Spring Thing - Filled with Gratitude!

Kara Green • March 22, 2023

On March 18th, Tuleyome hosted their second annual Spring Thing celebration at the beautiful Woodland Regional Park Preserve and we could not be more grateful for such a glorious day! The weather cooperated wonderfully, blessing us with sunshine in the morning and cool, fresh breezes in the afternoon. The pond and uplands were alive with wildlife providing everyone in attendance with a grand show, especially our avid birders. We are so thankful for all the volunteers and community members who helped us put on this amazing event and all the community members who joined us.

This event would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of our incredible group of volunteers. I am truly awed by all the time, talent, and dedication that went into making the Tuleyome Spring Thing possible. The morning events opened with music from The Pretty Good String Band, a talented group of musicians who graciously volunteered their time and serenaded us with their joyful tunes. Josh Greenfield and Sammi LaRocca with the Yolo Audubon Society led an early morning birding walk for a large group of community birders of all levels, kicking off a day of trails and guided hikes.

Lyndsay Dawkins with Nature’s Theater led 2 amazing interactive children’s nature walks featuring Superbird and 2 local authors, Jeff Falyn and Robin Carlson brought their considerable talents to the event as well. Jeff’s new book, Who Stole the Bees’ Wings was shared during a campfire reading and Robin, author of the book The Cold Canyon Fire Journals led 2 nature walks, sharing her incredible teachings on nature sketching and journaling. When visitors were ready for a break from the trails, Madam Flora Bella was available to offer an eco-fortune reading, guiding individuals on their path towards helping the Earth.

Kids visiting the event got to enjoy face painting thanks to the wonderful and talented Jillian Wilkowski as well as s’mores at the campfire and games thanks to the City of Woodland’s Rec2Go program. Crafts, Power animals, and fort building were also available along with a binocular check-out station which offered visitors of all ages the opportunity to use a pair of binoculars during their walks.

For the adventurous explorers visiting us, Gideon Alston was on hand to provide a morning tracking adventure where participants looked for evidence of animals that inhabit the preserve and Jack Holmes led an afternoon Compass Navigation Course, teaching his group all about the fundamentals of navigation. Board member Glen Holstein and Advisory Council member Andrew Fulks provided visitors with facts, information, and stories throughout the day.

The walking trail was lined with booths of exciting information and things to see thanks to Tuleyome and our community partners. The walk began with a visual story of Tuleyome and all the good work we do. Walking through the story of Tuleyome, visitors learned about our work with Land Conservation & Stewardship, Education & Outreach, and Advocacy. These tables featured pictures of volunteers building trails and participating hikes, adult students engaging in the California Naturalist course and school-age students enjoying field trips. The advocacy table featured our work on the expansion campaign to make Molok Luyuk part of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and invited members of the committee to learn more and get involved by signing post cards of support.

This was followed by several community partners who came out to support us and share their work. Corky Quirk from Norcal Bats was available, along with a few of her flying mammal friends, as was Morgan Curtis with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Jennifer Hogan with the Native Plant Society, Tom Wendt and Larry Greene with the Rotary Club, and young Callum Wyeth, a 13 year-old local student who has designed a fantastic campaign to educate community members about invasive bullfrogs.

Countless volunteers pitched in to help with parking, checking people in at the entrance table, running the raffle, sales, and crafts tables, and so much more. I am truly inspired by and incredibly grateful to everyone who came out, volunteers and visitors, to make our second-annual Spring Thing such a wonderfully magical day. Thank you!

All of the amazing photography seen here capturing the day are courtesy of Leia Hewitt and Kelli O'Neill who donated their time and considerable talent! Check out the entire album here.


-Kara Green (kgreen@tuleyome.org)


Education Associate


Certified California Naturalist


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