Effie Yeaw Nature Center

06/24/2026

River Otter swimming in the river.

06/24/2026

Western Tiger Swallowtail loving coyote mint.

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Video by Rachael Cowan

06/23/2026

We have a few days left before our voting closes for our new NatureFest 2027 logo challenge. Cast your vote today!🗳️🎉

🌿 NatureFest 2027 Logo Contest Voting is Now Open! 🌿

During NatureFest 2026, young artists were invited to create logo designs for next year's event. After being reviewed by our staff and volunteers, these three designs were selected as the finalists—and now it's your turn to help choose the winner!

🗳️ To cast your vote, simply "like" the logo design photo in the comments that you would like to see become the official NatureFest 2027 logo.

Voting will close on June 26th, and the winning design will be announced shortly after.

🏆 The winning artist will receive:
🎉 One FREE day at Nature Center Day Camp
🎟️ Two tickets to NatureFest 2027

Thank you for supporting local youth creativity and helping shape the future of NatureFest. Vote for your favorite design and help us choose next year's logo!

06/23/2026

The beautiful American River park way.

06/23/2026

Great Blue Heron on the rivers edge.

06/23/2026

Wild Turkey Poults following their parent.

06/22/2026

Quail hen with her baby chicks.

06/22/2026

Western toad chilling in the water.

06/21/2026

Father’s Day Myth Buster!

Have you ever heard someone say daddy-longlegs are the most venomous spider, but their fangs are too small to bite us? There are two types of arachnids who have earned the common name “daddy-longlegs” and only one of them is an actual spider!

Harvestmen are aptly referenced as “daddy-longlegs,” however, not all species have long legs. Harvestmen are arachnids, but they are not spiders! They do not have venom, nor silk glands, and they only have a single pair of eyes. They capture insect prey via ambush hunting. Some eat fungus and dung. You can find these hiding under logs and other damp out of sight areas.

Pholcidae, also called cellar spiders, are the ones that vibrate in their web as a response to a threat. They do have venom, but there are no documented cases of a human harmed by a pholcid spider. In fact the only way to find out would be to collect venom and inject it into human volunteers. Yikes! Such scientific studies are not being conducted,nor are they needed since these spiders are known as harmless to humans.

Either way, this myth is busted because either the critter in question does not have venom, or there is no science to back the venom theory. So you can pick up a daddy-longlegs and enjoy observing them up close.

Photo of left of Phalangium opilio by Mary Hanson.
Photo on right of Pholcus phalangiodes by Merav Vonshak.

06/21/2026

Father’s Day Myth Buster !

Have you ever heard someone say daddy-longlegs are the most venomous spider, but their fangs are too small to bite us? There are two types of arachnids who have earned the common name “daddy-longlegs” and only one of them is an actual spider!

Harvestmen are aptly referenced as “daddy-longlegs,” however, not all species have long legs. Harvestmen are arachnids, but they are not spiders! They do not have venom, nor silk glands, and they only have a single pair of eyes. They capture insect prey via ambush hunting. Some eat fungus and dung. You can find these hiding under logs and other damp out of sight areas.

Pholcidae, also called cellar spiders, are the ones that vibrate in their web as a response to a threat. They do have venom, but there are no documented cases of a human harmed by a pholcid spider. In fact the only way to find out would be to collect venom and inject it into human volunteers. Yikes! Such scientific studies are not being conducted,nor are they needed since these spiders are known as harmless to humans.

Either way, this myth is busted because either the critter in question does not have venom, or there is no science to back the venom theory. So you can pick up a daddy-longlegs and enjoy observing them up close.

Photo of left of Phalangium opilio by Mary Hanson.
Photo on right of Pholcus phalangiodes by Merav Vonshak.