National Trails Day 7 June 2014!

National Trails Day is coming soon.

"American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day® is the country’s largest celebration of trails. Mark your 2014 calendar for Saturday, June 7 to prepare for next year’s big celebration. If you are thinking about hosting an event next year, click on the host information tab below for host guides and prep materials. National Trails Day events include hikes, biking and horseback rides, paddling trips, birdwatching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more."

But despite the lousy local weather this week (rain), consider getting outside and enjoy the trails.

Where?  Just do a google search and specify your area to find a nearby trail.

Curling Sweeps Springfield Mass.

Yeah, I know it is a bad pun, but I couldn't help it.  Check out the story online at Masslive, our local web 'zine.

Cult movie and Food Drive

yes, as part of the Community Service Day event at Westfield State, we are hosting a movie and food drive tomorrow night.

so, if in the neighborhood, stop on by our campus center lounge and check out the flick!

Arenal may be quiet but check out Poas

Costa Rica is a known ecotourism destination and while Arenal has been quiet, Poas is pretty active.  So why not take a trip to Costa Rica during the green season.

For info on the volcano (and others), check out this link.

Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica.

61st Running of the Westfield River Canoe Races

Saturday, 19 April 2014, will herald the 61st running of this race.  Check out the details at their site, or better yet, go up to the Hill and Dale Rapids to watch!

Or best of all, grab your wet suit and run the river!

Storm Chasing 101

Springtime brings out the weather fans and they converge on the American Midwest to catch a tornado.

Storm chasing is a growing pastime and was made popular after the movie Twister hit the big screens.  and continues to draw interest with a variety of TV shows on cable.

For a quick little introduction to Storm chasing, see:

Bristow, Robert S.; Cantillon, Heather. Tornado Chasing, Parks & Recreation. Sep2000, Vol. 35 Issue 9, p98. 8p.

Hunters sue to end Sunday ban

"Sportsmen in two of the six states that do not allow Sunday hunting are suing to end the ban."  This was the lead sentence in the article by Frank Sousa.  Hikers and other outdoor "persons" should fight to have a day in the woods when they are not threatened by guns!

Cities and Urban Heat Islands

Just check out these animations about city growth that highlight the need to set aside parks to mitigate urban heat islands.

For example, the former Westfield City Green "used" to have cooler temperatures.

Isotherms of cooler Temps around former Green.

New Wilderness Area!

On March 13, 2014, President Obama signed legislation designating 32,557 acres of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan as Wilderness, the first congressional designation under the Wilderness Act since 2009.

"President Obama and Congress have given the American people a priceless gift by ensuring that this extraordinary landscape with its towering sand dunes and bluffs will be preserved forever as wild and primitive," said Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell. "Hikers, anglers, paddlers and others who venture into this wilderness will find it just as the Ottawa and Chippewa tribes have for the past 3,000 years - a place of quiet solitude, spectacular views, and abundant wildlife.

The Wilderness Act, signed into law in 1964 and celebrating its Fiftieth Anniversary this year, established the highest level of conservation protection for federal lands. Wilderness areas generally do not allow motorized equipment, motor vehicles, mechanical transport, temporary roads, permanent structures or installation. Visitors can engage in non-motorized recreation in Wilderness areas, including hiking, fishing, camping, and hunting.

20th Annual Westfield River Symposium TODAY

Always a great event, Westfield State again hosts the Annual Westfield River Symposium on campus.
The program is found on the WRWA site, so check it out.

And consider attending next year!

Medical Tourism Survey

The Medical Tourism Association is sponsoring a survey.

Please visit this link to participate. (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/53WHBX9).

Link is good until tomorrow Friday the 4 April!

ok, yesterday was my annual April Fools Day Blog

but one needs to wonder about all that electromagnetic radiation going through our bodies.

See this link though.

"The Current Radiation Level in Japan
Except for the neighboring areas near the nuclear power plants, there is no dangerous level of radiation detected in Japan. Tokyo is NOT within radiation contamination area, as it is located over 200km (124 miles) away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant facilities. The radiation level in Tokyo is similar to that of New York City."

Insta-weather App for Android

The debut of a new weather app for Android devices has been announced.  At first you might say, why do we need another app?  I mean, we got a dozen or so right now; what makes this new one so great?

Well first it is free, and we all know that free is good.

Second, this Insta-Weather App downloads data from NOAA and through its Bluetooth, transmit a small pulse at 149 gigahertz to the user's cerebral cortex to stimulate emotions.  Yes, so when the weather is rainy and gloomy, that is, a low pressure system and high humidity, the brain will receive happy thoughts.

Insta-Weather will become available online later this month.  April showers bring may flowers!

After all, we need rainy days to appreciate the sunny ones!