Not many people can say the outdoors is their office. But Eric Nicholas wouldn’t have it any other way.
Named the city’s program naturalist last October, the Livermore native will be leading the most popular kid’s camp in the city. The Ridge Runners Nature Day Camp is back this summer after a brief hiatus.
City recreation supervisor Michelle Schmitt said the camp wasn’t offered last summer because the city didn’t have a program naturalist and was waiting for the right person to come along.
The camp began in 1991 and continues to be one of the most sought-after summer programs the city provides.
“Ridge Runners is extremely popular,” she said. “We allow 40 kids each session and we usually max out most weeks.”
For ages 6 to 11, there will be six different week-long sessions of the camp from the end of June to the beginning of August.
Transitioning into the program naturalist role was fairly smooth for Nicholas, who was a professional whitewater rafting guide for 10 years, taking groups out on the Colorado and American rivers.
“Being on the rivers, I was interpreting–what kinds of birds, plants there were, identifying things for people,” he said.
“It just seemed like the natural (no pun intended) thing to do,” he said of becoming a naturalist.
Having grown up in the Amador Valley, Nicholas is familiar with the surroundings. He also studied American lore on Indian reservations. The Ohlone Indians settled in the Valley, making the East Bay their home. He often teaches children who attend his camps about the region’s rich history.
“I played a lot in the creeks as a child,” he said. “I’m also constantly exploring things. We are really lucky here to have so many neat hiking areas.”
And the many natural surroundings that Pleasanton is blessed to have are the playground for children enrolled in Ridge Runners. The lesson of the camp is for children to notice and appreciate nature that’s practically in their back yard.
“I will educate them about the wildlife, how to act around them,” Nicholas said. “You want people to respect nature and not be discouraged out of fear of animals. People should feel lucky to see those types of things.”
Nicholas is referring to such animals as rattlesnakes, wild turkeys, grey foxes, deer and mountain lions. Some recent mountain lion sightings in the past two months have reminded some residents that nature is indeed all around them.
Asked why he thinks there may be more sightings recently, Nicholas said Pleasanton has a combination of greenbelts and arroyos that attract the wildcats.
“We’ve also got a large population of deer, abundant plant cover, abundant corridors for them to travel through,” he said. “It’s just something that’s going to develop because their population is growing all throughout California.”
But that doesn’t mean Pleasanton residents need to be frightened. The solitary animals are rarely spotted. In fact, Nicholas said he has yet to see one out on one of the many hikes he leads throughout the year. If someone does spot one on a hike, he would love for them to contact him to tell of their experience.
The different open space areas he takes children in the Ridge Runner camps are the Pleasanton Ridge, the Sunol Regional Wilderness Park, Shadowcliffs Regional Park and Augustin-Bernal Park.
As he sat on a park bench atop Golden Eagle Estates at Augustin-Bernal, he said being in the presence of nature is like opening a history book.
“If you were going to step back in time, Augustin-Bernal represents what it really would have looked like when the Ohlones were living here.”
And that’s the experience he tries to give to students in the camp. He doesn’t just take them on a hike.
Instead, he starts by showing them a hideout of brush and bushes, pointing out where fresh deer hoof prints can be seen in the ground, where deer may have nibbled on low lying bushes and taking them on deer paths to help them imagine what the animals’ daily activity is like.
“They leave these field trips knowing more than their parents about deer tracks,” he said. “I’m making them deer naturalists. They’re stewards of the future, of nature and of our parks.”
He also shows the children plants that historically have been used for natural remedies. A bay leaf, for example, was used by the Ohlones to get rid of headaches and for first aid.
Soap root was also used by the Ohlones for a couple different things. Like its namesake, when the bulb of it is cut in half, a soapy-texture is created when using a knife to scrape the insides. The outside of the bulb, which has fine hairs, was often pulled and used for brush bristles, as a fish poison (attaching the hairs to fish’s gills and suffocating them) or to start fires.
Sage, a common household spice, was often used as incense.
“At one time, a long time ago, this whole area was someone’s grocery store,” Nicholas said.
In addition to the Ridge Runners camp, he will also lead some other nature-related summer camps. “You Know Gecko?” is new this year for all ages. Participants will visit the Nature House to interact with the green lizards. “Who’s Who in the Amphibian World?” is also for all ages where participants will learn about wet and dry amphibians and reptiles. “A Visit From Sea,” for all ages, will feature lessons on underwater creatures such as microscopic monsters, crabs and a few other surprise guests. Fun for the whole family can be had with “The Image of Nature,” where all ages and youths with supervision can join Nicholas for a leisurely hike in Augustin-Bernal Park to the hilltop where all will share a potluck meal and take photographs.
Other new programs will be offered sooner than summer, in May.
“Saturday Striders” is for ages 12 and up. More advanced hikers can take a fast-paced hike off the beaten path. That session is from 10 to 11 a.m. on May 5 and costs $10 for residents/$13 for nonresidents.
Also on May 5, “Creepy Crawlers” will be held for all ages. Participants will learn about how flowers are pollinated, insects and arachnids and the environment they live in. That session will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. and costs $14 for residents/$17 for nonresidents.
Nicholas will also lead the Mature Adult Hikers Club for ages 55 and up on an exploration of hidden trails. That session is from 10 to 11 a.m. May 19 and costs $8 for residents/$11 for nonresidents.
The city’s summer activity guide will be sent to residents the second week in May.
For more information about these programs, contact Nicholas at 963-5016.
