Grant's Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids - Softcover

McOmie, Grant

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1513260464 ISBN 13: 9781513260464

Publisher: WestWinds Press, 2017

Synopsis

From the popular television Oregon travel series Grant’s Getaways comes the third book in Grant McOmie’s well-loved guidebooks.

Oregon’s treasure Grant McOmie offers in this handy guidebook his favorite kid-friendly outings featured in his television series, Grant’s Getaways. You’ll find activities to engage any kid, from archery to clamming on the coast to hunting for thundereggs to zip-lining through trees in an aerial adventure park.

Grant explored many of these outings as a child on family trips and later as a father with his own children. A big believer in teachable moments through touchable history, he’s expert in providing educational content that kids truly enjoy. This is a detailed reference book for outdoor adventures geared for family fun and activities.

About this title

About the Author

A fifth-generation Oregonian, Grant McOmie is a journalist, author, and teacher who realized he hadn’t seen enough of his native state and he has spent much of his thirty-year career as a news reporter exploring Oregon. He ended up enjoying his getaways so much that he decided to share these “teachable moments with touchable history” in a new Grant’s Getaways series of guidebooks. McOmie, Travel Oregon, and KGW-TV produce Grant's Getaways segments in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State Parks, and the Oregon State Marine Board. The weekly segments and half-hour programs feature themes such as fishing, urban hiking, surfing, geocaching, and more. The book series also benefits from tremendous support from both Travel Oregon and KGW through cross-promotion efforts with each. His show reaches approximately 2.8 million households annually, and brings to life many of the state’s varied natural and cultural resources that inspire year-round travel throughout the state.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Kids Flock to Wetlands

“Whatizthat?” “Whatizthis?” “Wherezitfrom?” “Wherewegoinnow?”

“Huh? Mr. McOmie, huh? Whatizit?”

Field trips are interesting affairs! I call them my “Whatizit?” trips—the times when I volunteer to lead groups of youngsters on an outdoor adventure to teach them more about the natural world, times when my energies are tested to the max, as a somewhat uncomfortable knot develops in my neck from the quick swish panning this way or that to answer all of their questions.

“Mr. McOmie, Mr. McOmie, whatizthatbird, whatizthatplant, whatizthatfish?”

I love to teach young people about the great outdoors! I started my professional life in a classroom, and I always considered my jump into television broadcasting but an expansion of the class size. But the truth be told, television audiences can never be reached in the same way. There’s a special moment when you can see that lightbulb of new knowledge click on in a youngster’s eyes, followed by a nod and a knowing smile. That’s my reward for time outdoors.

One of the friendliest places to see what’s new in the outdoors is at one of the newest wildlife areas of the Portland metro region. Situated on the southern doorstep of one of the fastest-growing communities in Oregon, Jackson Bottom stretches across more than seven hundred acres near Hillsboro in Washington County. It offers varied wildlife habitat of marshes, meadows, ponds, and Douglas fir and ash tree stands that in turn attract all kinds of wild animals--especially birds: from waterfowl to blue herons to such raptors as hawks and eagles.

Lori Prince, Outdoor Recreation Manager for the preserve, recently told me that attitudes about wetlands are changing. “Our wetlands and marshes have always been treated as forgotten corners of the local neighborhood or city. Most communities have looked the other way when they deal with these areas because marshes weren’t considered very pretty. Truth is, these places are rich and diverse and hold many secrets about keeping our water clean—and our wildlife thriving. Wetlands really are critical to a healthy plant and animal community.”

Jackson Bottom was little more than “a dumping ground” for many decades. The open meadow areas were often grazed over by cattle, and even local businesses would dump all manner of waste and debris on the land. The attitude reflected a simple philosophy of “Out of sight, out of mind.” That attitude began changing in the early 1970s when people saw that wetlands, marshes, and other so-called marginal lands might deserve a different perspective. That is, these places are important, and if wetlands could be restored, wildlife could be helped, too. According to Prince, an ambitious project and partnership began at Jackson Bottom using water supplemented in the drier summer by treated wastewater from the nearby Clean Water Services wastewater treatment plant. The landscape was sculpted with bulldozers into pond-like areas and filled with the treated wastewater, which helped restore the wildlife habitat. The water became even cleaner as it was filtered through native grasses and sedges, bushes and trees, before it was returned to the nearby Tualatin River.

A measure of the wetland’s success has been the dramatic increase in populations of wildlife, such as frogs, turtles, great blue herons, and waterfowl that nest in the cattails and sedges. In winter, the remarkable sight of several bald eagles is great testimony to the wetland’s value. In fact, not only wintering bald eagles, but also a nesting pair, have made Jackson Bottom their home for the past decade. With their bold white caps and tail feathers, the big raptors are hard to mistake. And the eagle nest is gigantic and hard to miss. Each year the pair of adult birds has added more sticks and branches to their nest, so that today the five-foot-tall nest is very distinct and hard to miss.

Edition details

• Publisher: WestWinds Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1513260464
• ISBN 13: 9781513260464
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240