July 2025 • Nebraskaland 31
leave in October. It's also become an
opportunity for homeschool families to
fi nd nature-loving community. Many
parents and caregivers specifi cally
join the Homeschool Hikes program
to meet other outdoorsy homeschool
families.
Each month's hike features a
diff erent topic, which is planned
around the happenings at Schramm
Park at diff erent times of the year. Our
naturalists keep a close eye on what
wildlife is doing. For example, in March,
we noticed the sudden reappearance
of red-winged blackbirds the same
week we held Homeschool Hikes, so
it became that month's theme. One
November, we had a hike that focused
on turkeys, and we were rewarded with
the chorus of our resident wild turkeys
gobbling during our excursion.
We also lean on the strengths of
our seasonal naturalists to determine
topics for the year ahead. Some
naturalists are knowledgeable about
wildfl owers and grasses, while others
are lifelong birders. Several have been
avid anglers and can share information
about all the fi sh in the area and the
aquatic creatures that coexist within
the ponds in our park. Past themes
have included "Frogs and Toads,"
"Wetlands," "Lichen" and less tangible
Kelsey Wood, Luanne Wood and Oliver Wood of Millard look out onto the Platte River during a Homeschool Hike.
