Get Out There

Come See Us! Every saturday and wednesday

through October

·veggies ·eggs ·meats ·breads ·honey ·bedding plants 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

5th Avenue between Division and Browne www.spokanefarmersmarket.org

We accept: Visa/Mastercard, Food Stamps (EBT), WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Coupons EXPLORE SPOKANE COUNTY CONSERVATION FUTURES LANDS

The Spokane County Conservation Futures program includes more than 40 protected properties for a total of 9,145 acres throughout the county that serve as open space, wildlife habitat, and places for trail users to hike, bike, run, and enjoy. The 2021 Conservation Futures nominations round closed on July 31 with eight prospective properties proposed as additions, and now there’s a public meeting for comments on the nominations that you can participate in. The meeting is set for September 9 at 5 p.m. via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom. us/j/84923466415). The meeting will also be a great chance to learn more about the Conservation Futures program.

Fall is one of the best seasons of the year to explore the mostly low-elevation Conservation Futures properties around Spokane. There is likely a property with trails near where you live that makes for an easy after-work or weekend hiking or mountain bike outing. Visit Spokanecounty.org/4266/ Conservation-Areas for information about each area, including trail info and directions. (Jeff Lambert and Derrick Knowles)

LEARN ABOUT COMPOSTING

While an in-person fall compost fair may or may not take place at Spokane’s Finch Arboretum on October 23 as scheduled this year due to health concerns over public gatherings, a virtual option will take its place if necessary. Historically held as part of the Fall Leaf Festival, Master Composters/Recyclers have been teaching the benefits of home composting as a means of reducing waste for over 30 years. The event also includes free compost bins for Spokane County residents after they learn how to use them properly. If the event is not held in person this year, it will be held virtually the week of Oct. 23. If the virtual event happens, county residents can take an online, self-paced class where those who finish a short quiz can still claim a free compost bin. To get an update on the event and its format, email solidwaste@spokanecity. org or call 509.625.6580 closer to the date. For additional information on recycling and composting in Spokane, visit the City of Spokane’s website or their Solid Waste Disposal Department at 509.625.6580 or the Spokane County’s website. (OTO)

CELEBRATE PUBLIC LANDS DAY AT SALTESE UPLANDS

This National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 25, Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC) is inviting outdoor enthusiasts to visit the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area and the Saltese Flats

PHOTO: AARON THEISEN. COURTESY OF INLC

restoration project near Liberty Lake. Participants can choose from a variety of activities—a birding hike with local author and historian Jack Nisbet, stewardship projects like removing trash and barbed wire to make the area safer for humans and wildlife, or a guided bike ride. Wrap up your afternoon of adventure with a status update on INLC efforts to raise $500,000 to purchase additional recreation and conservation lands in the area and to learn about plans for the future of this important land. Register for the event at Inlandnwland.org and share your images from the Saltese area using #MoreSaltesePlease to help us tell this story. INLC works to conserve, care for, and connect lands and waters essential to life in the Inland Northwest. (Carol Corbin)

SPOKATOPIA OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FESTIVAL ADAPTS TO COVID

The Inland Northwest’s only outdoor adventure festival moved to Saturday, September 18 this year in hopes that the COVID public health situation would be improved, which unfortunately for organizers turned out not to be the case. To ensure a safe event, tickets will be limited this year to make social distancing easier and the whole event safer for participants of this popular all-outdoors event. Spokatopia ticket holders can try kayaks and paddleboards, ride the trails at Camp Sekani with a shuttle, watch talented riders perform in the jump park, listen to live music from an adult beverage garden benefitting Evergreen East, take an outdoor skills clinic or join a group ride, participate in kids bike demos and other kids’ activities, join a trail run or yoga class, and more. (Demo bikes, paddles, and other surfaces will be sanitized throughout the day.)

Spokatopia takes place outdoors on over 1,000 acres of parkland, trails, and water with plenty of natural social distancing built into this fun outdoor event. But organizers of the event from Out There Outdoors are adding additional precautions, including limiting attendance (tickets are available online and at the event while remaining tickets last), spacing out all group activities to ensure plenty of space for physical distancing, encouraging vaccination and masks, and adding hand cleaning and sanitizer stations and signs reminding people to give each other space around the event. Get tickets online in advance in case they sell out and read more about the event’s evolving COVID/Safety policies and procedures at Spokatopia.com. (OTO)

HISTORY-THEMED FESTIVAL RETURNS TO WALLACE

Experience the rich history of Wallace, Idaho, and the entire town’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places at the Fall For History Festival Sept. 30-Oct. 3. Learn from speakers, tour historic homes and museums, watch live theater re-enactments, and more. Some of the highlights from this year’s festival include: “Mining the Magnates and Mavericks,” an open mic event to share stories about the enterprising men and women who left their mark on mining and Wallace (Sept. 30); “Mining the Museums and Manuscripts,” a trolley tour of Wallace museums with readings that bring history to life along with guided tours of the Mining Heritage Exhibition (Oct. 1); and self-guided tours at the Northern Pacific Depot Museum, Wallace Mining Museum, Barnard-Stockbridge Museum, and Mine Heritage Exhibition, the latter of which includes gold panning demonstrations (Oct. 2). Advance tickets are $20 each (space is limited) and include a complimentary copy of the new “MineMade Map & Guide to the Coeur d’Alene Mining District.” More info at Wallaceid. fun. (OTO)

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE

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