Education & Public Outreach

• Contests

• K-12

• Sightings/Bird Box

• Yahoo Group List Serve

• Godwit Days

• International Festivals

• Humboldt County Fair

• Plant Tours

• Special Events

• Calendar

• Fieldtrips

Current Contests:

Student Bird Art Contest: K-12 students who live in Humboldt County--enter our bird art contest! $550 to be awarded; divisions to be determined based on total number of entries received. Special prizes for best rendition of a bird in its natural habitat. The contest is co-sponsored by the RRAS and Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM). See our flyer here.

Winners of our Bird Art and Nature Writing Contests will receive their awards on Saturday, April 21 at 11:30 a.m. in the main hall of the Arcata Community Center. In previous years, over 600 students have taken part in this contest! The deadline to enter this year's contest has passed, but you can learn more on our Education page.

Student nature writing contest:For the seventh year, the RRAS is sponsoring a student nature writing contest for Humboldt or Del Norte County student in grades 4-12. Up to three cash prizes will be awarded for the best essay(s) or poem(s) by a on the topic, "What nature means to me." All winners will be published on the RRAS website and awards will be presented at the Godwit Days
Festival in mid-April. See entry guidelines here.

Winners of our Bird Art and Nature Writing Contests will receive their awards on Saturday, April 21 at 11:30 a.m. in the main hall of the Arcata Community Center. In previous years, over 600 students have taken part in this contest! The deadline to enter this year's contest has passed, but you can learn more on our Education page.

K-12 Activities and Outreach

In 2008, RRAS began a partnership with Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) to offer a day-long summer session for children age 9-12 at the Arcata Marsh. The module was part of the Wildlife Biology week of the Arcata Recreation Department’s Natural Resources Science Camp. RRAS provided leaders for a bird walk for the kids.

In 2006, RRAS began sponsoring a children’s nature writing contest. Cash prizes were awarded for the best essay(s) or poem(s) by a Humboldt or Del Norte County student in grades 4-12 on the topic “What nature means to me.” First-place winning efforts were published in the annual children’s issue of the Sandpiper, with additional winners appearing in the online version.

In 2004, RRAS began a partnership with FOAM to sponsor a Student Bird Art Contest at the Godwit Days Spring Migration Birding Festival. Humboldt County students in grades K-12 competed for cash prizes, with all entries displayed at the Arcata Community Center during the mid-April festival. Winning entries were also shown at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center during May. As of 2011, nearly 3,500 pieces of bird art had been submitted.

In 2003, RRAS started offering an award at the Humboldt County Science Fair. A $50 prize was given to the best project related to birds or their habitat. Please join us in congratulating past award winners.

RRAS provides speakers on request to schools and other groups.

Bird Box

RRAS cosponsors a “Bird Box” with the City of Arcata. Individuals are able to call in (707-822-LOON) and report sightings of rare birds or listen to messages about what others have found.

Yahoo List Serve

Be reminded about field trips and programs and learn about upcoming meetings, public hearings, and symposia of interest to RRAS members and other concerned nature lovers. Subscribe in one of two ways: 1) through a Webpage at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rras  or 2) via e-mail at rras-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Postings should have complete information. This Listserv is not for posting bird sightings.