Major support for Oregon Field Guide is provided by... [ ♪♪♪ ] WOMAN: Come on!

There he is, there he is, there he is.

[ exclaims ] Get him out of there, buddy!

Good boy!

[ laughing ] WOMAN: Whoo, high five!

Yeah!

JAHN: Next, on Oregon Field Guide: A trip to Oregon's Alvord Desert isn't complete without witnessing the mesmerizing power of dust devils.

But do they hold the secrets about what astronauts might face on Mars?

Dust devils probably are a major contributor to the climate on Mars.

Then, nature is for everyone, but it hasn't always been a welcoming place for people of color.

One group is here to change that.

It goes this way.

But first, an up-close look at the little wonders of nature.

WOMAN: There is so much to learn about what they do and how they do it.

In the summertime, as the air heats up, places like this start swarming with insects and flies.

Now, most of us probably just want to swat them away or ignore them if we can, but we met a woman who gave us a totally new appreciation for this insect life, especially caddisflies.

WOMAN: I think what lives in streams is kind of hidden until we look just a little bit more.

Oh!

When you pick up a little sample, you can see this incredible variety of adaptation to living in flowing water.

Oh-ho!

Uh, I got a crayfish on this one.

I've always liked insects, small things, and I like looking at the very fine detail.

This is a caddisfly that has made its case out of mostly little wooden bits.

When I was a little girl, I loved dinking around in the streams and in the forests.

I liked being able to identify what I was looking at.

It's just curiosity.

[ ♪♪♪ ] Oh, we got a good heptagenia here.

So I had an interest in biology.

The high school counselor was incredulous that I wanted to take those classes, because they weren't for girls.

But I was determined.

And I said, "But this is what I really love."

So I persisted.

When you put that net in the water, there will be insects of many different sizes... and ways of making their way around in the stream.

Some of them can crawl, some of them can't.

And there's so much variety that you never run out of things to look at or questions to ask.

Ah!

A pupated dicho.

I think a lot of biologists find a particular animal for which they have great passion.

Excellent!

Excellent!

Oh, look at him.

And I really like the caddisflies.

[ ♪♪♪ ] I think the caddis have got everybody beat.

The process of going through a metamorphosis and becoming terrestrial is incredible.

This is a larger caddisfly that has pupated.

It's stuck to the rock now.

And it'll be that way maybe for a month or more.

It's just their entire life cycle that makes them so unique.

And there is so much to learn about what they do and how they do it.

[ ♪♪♪ ] And, of course, one of the most remarkable things about caddis is the variety of their cases.

The thing that they've got going is that they have silk that they can use to build cases.

And they make more kinds of cases or retreats than any other insect group.

The diversity among them is remarkable.

The cases are a protection, and they camouflage them.

If you are made of little stones and you are crawling around on little rocks, it's not so easy to find you.

They're taking advantage of everything that's out there.

There are caddis that use leafy bits, sometimes even convert from stony cases to woody cases.

They're adapted to different situations.

There's the ones that are built to hang out in the flow and filter the little bits coming by.

One of the reasons we have very clear streams is that there are filtering animals.

And then there are others, their little rocky cases are ballast so they can hang in the flow and they can crawl around and get out onto bedrock and eat the algae.

Then there's the ones that build nets to filter the food.

Beautifully constructed nets.

Then the next part's kind of funny.

They go into a stage where they're not growing, they're not eating, they're just hanging.

And then, when it's time for them to really get ready to emerge to the adult stage, then they build a cocoon and become a pupa.

And it takes about three weeks for them to grow all the parts that they'll need to be an adult.

So when the pupa is ready, it becomes an adult insect that can fly.

[ ♪♪♪ ] Think about that.

They are moving from an aquatic environment and become terrestrial, flying around.

That is exciting.

As I was winding down my research, I thought that there was another audience out there that needed to learn about the science that we have.

And so I edited a couple of books that were for adults.

And there's a kingfisher, like the one we saw.

But I had always had, I guess, in the back of my mind that it'd be fun to write a children's book that I would've liked as a child and show them how to ask questions so that they can develop an answer to it.

We absolutely need fresh water, and for our health, we need to understand these systems.

Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of our face.

And everybody lives in a watershed.

So there's a stream somewhere.

And if folks recognize that they can make a difference in what happens to the streams around them, it enriches our lives entirely.

And gives us many more tools to address questions and to enjoy life.

[ ♪♪♪ ] It is bake-y hot, dry, and breezy out here on the Alvord Desert.

Perfect conditions for what you see behind me, which are dust devils that have been popping off all day long.

It's these conditions that attracted one scientist who's trying to better understand weather phenomena on Mars.

THOMAS: Small whirling cyclones of dust.

You've probably seen them meandering through farms or open fields.

They can grow anywhere from a few feet in diameter to the size of a school bus.

And the really big ones can reach a half-mile high.

But this isn't a mini tornado.

It's a dust devil.

People always want to know what is it like to be inside of a dust devil, and the answer is, "Dusty!"

[ laughs ] This kid in Jacksonville, Florida, found that out the hard way.

Dust devils are surprisingly common on baseball fields... and dirt roads... and deserts.

Common theme: dust.

But what exactly is a dust devil?

So a dust devil is a small-scale dry vortex.

It's a whirlwind that's lifting dust up into the atmosphere.

But exactly how the dust gets lifted from the surface, exactly what are the conditions that give rise to dust devils and what conditions don't give rise to dust devils, we just don't really understand all of that.

Brian Jackson is eager to learn more about how dust devils work.

So he's joined a team of scientists in the Alvord Desert, a 12-by-7-mile-wide playa.

It's dry, hot, and dusty-- the perfect playground for studying dust devils.

WOMAN: We are trying to catch a dust devil.

So we've got a net, which is made up of these little wind sensors.

If a dust devil swings by and goes through part or hopefully all of this grid, then every one of these sensors is going to register something different.

So it's kind of like if each of these was a pixel in your camera, we're trying to take a picture of the dust devil as it goes on by, or make a movie of it even.

There you go, right there.

It's late morning, and as the temperature rises, the dust devils become active.

That's kind of a little lazy one, isn't it?

So, how does a dust devil actually work?

Well, the short answer is we don't know, exactly.

That's one of the reasons we're out here, is trying to understand that.

But we understand the basic mechanisms behind dust devils.

The air close to the ground will get heated by the surface.

That will make the air at the ground very hot, and that makes it buoyant, so it wants to rise like a hot-air balloon.

And as that air begins to rise, it sucks other air in around it.

And as that air gets sucked in, oftentimes it'll start to spin up.

And if you get just the right conditions and just the right amount of dust around, then that spinning air can lift the dust up off the surface and then entrain it into that sort of convective vortex and lift it up into the air.

Dust devils are mostly harmless, at least the small ones.

Dust devils typically are not a dangerous thing.

They're not like tornados.

They're much smaller in scale.

The winds are much weaker.

But, you know, you'll get grit in your eyes and your teeth, that kind of thing.

[ softly ] All right, that's good.

We've got our network set up now.

We've got a miniature weather station set up behind me here.

And so now we just-- it's kind of a waiting game.

We've got to wait for some dust devils to blow through.

The data they collect will broaden their understanding of dust devils on Earth, but these scientists are much more interested in dust devils that are nearly impossible to study in person because they're about 170 million miles away.

What's really invigorated the study of dust devils are our observations on the planet Mars, where dust devils occur quite frequently.

FENTON: So, Mars has big dust devils all over the entire planet, so there's dust devils everywhere.

Some of them get gigantic, like a kilometer wide, way bigger than anything you'll see here.

Okay, so there's a lot of dust devils on Mars, but why does it matter?

Why study them in the first place?

LORENZ: It's important that we understand their role in the Martian climate, how must dust they can lift, how much they change the reflectivity of the surface.

And also how they influence the operation of vehicles on Mars by clearing their solar panels.

Dust devils probably are a major contributor to the climate on Mars.

Dust suspended in the atmosphere of Mars acts a little bit like a greenhouse warming gas, but because we don't understand exactly how dust devils work, it's very hard to make predictions and assessments.

So we're out here on the Alvord Desert to try to study terrestrial dust devils as an analog to understand Martian dust devils.

[ wind blowing ] [ grunts softly ] Well, it's very windy today.

A little wind is good for dust devils.

A lot of wind is probably not good for dust devils.

So we might get too much wind action today for dust devils, we'll see.

The dust devils that are forming are mostly on the other side of the playa.

FENTON: Studying dust devils can be quite tricky.

We don't understand the processes behind them well enough to say, "Okay, if we park our vehicles here and set up our instruments here, we're going to catch 50 dust devils today."

We might do that and see them all on the horizon and only get one or two.

And consider ourselves lucky for getting those two.

Oh, there's another one right behind us.

One thing to think about is, like, how many dust devils have we missed by like 30 meters or something?

Finally, a dust devil travels right through their grid.

[ wind howling ] LORENZ: Yeah, that's what we came for.

The team only catches a few dust devils on this trip, but that's enough to give them valuable data and brings them one step closer to understanding how these mysterious whirlwinds truly work.

And the more they learn about dust devils on Earth, the better prepared they'll be for future missions on Mars.

WOMAN: Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars... [ all cheering ] ...ready to begin seeking the sands of past life.

[ ♪♪♪ ] See, look.

These baby trees.

Think about this for a minute.

What does it take to feel comfortable camping or hiking in the outdoors?

Well, if we're honest with ourselves and given our country's enduring experience with racism, the color of your skin probably has something to do with that.

But OPB's Paul Marshall found one group dedicated to making the outdoors more comfortable for everyone.

[ birds cawing, chirping ] MARSHALL: In the old-growth forest of Oxbow Park, about a dozen folks have gathered together.

[ overlapping laughter, chattering ] This is one of many meet-ups for People of Color Outdoors, also known as POCO.

Hello.

Hi, I'm Tabitha.

I'm Ashley.

Nice to meet you.

POCO is the brainchild of Pamela Slaughter, an Oregonian born and raised in Portland.

--and art.

She started POCO in 2017.

The group now gets together about 60 times a year.

My main job is to help people gain access to beautiful places, to new skills, activities.

We're going to go this way.

Most of the people in my group are either new to Portland, new to Oregon, and are new to the outdoors, or they've had bad experiences outdoors and have taken a long break, and now they're trying to venture back into it, but they want to feel safe.

Do you guys notice the difference in the undergrowth?

More huckleberries.

Bears love these berries.

WOMAN: They're poisonous to us, right?

No, no.

They're yummy.

[ all laugh ] You washed, right?

No?

Okay, I've written my will.

[ chuckles ] More huckleberries.

We'll leave some for the bears.

[ laughs ] The idea behind POCO is about more than just a desire to bring people of color together.

That need for safety Pamela mentioned?

It comes from experience.

SLAUGHTER: There was an incident, it was a long time ago, when my daughter was a child.

This was when skinheads were around a lot.

And, um, we had stepped off the path to let them pass, and they got off the path too, said some nasty things, and then kind of moved on.

When I look back on it now, I think, "Oh, they saw us and they decided to harass us and then move on," but for us, it was-- It was a scary moment for us, because I knew my kids weren't safe and I knew I couldn't protect them.

BOY: Whoa, but I'm slipping.

I don't want to slip too much.

SLAUGHTER: And then once I found out about other people having the same issue, that's how POCO was born.

I don't want our kids here to miss out on all this.

[ bird cawing ] A lot of the world has western redcedars, and some cultures consider it to be a sacred tree.

[ whispers ] Sacred.

Yeah, and this particular tree has a lot of little sapsucker holes.

They look like little nail holes.

Look at 'em up there.

Yeah, I see all of them.

There's so many.

Isn't that pretty cool?

What do you see now?

BOY: I see two giant logs.

They're both in the process of becoming mother logs.

Guess when they fell.

WOMAN: During COVID.

1970.

HIKERS: 1970?

And this is how small the trees are after all this time.

When we get on the other side, you'll be able to see the baby trees coming up out of it.

Out of mama.

Whoa!

See, look.

These baby trees.

Walking through the old-growth forest at Oxbow Park, it's impossible not to marvel at the massive trees still standing.

They can range in diameter anywhere from 4 to 12 feet, and some trees are over 700 years old.

The woman who's responsible for preserving this ancient forest was another Black woman, Estella Ehelebe.

WOMAN: She loved the trees out here.

And when BLM, who own lots of the land in here, said, "Oh, you've got some nasty old trees, they're danger trees, can we take them out?"

She read between the lines saying, "Can we harvest a lot of the old growth?"

And she says, "No, I've got staff.

They'll take care of the danger trees and you don't have to be involved anymore."

She wrote that in a letter, and that ended up saving some of the last old growth in Oregon.

That decision to save the trees took place in the late 1970s.

Estella Ehelebe was the first Black superintendent for Multnomah County forests.

She later worked for Metro and was the first and only Black woman to lead Multnomah County Parks before these lands were transferred to Metro.

She helped to save 92 acres of old-growth forest at Oxbow Park.

I'm Anjala Ehelebe.

My mom was Estella Mae Allen Ehelebe.

She made a decision that saved a lot of the old growth in the park, and I'm going to tell you how that happened, how she came to be who she was.

I hope you will find humor, inspiration, and wisdom in what I have to say.

Part of the POCO experience is in cultivating a close sense of community through education in nature.

Thank you.

ATTENDEES: Thank you.

Instead of saying, "Come hike at Oxbow," I say, "Come gather at Oxbow."

And this is hiking-optional.

Oh, baba ghanoush, okay.

Tabbouleh salad, yum!

Hummus, yum!

You can just lay in the hammock if you want.

You got the deer.

SLAUGHTER: Or you can put a blanket out and just read your book.

There's something for everybody.

[ all cheer ] There are even lessons in geology.

What do you see?

I see some very good crystals.

Aspen Diallo is a part of the People of Color Outdoors Guardians.

That's POCO's Junior Nature Education and New Friends program.

All of this-- the hike, the connection to geology-- is happening in this way with this group for a reason.

When large groups of people of color travel, it can draw a lot of attention, but at least no one is alone.

[ hikers chattering indistinctly ] Look at this, Aspen.

SLAUGHTER: I have always loved Oxbow Park, but when I go there now, it's even more special to me.

Because of Estella Ehelebe, this is a place that's pretty pristine.

[ bird chirps ] And it also reminds me that one person can make a difference for generations.

Thank you, moss.

We appreciate it.

We do.

[ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] You can now find many Oregon Field Guide stories and episodes online.

And to be part of the conversation about the outdoors and environment here in the Northwest, join us on Facebook.

[ birds honking ] [ rain pattering ] [ gulls cawing in distance ] [ wind whistling ] Major support for Oregon Field Guide is provided by... Additional support provided by... and the following... and contributing members of OPB and viewers like you.