I Love Reno Spring 2016

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Into the
Woods
S ince 2010, when the Great
Basin Institute entered into
a partnership with Washoe
County and the US Forest
Service to operate the new Galena
Creek Visitor Center, we have
capitalized on the unique natural
environment of Galena Creek,
providing quality outdoor, nature-
based education to over 22,000 local
youth, from preschool to high school.
Collectively known as Great Basin
Naturalists at Galena, our programs
have been recognized with a Nevada
Recreation and Park Society Program
Excellence Award. Community
support for science education in
the outdoors has been extremely
positive, as reflected in Nell J. Redfield
Foundation’s multi-year support of the
Scholarships for Nature Discovery
program, and Community support has
come from the Community Foundation
of Western Nevada, the Pennington
Foundation, the Great Basin Institute
at Galena’s Community Board, and
individual community donors. This
support has provided full tuition
scholarships to local youth, many of
whom had never ventured into the
outdoors for such an extended period
of time. Our programs are serving the
community, increasing diversity in
our outdoor classrooms, and enriching
the collective youth and community
experience in our region.
This July will mark the sixth-year
anniversary of the Galena Creek
Visitor Center, and we have much to
celebrate!
When the Great Basin Institute, U.S.
Forest Service, Washoe County and
community members convened for
strategic planning, the resounding
message was that we were to be
unique. While we function very much
as a traditional Visitor Center, we
have found our “niche,” and it turns
out that niche rests with the bugs in
the dirt, the birds in the trees, and
everything in between—we connect
our community with nature.
Our community gains experiential
connection with the beautiful
Humboldt Toiyabe forest through
weekly Saturday guided hikes,
educational presentations each month,
family Friday campfires, and exhibits
in the visitor center. You may sign up
for the monthly newsletter online at
to be in the loop with events and news.
Great Basin Exploration Summer
Camp 2016 begins with weekly day
and residential camps on June 13
through the first week of August. In
addition to the 8-12 year old camp,
we offer a Teen Science and Service
Learning Camp, where teens spend
time on public lands with researchers
and land managers. Teens will go on
extended day field trips and overnight
adventures to area ecosystems, spend a
day at Lake Tahoe, and gain leadership
experience.
Please call 775-849-4948 for more
information or visit the website at
By Gwen Bourne
Photos by: Great Basin Institute
You never know when you might find yourself under the rainbow during the
weekly guided hikes offered through the visitor center