Rene Bartos

There is a retired educator and another birding expert along with me. We just teamed up. We make a handout, and I bring some poetry books for examples. We hike, then sit, write, and share if desired (no pressure) and I share photos after the event. Great way to get folks involved.

Anyone can do it! Maybe check with an Audubon in your area or another nature organization if interested. I am a Master birder volunteer but don't have any special poetry training. Audubon folks just saw my haikus on social media and asked if I wanted to help lead. That is how the idea hatched. 🪺

Sketch of a Black-capped Chickadee with a nonet typed onto the sketch.

On our poetry birding hike today we wrote nonets. This is my first attempt at writing one! We heard Carolina Chickadees along the trail. Although I didn't capture a good photo today, I added a nonet to a rough sketch I made from a photo I took of a Black-capped Chickadee in the NE.

Spinybacked Orbweaver spider hanging from a web, which was strung between tree branches over a wooded trail in Blair Woods Nature Preserve this morning in Austin Tx

Had a great morning on our Travis Audubon poetry birding hike at Blair Woods Nature Preserve in Austin. This interesting spider was hanging above the trail. #haikusaturday #nature

For Native American communities, providing a strong start for their children includes enriching practices that embrace their heritages, languages and cultures. Join us in celebrating our indigenous communities and the professionals who support them: https://bit.ly/3UtZahb

❤️ this! "...using picture books for STEAM and PBL is about building bridges: between literacy and science, imagination and innovation, the classroom and the real world...we offer students the tools to question, create, experience, and connect."
@lindsayamoretti.bsky.social
#Educators #PBL #STEAM

Every Seed (and Book) Holds Possibility By Lynn Street

The Nov. newsletter with an article by author @lynnstreetbooks.bsky.social is ready to read! Find book news, teaching tips, inspiration, and #KidLitForGrowingMinds members who will attend NCTE! 📚 #NCTE2025 #edusky #booksky #schoollibrarians #skybrarian

tinyurl.com/zk4asf3m

A Red-bellied woodpecker is clinging to a branch. Photo taken at Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park

Cloudy and rainy morning hike today but the birds always delight!
#haikusaturday
#birding #nature

Nature-Based Solutions: A Policy And Investment Framework For A Healthier Planet, People, And Communities Natural systems absorb nearly half of all human-generated carbon dioxide, making them one of our most powerful tools for long-term sustainability.

The evidence is overwhelming.

Investing in nature is among the most effective strategies for strengthening climate resilience, improving population and individual health, and fostering economic stability.

The Trump admin. just approved a deal trading away federal lands to pave the way for building a road through the center #Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

Izembek contains internationally renowned wetlands, which provide essential habitat for vulnerable migratory birds.

Read on ➡️ bit.ly/47pEfBB

A few of us just started this with our local Audubon. We are talking about different poetry forms on each hike. I am a Master Birder but have no special training or expertise in poetry, just got pulled in when they saw haikus I was posting! We are talking about expanding to journaling.

Photo of an empty bird nest of dead leaves, stems, twigs inside a birding shelter (just below the roof, resting on a beam) at Commons Ford Ranch Park, Tx

Photo of quarter moon taken in early morning, during a hike to Commons Ford Ranch Park Tx

Posting additional haikus inspired by the Poetry and birding hike I helped lead for Travis Audubon Society on October 11th. 🐦 Another hike is scheduled on November 8th! Check out travisaudubon.org if you live in the Austin area. #haikusaturday

TCiNN Summit '25 = @renebartosauthor See Instagram 'TCiNN Summit '25' highlights from Rene Ellen Bartos (@renebartosauthor)

Sharing an Instagram post. So excited to work with these amazing community partners to lead a workshop to help ALL children connect to nature at the Texas Children in Nature Summit in December 2025. More at texaschildreninnature.org

www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2...

Pix of prairie scenery at Commons Ford Ranch Park Tx

Pix of prairie scenery and sign describing prairie restoration at Commons Ford Ranch Park Tx

Pix of Northern Mockingbird perched on tangled branches at Commons Ford Ranch Park Tx

Pix of Chimney Swift tower in the background and sign about Chimney Swifts at Commons Ford Ranch Park Tx

A few more late haikus and pix inspired by a poetry and birding hike I helped to lead for Travis Audubon yesterday at Commons Ford Ranch Park.
Celebrating restored prairies. #WorldMigratoryBirdDay
#HaikuSaturday
#birding #prairies

Lesser Goldfinch perched on a tree branch at Commons Ford Ranch Park, Tx

A group of Lesser Goldfinch perched in tree branches in Commons Ford Ranch Park

Late haiku post...
Helped to lead a poetry and birding hike for Travis Audubon yesterday at Commons Ford Ranch Park. Lots of fun and lots of Lesser Goldfinch and other birds!
Celebrating #WorldMigratoryBirdDay
#HaikuSaturday
#birding

Photo of Chalk Ridge Falls, a waterfall at Chalk Ridge Falls Park in Texas

Attending the AAP national conference so posting a bit late...

Finding joy in sharing the health benefits of nature for children with fellow pediatricians

Celebrate nature for all! National Public Lands Day
#haikusaturday

Kids ask “why” all the time. Instead of giving answers, what if we flipped the question, joined the wonder, and treated mistakes as clues?

Check out my interview with Motherly’s re: scientific inquiry. https://f.mtr.cool/vnslsxmadd #STEM #EverydayLearning

The release of today’s Make Our Children Healthy Again report reminds us that improving the health of children is complex and requires coordinated support at local, state and federal levels. Read our full statement: www.aap.org/en/news-room...

Today’s ACIP meeting promoted false claims and misguided information about vaccines. AAP will continue stepping up and working with our local, state and federal partners to make sure every child in every community continues to have access to immunizations.
bit.ly/4puP4uf

Front cover of the picture book Rewriting the Rules: How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and Disability. It features Dr. Friel, a pale-skinned woman with rosy cheeks and shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a white lab coat. Her right arm and leg are turned inward and her right hand is curled under due to her cerebral palsy. One her right is a child with light brown skin and medium brown hair, wearing a yellow striped t-shirt, blue pants, and blue shoes. He uses black forearm crutches. To Dr. Friel's left is a child with dark brown skin and black hair that goes midway down their back, wearing a pale blue polka dotted shirt and a red-orange knee-length skirt. The child is blowing on a dandelion to send the seeds fling. Surrounding the three human figures are dandelions (which are associated with cerebral palsy) and fantastical flowers and trees that incorporate the shapes of neurons.

Absolutely overjoyed by this @slj.com starred review for REWRITING THE RULES by debut author @drzathome.bsky.social and @joseebisaillon.bsky.social! "A must-purchase for all libraries as it ­reflects the best that modern biographies for young readers have to offer."

www.slj.com/review/rewri...

When I am here, it is to share something exciting!

Do you write STEM-themed nonfiction or fiction? Join me for a deep dive into K-5 science! Attend 1 session or all 5 in this webinar series designed to help #kidlit creators master the seismic shifts in science ed.
starrmatica.com/kidlitscienc...

I’m so excited to see this much-needed book out in the world.

Photo of a beach with two shorebirds standing near each other- taken in North Carolina, Outer Banks, July 2020

Photo of a beach, Watch Hill RI taken Sept. 2019

Photo of a beach taken in Cape Cod MA in July 2020

Just realized that it is #NationalBeachDay
So difficult to choose from all the amazing places I have lived/visited around the U.S.
Spectacular shorelines. Protect and treasure!
Posting: N.C., Outer Banks (2020) with pair of shorebirds 🐦, Watch Hill RI (2019), and Cape Cod MA (2020).

Cat next to a container of cat grass with tongue out, licking upper lip/nose

Cat next to, looking down on container of cat grass

Cat grass. Yum! Cats are such characters! Celebrating rescue cats 🐈 #caturday

Children's Books: a look at the entries in the Children's Category of 2025 National Outdoor Book Awards. Winners to be announced November 13th.

#NOBA_Books #OutdoorBooks #booksky #naturewriting

🌄 ELEVATION SUMMIT 🌄

way-wordwriters.com/events/

#waywordwriters #conqueryourpath #writingcommunity #writerslife #writingpodcast #writingretreat #elevationsummit #critique #firstpages #q&a #writingworkshop

Photo of a Texas Live Oak tree next to a dirt park trail with other trees and shrubs in the background.

Texas Live Oak.
Wildlife everywhere. Saturday nature hike=joy!
(Haiku text in pix)
#HaikuSaturday
#nature

Photo of me standing behind a table with a Screech Owl Box on it in a room at the Austin School of Furniture. There are hanging tools on one wall and the other wall visible has cabinets.

Had fun yesterday helping to teach about Eastern Screech Owls for @travisaudubon at the Austin School of Furniture owl box building class! #birding

Youth & Families Child Health Champion Training · Moms Clean Air Force Join Moms Clean Air Force, the Children's Environmental Health Network, and Environmental Defense Fund for a virtual advocacy training session this summer! This free one-hour training is designed for...

I'm attending Moms Clean Air Force's event, “Youth & Families Child Health Champion Training” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/momscleanair...

New report shows PFAS contamination in 98% of waterways tested | Great Lakes Now More PFAS news as the Wisconsin Supreme Court sides with environmental regulators and Michigan AG finalizes paper mill settlement.

A recent report from the nonprofit Waterkeeper Alliance found that 98% of waterways in the United States contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. One of the country’s most polluted rivers, according to the report, sits at the heart of Donovan’s own community.