7777 Westbank Exp., Westwego, La 70094

504-736-7155

Programs and Activities:  February 2012

***All programs are free of charge other than the park entrance fee.  Guests are strongly advised to contact the nature center at the above number or e-mail bayousegnette_int@crt.state.la.us as program might be canceled if conflicts arise.  All outdoor programs may be canceled in case of inclement weather, in which case a craft or movie will be shown in the nature center.

Winter/Spring Nature Center Hours:  Fridays, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. 

Saturdays and Sundays  10 a.m.- 6 p.m. 

Hours may change subject to programs and availability, additional programs can be offered upon request

Monday, January 30:  Morning Birding, 8 a.m.  Meet in front of theNatureCenter.  Join the interpretive ranger in observing the morning birds in the park.  Open for people of all ages and experience levels.  The park even has a limited number of binoculars for guests who don’t have any!

Friday, February 3:  Campground Walk, 11 a.m.  Meet by site 96 in the campground.  Guests are encouraged to join the ranger in a walk around the campground, and ask any questions they may have about the park or the local area.

Friday, February 3:  Frog Night 6 p.m.  Meet by the boat launch.  Join the interpretive ranger in trying to locate and identify various frog species.

Saturday, February 4:  Dip netting, 10 a.m.  Meet next to the nature center.  Kids and adults will enjoy examining many of the tiny organisms found in ponds and streams.

Saturday, February 4: Canoeing, 1 p.m.  Meet next to the nature center.  Join the interpretive ranger in a canoe trek around the pond.  Limited to first 18 guests, a second trip might occur if there is high demand.

Sunday, February 5:   Tree ID, 10 a.m.  Meet at the nature center.  Create your own field guide for identifying common trees in the park and then take a walk and see what you can identify.

Sunday, February 5:  Kite Flying, 1 p.m.  Meet at the nature center.  People of all ages will enjoy creating their own paper kites and trying to get them aloft!

Monday, February 6:  Morning Birding, 8 a.m.  Meet in front of theNatureCenter.  Join the interpretive ranger in observing the morning birds in the park.  Open for people of all ages and experience levels.  The park even has a limited number of binoculars for guests who don’t have any!

Friday, February 10:  Campground Walk, 11 a.m.  Meet by site 96 in the campground.  Guests are encouraged to join the ranger in a walk around the campground, and ask any questions they may have about the park or the local area.

Friday, February 10: NatureCenterOpen House, 6 p.m.  Come visit the nature center and enjoy crafts, games, and nature documentaries.

Saturday, February 11:  Tree ID, 10 a.m.  Meet at the nature center.  Create your own field guide for identifying common trees in the park and then take a walk and see what you can identify.

Saturday, February 11:  Canoeing, 1 p.m.  Meet next to the nature center.  Join the interpretive ranger in a canoe trek around the pond.  Limited to first 18 guests, a second trip might occur if there is high demand.

Sunday, February 12:  Valentine’s Day craft, 10 a.m.  Meet in the Nature center to create a nature themed Valentine’s Day craft.

Sunday, February 12:  GPS Scavenger hunt, 1 p.m.  Meet by pavilion 5.  Learn how to use GPS coordinates to collect the clues left around the picnic area.  Many phones have a GPS option and the park has a limited number of GPS receivers.

Monday, February 13:  Morning Birding, 8 a.m.  Meet in front of theNatureCenter.  Join the interpretive ranger in observing the morning birds in the park.  Open for people of all ages and experience levels.  The park even has a limited number of binoculars for guests who don’t have any!

Tuesday, February 14: Mardi Gras Indians, 10 a.m.  Meet at the nature center.  Come celebrate both Mardi Gras and Black history month with a lecture on the Mardi Gras Indians.

*** Due to Mardi Gras Holiday, the nature center will have limited hours the weeks of Feb 12 and 19.***

Friday, February 24:   Campground Walk, 11 a.m.  Meet by site 96 in the campground.  Guests are encouraged to join the ranger in a walk around the campground, and ask any questions they may have about the park or the local area.

Friday, February 24:  Campfire Stories and S’mores, 6 p.m.  Meet at the scout area between the group camp and campground.  Enjoy a toasty campfire with some toasty marshmallows and maybe tell an old fish tale or two!

***NatureCenterCLOSED February 25 and 26 for State Police Training Course***

Saturday, February 25:    GPS Scavenger hunt, 1 p.m.  Meet by pavilion 5.  Learn how to use GPS coordinates to collect the clues left around the picnic area.  Many phones have a GPS option and the park has a limited number of GPS receivers.

Sunday, February 26:   Morning Birding, 9 a.m.  Meet in front of theNatureCenter.  Join the interpretive ranger in observing the morning birds in the park.  Open for people of all ages and experience levels.  The park even has a limited number of binoculars for guests who don’t have any!

Updated 1/28/11

Christy Hengst writes about her Birds in the Park project, which is coming to a close:
“And finally, Friday and Saturday, September 24th and 25th, they will return to Santa Fe to land at the Santa Fe Railyard Park, with a last short appearance at the Santa Fe Art Institute on September 30th, when there will also be a lecture/slide show about the project — 6pm at Tipton Hall — for those of you in the area, it would be great to see you.”

http://www.birdsinthepark.blogspot.com/

I plan to go see them this weekend! These images just seem so magical.

New public art has landed in DC!

“Birds in the Park” is a touring project that involves the temporary installation of thirty to sixty porcelain birdlike forms on the ground.

Pecking around randomly, they might be taken for pigeons—carrier pigeons, that is. The message they bear is an exploration of the beautiful and the horrible side by side. Originally based on artist Christy Hengst‘s feelings of the war in Iraq, the questions posed by the birds are about the humanness of us all: how we are connected but also the ways in which that bond is disregarded.

For most citizens, and for me, personal experience of this war has been mainly through the media.  In fact I feel that the media had a large role in the U.S. public’s acceptance of the decision to go to war, and I’m looking closely at how the invasion of Iraq was “sold” to regular people.  Also, how discussions about the cold facts of war, weapons capabilities etc. can become detached from the human reality on the other end, creeping into everyday life as something normal, like birds in the park. -Christy Hengst

In addition to personal photography and images and text taken from the media, Hengst is collaborating with writer and Vietnam War veteran Tim Origer, English poet Henry Shukman, and Venezuelan photographer Maria de Las Casas for some of the material that appears on the birds.

Look for the Birds this weekend:
Thursday, March 18th: The National Mall (between 7th and 12th st.)
Friday, March 19th: Dupont Circle
Sunday, March 21st: Upper Senate Park (200 New Jersey Ave NW)

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Hengst started the project in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where in the spring of 2009 the birds landed in about thirty locations; places like the farmer’s market, City Hall, various parks, cafes and libraries.  Later, the birds began to fly farther afield, landing at places along the coast of California, in Central Park, NY, in a sculpture garden in New Orleans, at a University Plaza in Germany, in front of Chartres Cathedral in France, and even migrating so far as the Galapagos islands.

Their flight pattern continues to develop, as do the pieces themselves.  As Hengst creates new birds, the flock evolves and grows.  New content is showing up, sometimes in response to places that the birds have been or will be visiting.  Text appears in several languages.   Images may foreshadow or remember aspects of some of the landing sites which are significant in the birds’ search for humanity.

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