Buddy Bison's Buzz - September 2011

Welcome Back to School!  

After a fun-filled summer, I am so excited to get back into action with you this school year!  I’d like to give a BIG WELCOME to 8 new schools joining the Where’s Buddy Bison Been?® School Program.

Study hard and remember to take me with you as you explore the outdoors!

Your Friend,

Buddy Bison

Beauvoir Keeps Buddy Bison Busy!
Students and teachers at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School love Buddy Bison!  Beauvoir is a private school in Washington D.C. All of the students from preschool to third grade participate in the Where's Buddy Bison Been? program.

The preschoolers, whose class is called ‘The Whales’, wrote a whole story about Buddy Bison and drew pictures to illustrate it.  They used the theme from the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie….  Instead they titled their story, If You Give Buddy Bison the Whale Class... In their book, the students describe all the fun things that happen when you give The Whales a Buddy Bison. Click here to read their story and see their totally cute illustrations.

Each year, second graders go on a river study where they study the local rivers and visit national parks in the Washington D.C. area to learn about and experience rivers and natural habitats.  Through their studies, they learn to be thoughtful, good caretakers of the environment and their local habitat.  Check out their awesome river paintings!

Beauvoir's Primary Division Director, Jalene Spain Thomas took Buddy Bison this summer on a cross country adventure that included 8 national parks and Mexico!  That makes Buddy Bison want to sing:  

♪from the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters – this land was made for you and me! ♪

Here are some of her pictures:

We would like to give a big shout out to Beauvoir teacher Roya Fardoust, who teaches at Beauvoir, for being such a great ambassador for Buddy Bison at her school!

Buddy Bison Digs National Fossil Day

You know, fall is just around the corner with the Earth’s equinox arriving on September 23rd – that’s when day and night will be almost the same length.  You can learn more about the Earth on National Fossil Day.  It falls on October 12th this year, during Earth Science Week.  Click here to find out more about all the things you can do that day, including how to become a Junior Paleontologist!

You can also listen to a song about National Fossil Day written by one of Buddy Bison’s Ambassadors, NPS Ranger Jeff Wolin.

Buddy Bison's Back-to-School Joke
What does a mother bison say to her son as he leaves for school? 
Bye Son!

Coming Up – A Contest to Plan Your Own National Kids to Parks Day Event!
Saturday, May 19 is National Kids to Parks Day! This January Buddy Bison is having a contest where you can win money to host your own National Kids to Parks Day event for your school.  In your contest entry, you’ll need to include how your classmates will be active outside, how they’ll learn about parks, and how everyone can participate in a conservation activity, like a park clean up or planting trees.  Winners will receive a grant (that’s money to pay for it) to make it all happen! Look out for the contest in the January 2012 Buddy Bison’s Buzz.

Are you looking for something fun to do outdoors on Sept 24? Join World Wide Day of Play hosted by Nickelodeon and supported by Let's Move, the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, and the National Park Service. This fun-filled day "unplugged" will take place in DC on the Ellipse from 10 AM to 5 PM. The cast from iCarly, Dora the Explorer and many others will be there to encourage kids to participate in numerous physical activities. In addition, more than 4000 local events will be talking place around the country and the world. Learn more here.

A Reminder about Great Events to Get Kids Outside!

Join National Park Trust and The North Face for Explore Your Parksprograms.

UPCOMING EVENTS
October 1: Fort Snelling State Park, 9:00 AM – Noon, St. Paul, MiN

October 8: Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM Yorktown Heights, NY

Both events are open to the general public. For more information email, Chasidy Atchison

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) Saturday, September 24th.
This event is the nation's largest, single day volunteer effort for public lands. You and your family can volunteer to help preserve our nation’s parks.

Make sure to send your photos to buddy@buddybison.org