I am so proud of myself. Last month, I decided to become Level 1 Venomous Certified from Save the Snakes as an added benefit to my teaching, and freelance EMT and set and event medic work. A few months ago I was working as a set medic and learned that Snake Safety is an actual position. I’ve been enthralled with snakes my entire life, and have been handling non-venomous ones by hand for years. I love when we find snakes at Outside School! So, now I’m kitted out for venomous handling, too, and ready to rock at events and on the set! We still have never seen a venomous reptile while I’m teaching- I’ve only seen one out in the wild my entire life! It was a baby rattlesnake that was dead, flattened by a very obvious horse hoof print.

Save the Snakes’ course was fantastic, and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who may come across rattlesnakes in their lives. What beautiful creatures!!!

I have to say that the biological response to the sound of rattling, especially in such close quarters, is VERY strong. I felt like my cells were all little volcanoes, all fired up! The adrenaline at the track has nothing on this- after two days of intense study, I was thoroughly exhausted.

And, the instructors were fabulous. And, the students, from all sorts of different backgrounds with all sorts of different reasons for attending, were just the absolute coolest group.

Hooray, Save the Snakes!!!

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter, where I’ll let you know all about an animal adventure we had at Summer Camp!

Enrollment

Outside School’s first day of school is 9/3/24! I have space available for the school year, as well as my "8 Week Peek" in case you're not ready to commit to an entire school year or prefer a trial run first.

Applications are due on 8/15/24 to start on the first day. As always, more information and a link to the application are at www.outside.school.

I'd love to have you be a part of our group! 

Be Outside School!

Enroll by this process: 1) Read the page linked below. 2) Read the handbook page. 3) Read and follow the steps on the application/tuition page. I provide the links in the appropriate order on the web page. Check it out!

Nature News

Hawks ‘N’ Chatting

Eight hawks circled in as we awaited pickup!

Inspiration and Resources

How to Cope With the Dog Days of Summer

An article by Linda McGurk regarding personal safety on hot days.

Samantha Tan: "I'm not afraid to say I'm an Asian woman"

I recently confronted issues of sexism with a company, who appreciated my feedback. I’ll be interested to see how things shake out. In the meantime, my experiences caused me to get the shakes a few times while reading this article, with all its similarities. I’ve been a course marshal at Samantha Tan’s races at Sonoma Raceway!

Be Disaster Ready, California

Brought to us by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, this website with readily available tips for whatever disaster we may be facing: extreme heat, wildfires, wildfire smoke, power outage, fast and cold water, floods, earthquakes, and severe storms. You can sign up for alerts, too.

Resilience

Janine Shepherd writes about developing resiliency, something that takes place day-by-day at Outside School. Read her latest article here:

Take care,

Heather

Heather Taylor, California Master Teacher, NREMT

Founder/Director/Teacher, Outside School (www.outside.school)

Founder, Teach Outside (www.teachoutside.org)

Feel free to forward to anyone you like!