many more opportunities to connect with nature with the Muddy Boots Family Nature Club. The Friends plan to provide activities and hikes in Tryon Creek State Natural Area and in other wild spaces in and around Portland and Lake Oswego so stay tuned.

For more information please visit: www.muddybootspdx.org
(Photo credit: Carol Gilden)