The New Year brings new opportunities to connect with the outdoors

It’s a fact. The hours of sunlight are getting longer from now until late June. But that doesn’t mean the days won’t feel short with the early setting sun. Switching to a new calendar is always a good time to mark things you want to do again or for the first time if you missed the opportunity. (Note to self: mark a date in June to find green walnuts for Nocino for real this year. Just do it.)

There are lots of things that mark the seasons personally for me. By no means am I anywhere near Bill Felker’s level of knowledge and detail recording seasonal happenings (don’t forget the average part of this outdoor column), but looking back is a good reminder for opportunities taken, missed and where more could be done.

Some of those things can provide immediate payoff - like seeing a woodcock dance at dusk for instance. Others will take some time to realize, like homemade Nocino and habitat restoration.

The first months of the year can be a hard time to get motivated. Aside from the never-ending task of getting rid of honeysuckle and Bradford pears, there are plenty of things coming up to do outside now or that are related to the outdoors. Our local parks departments have full calendars of programs and events year-round, many of which are free. Some do require registration and sometimes a small fee. Be sure to check the website or Facebook pages for details. There are too many to list here, but here’s a sampling.

Winter Hikes

Several parks offer planned winter group hikes, including the Dayton Five Rivers MetroParks at Twin Creek, Springfield National Trail Parks and Recreation Department at George Rogers Clark Park, Buck Creek State Park and a winter weekly series through Butler Metro Parks visiting a different park each week and a full moon night hike. Some provide additional insights, such as winter tree identification or looking for owls and other birds.

Take a Class

It’s also a great time to get started in a new hobby or extend your knowledge about current interests. Fly-tying and outdoor photography classes are available through Five Rivers Metroparks, as is the Dayton Backpacker Campfire series, where you can hear stories about the outdoors. NTPRD and Five Rivers MetroParks both offer seed-starting classes and other events to plan native prairie plots and pollinator gardens. Or you could learn what it takes to be a volunteer or educator within the different park systems. Yep, classes are coming up for that and will have you ready for the spring.

Of course, you can always visit our public lands on your own. Winter is a great time to get away outside and there is seldom anything that approaches the crowds of summer. Cottontail Rabbit, Ringnecked Pheasant, deer archery and squirrel seasons are still open. And if none of that suits you, read or reread “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold. It’s a timeless series of great essays on our connection to the world and our place in it. I’m going to mark a date in June to find green walnuts for nocino, in what’s become a stretch goal for me.

Devin Meister is a local outdoors and wildlife enthusiast and has a blog called “Average Guy Outdoors.” He is an Ohio University graduate. Reach him at meister.devin@gmail.com.