Wonders of the Oak Woodlands: Emandal in Fall
Kate Marianchild
September 10-14, 2025
As temperatures cool and leaves turn to red and gold, we’ll wander through Emandal’s oak and riparian woodlands, walking no more than a mile or two each day. We’ll learn about monarch butterflies, sphinx moths, and native bees who will be flitting among the flowers. We’ll examine and discuss the fruits, seeds, and colorful galls that will be adorning oaks, buckeyes and mountain mahogany. Squirrels will be flying through treetops or racing between burrows and woodrats will be resting quietly in their world-class castles until dark.
With close-focus binoculars we’ll experience exquisite views of flowers, insects, lizards... Dragonflies and damselflies will be actively patrolling Rainbow Lake while antlions and crab spiders quietly wait for their prey to come to them. Bear scat will be everywhere, filled with manzanita berries and apples, and acorn woodpeckers will be pounding nuts into trees, getting a head start on their winter food supply. We might see beaver, mink, otter, mergansers, or dippers plying the Eel’s lovely pools as warblers fuel up for migration among the willows and alders. At night, crickets will play symphonies under an exceptionally dark sky speckled with a gazillion stars.
If the temperatures are mild, we’ll head out after breakfast each day with our lunches and snacks and return around 1-2 pm. After that we'll have free time to swim in the Eel’s luscious pools, and/or nap, hike, read, socialize, or gather at our shaded table to look up answers to the day’s mysteries. If the days are hot, we will time our walks to beat the heat with a bird walk before breakfast; a “look-at-everything” walk for a couple of hours after breakfast; a long mid-day break; and another walk after dinner. Every afternoon you will be free to nap, read, socialize, hike, swim in the Eel’s renowned pools, or gather at our shaded outdoor table to look up answers to the day’s mysteries.
Kate Marianchild is the author of the best-selling book, Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants and Animals among California’s Oaks.” She has been leading guided nature walks and giving talks throughout California since 2008 and has taught multi-day residential nature workshops at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus and at Emandal since 2019.
Additional Supplies for Workshop
Day pack
water bottle
hat
sunscreen
a light-colored piece of light-weight fabric to sit on, at least 4'x6' (part of a full bedsheet works--inexpensive from thrift store);
close-focus binoculars and Kate's book, Secrets of the Oak Woodlands (both can be purchased from Kate ahead of time from her website or at Emandal);
a pad of blank sheets for journaling and/or drawing;
writing implement(s) of your choice;
favorite field guides, if any;
comfortable closed-toe shoes with some tread for walking off-trail--ideally shoes that burs won't stick to.
Desirable but optional:
Birding binoculars (8x42, 10x50 or whatever you have with a wide field of vision; Nikon Monarch 5 is a good, reasonably priced choice). I like to wear close-focus binoculars on a short strap and birding binoculars on a longer strap.
Click here to sign up for this workshop
Look below for more photos!
