What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1041020
12 WHAT'S UP! OCTOBER 21-27, 2018 FAQ Living Forest WHEN — 1-5 p.m. Oct. 27 WHERE — Hobbs State Park near Rogers COST — Free INFO — 789-5000 Animals Tell All W ho better to educate us about the ecosystem in Hobbs State Park than the inhabitants of the forest themselves? At the "Living Forest" — the park's family friendly educational event — that's exactly what happens. "The Master Naturalists work with us, and they dress up in animal costumes — a bear, a turtle, a deer, for example — and they place themselves at different locations all around the Ozark Plateau trail," says Steve Chyrchel, a park interpreter. After a short conversation with Mother Nature — another employee of the park — the group sets off. "It's a short trail, about a third of a mile. About every 20 or 30 minutes we take people in groups and lead them to each stop, and the animals talk about themselves a little bit." The entire trail takes around 40 minutes to traverse, and each session with a woodland creature is relatively short. "We know little kids don't have long attention spans," says Chyrchel. "But it's a great way for the kids to learn about the animals." Chyrchel says the path itself is a paved, six-foot wide trail, stroller- and wagon- friendly. "And people won't be walking in grass — so no need to worry about ticks," he adds. The event's date — Oct. 27 — was selected for its potential to be a prime autumn leaves extravaganza. "If Mother Nature plays along, it's the week that most often has the best color," says Chyrchel. And if it rains — as it has once in the past — no worries: The 17,000-square- foot visitors' center and its educational taxidermy makes an ideal Plan B option. "It's a family event and is especially for little kids, but the adults really get a kick out of it as well," says Chyrchel. — LARA JO HIGHTOWER LHIGHTOWER@NWADG.COM ROGERS