Welcome to the family B with Erica McLarty.

Mom, can you walk us?

Of course.

Where we navigate the real life beautiful chaos of parenting here.

And that's change.

Now come in.

Explore family adventures.

This.

And try not to break the bank while making memories.

These a broken up.

Oh, cool.

Well, there's a lot going on tonight, so buckle up.

We got this.

Oh.

That's not even my kid.

I'm getting the kids off their screens and out into nature, with some help from Generation Wild and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

And then a spot.

I highly recommend taking the fam out for playing pickle ball and eating pickle themed food.

Next, we head to Kingsburg, Colorado to see how the Wild animal sanctuary is giving tigers and more a safe place to heal.

Plus, we're stopping in at our favorite place to get boba and be inspired by a single mom's dream turned into reality.

Then come along on our family road trip where we make a Colorado roadside stop.

That is crazy.

Unexpected.

Exit here for alligators.

Plus, we make some very wiggly new friends at Denver Urban Gardens as kids are learning how to make their own worm compost bins.

It's all coming up right now on the Family Beat.

From the Five Points Media Center in the heart of Denver, Colorado.

This is studio 12.

If you're looking for some ways to get your kids outdoors and off screens, there's a nonprofit called Generation Wild, and they've partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to give you some easy, inexpensive ideas.

So I took my own kids to go check it out.

I want to catch another dragonfly generation.

While there's a movement across the state of Colorado to get more kids and families outdoors.

It was created by Great Outdoors Colorado, which is a foundation of the state that invests a portion of the lottery proceeds into outdoor recreation and conservation projects across the state.

And then we also have our statewide communications, social change campaign that is all about bringing easy tips for parents across the state of Colorado to get outdoors with their kids any time of year.

I think there's some of their Generation Wild campaign is designed to.

The program works in schools, libraries and state parks like this one.

So I think what's really unique about Cherry Creek, we're in the heart of Aurora, so we're an urban park.

So we often have to balance capacity and in protecting our natural resources.

And if you're a parent that wants to get your kids outside, but he help figuring out what to do with them.

Generation wild 100 things to do before your 12 list gives you plenty of ideas.

An easy guide you can do right outside your front door at a local city or state park.

Today, we've explored Cherry Creek State Park with some birdwatching.

Wow, looks so pretty!

It looks like at last we created our own fossils.

We've also looked at some of the different plants that are here and done.

Some leaf rubbings.

Visiting a state park is a great way to just go on an easy nature hike through the woods to explore and listen to the bird calls and see what you can find.

Cool.

Yeah.

Well, you know, it's been a great partnership to be with Gogo Generation Wild.

Just inspiring people to learn about the outdoors and knowing that you can do all these fun things.

And it doesn't cost any money.

Digging a castle or rubbing leaves or, you know, just having that partnership to engage people of all ages in all walks of life.

Oh, look at this.

Flowers.

You're so pretty.

We're all so busy in our lives.

Parents are busy with work and driving kids to and from activities before and after school, and kids lives are busy.

But it really only takes five, ten, 20 minutes spending that time each day outside.

We'll see benefits in kids with reduced stress and the earlier we get them exposed to spending time in nature, it's been proven that they will become lifelong lovers of spending time outdoors, and are more likely to spend that time for their own personal health.

Find a piece of work to your day.

You know some kids families, they may not know where to go.

They may not feel like they have the equipment.

You know, there are a lot of activities in Colorado where you feel like you have to have the best gear to be able to go do those, and that's just not the case.

And if getting the gear feels like a barrier to you, don't worry.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has stuff you can rent.

You can also go to your local library and get a backpack of gear.

So we headed to our local library to check out the Generation Wild Adventure Backpack.

It's free to any child making outdoor access more affordable for families.

It was easy to do and had all kinds of great things in it, like a state park pass.

Nature guides, hiking poles, walkie talkies, binoculars, and more.

You want to go and learn about boating.

We have life jackets and canoes and kayaks and paddle.

If you want to do birding, we partnered with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

They have binoculars and bird books.

If you want to learn archery.

We have our own archery trailer.

So what?

That shouldn't be a barrier to anybody.

And for those kids that, well, are still asking for a screen.

Colorado State Parks and Wildlife has an app for that.

So we have an app called Agents of Discovery.

You can download it for free.

And on there, it's kind of like Pokemon Go.

So we make admissions and the missions are challenges.

And you go and you you go and you walk a trail and it pops up on your phone.

So you're using your phone for good.

So you're learning about the park or learning about nature.

And then at the end you can go to our our visitor center in the campground and get a special prize.

You can start simple, like reading a book under a tree using a fallen tree trunk as a balance beam, looking for insects, or like maybe going ice skating or fishing.

And then there's even hike a 14 are on there, which is a really Colorado activity to do.

It might be a little bit of a stretch, so you can always start somewhere easy on the 100 things to do that.

Well did you see the giant white bird?

It's really close up.

It looks, and it had pretty long legs and it's got a youthful beak.

There are been studies on the brain that show that spending time outdoors, you have less rudimental session on those kind of negative thoughts.

And it helps be kind of a place where there's less stress and you can come as a solace.

And so even if you only get to spend five, ten minutes outside, walking through a park, that is something that will bring lots of benefits to your day.

So it's kind of over there.

Generation wild is really investing and creating that next generation of kids who are going to care about the environment.

They're going to be those champions for recycling, but also champions for our public lands.

So whether it's hunting for leaves or befriending a bug.

So to you, I don't know that there was that label Generation Wild Cruise.

You don't need a fancy trip to have a wild time outdoors.

This is the coolest place ever for kids.

Well, I'm Erica McLarty.

For more information on Generation Wild and to download their free 100 Things to Do Before you turn 12 list, you can go to Generation wild.com.

Woo!

Welcome to the sporty pickle, where the game is fast.

The food is hot and the drinks are well.

Pickle.

It's a hot spot in Parker, Colorado, and it was time to go test it out.

I'm here at the Sporty Pickle in Centennial because apparently all the cool kids are playing pickle ball, and I don't know how to play, but I hear it's like ping pong.

A little bit of tennis, a lot of chaos.

I'm good at all those things.

And also, to help me today, I have a pickle, captain.

But what exactly is a pickle, captain?

I, as a pickleball captain, teach people pickle ball 101.

So a lot of people come in, they don't even realize we have pickleball courts.

And a lot of people don't know how to play, but they're also very intimidated.

So we break it down and make it really easy for people to learn, getting warmed up and getting ready.

Where do we start?

We start with the serve.

Okay.

The serve.

It's underhand 500 and it's below the waist.

You could either drop it and hit it or hold it.

It has to bounce once on each side.

So serve bounce serve bounce and then anything goes.

Okay.

So the kitchen.

It's this area right here.

It's also known as the non volley zone.

Nothing in the kitchen.

No.

Got it.

Unless it bounces first I don't even need you.

Look at me.

So there are three numbers.

When you're scoring in pickleball.

You should say them every single time you serve.

So you're going to say your score.

The other team score.

And the position of the server.

Zero for two coming at you.

For owner Jared Gordon, the concept was born the old fashioned way over a friendly game of pickleball at his house.

Some buddies were over.

It was about 20 of us drinking beer and playing pickleball, and it just kind of organically came about that there needed to be a much cooler place to play pickleball, because what was available was just parks and racks or warehouses converted to pickleball, which are all a little depressing.

They smell like feet.

They're just you don't want to really hang out after you've played.

And I've been in construction for a long time, so some of my buddies were in construction.

I started running a quick budget.

Next thing you know, I pulled a permit.

We started building my personal views on pickleball.

It should be kept to be fun and enjoyable.

I think a lot of people take it maybe a little too seriously.

Oh.

Yes.

You only need four people, so I feel like it's very family oriented.

You could learn it in ten minutes and be playing in ten minutes.

If you're just trying to get in and learn how to play.

Sometimes it's intimidating.

So we try and create an environment where anybody can come and enjoy it.

Have fun.

We do cosmic pickleball at night, which is kind of like cosmic bowling.

The black lights come on, everything glows in the dark, and it's a little bit more.

It's not quite so serious.

So no.

Yes, it's more than just three indoor pickleball courts.

Players can refuel in the 6000 square foot bar and restaurant.

We've got pickle poppers, full court, nacho bites, pizza, pickleball on sliders, and yes, of course, pickle infused drinks.

So right now I'm making the dirty pickle.

It's just a pickle martini.

But we can do vodka of choice, too.

This is what we use for our specialty.

I'm also going to throw a little bit of cucumber vodka in there.

Just kind of cuts down how strong the drink is.

And we're going to add some pickle brine.

That's what makes it the dirty pickle.

We don't actually use any vermouth in this martini.

So we just tap that one of these cute little pickles, stuffed olives.

And that's the dirty pickle.

All right.

Now I'm going to be making our smoked old fashioned.

So you can really use any whiskey.

And we're going to be using two types of bitters.

We have our normal, Angostura bitters.

And then we have orange bitters as well.

Just gives it a nice little round flavor.

And then we have a brown demerara sirup that we're using instead of a normal sirup kind of match as well with the Applewood that we're going to be smoking it with.

Add a little bit of ice in there and just chill it.

We're going to get our ice cube.

Up there you know.

And like I said we're smoking this with Applewood.

Make sure you get all that smoke in there.

And you want to let it sit for just a little bit.

Don't be afraid of all the flying ash.

It's fine.

Now the trick.

If you have a smoker at home, you don't want to pull this up because it's going to pull all the smoke out.

You just slide it to the side and let all that smoke sit inside.

There.

That's our smoked Old-Fashioned.

You'll find nonalcoholic options, too, including mocktails.

That's going to be our new pickle baller.

And now beers on draft.

This is our one year anniversary, and I can tell you, you know, we're up 40%.

And, you know, then we were at this year, last year.

Just come word of mouth and and people are just figuring out there, you know, it's just a fun place to hang out.

What do you like to call or not?

Now I know what reality stars still like.

Whether you're here to get competitive, hang with the family, or you just came for the food, the sporty pickle really does serve up something for everyone.

I'm Erica McLarty with PBS 12 and consider me officially a pickle ball believer.

Bring it.

Yeah, I'm gonna set you up I. For more information about the sporty pickle, you can go to their website at Sporty pickle.com.

On the eastern plains of Colorado, there's a place where wild carnivores roam free.

We took our family to Kingsburg, Colorado, to experience the wild animal sanctuary and learn all about their educational mission.

The entire goal of the wild animal sanctuary is to be the next best thing to the wild for the animals here, since the wild was completely taken from them, it was never an option for them.

So we're trying to basically restore what they've never had.

Oh, there's something walking over there.

I can't tell what though.

So we specialize in rescuing at this location.

Specializes in rescuing captive bred large carnivores.

There are about 450 at this location in Keansburg, Colorado.

The other big thing is that we have no breeding.

We don't want to add to the number of animals that cannot go back to the wild.

So the sanctuary was founded, by a gentleman named Pat Craig, who is still our executive director.

45 years later.

He basically went on to visit a zoo, where a friend of his was working, and he saw all these animals kind of tucked back behind the scenes.

This is where he learned of zoo's surplus animals.

It was a country wide issues.

It was having more animals, and they were able to take care of, really want to get a lot of babies out front.

And then they have these adults kind of back behind the scenes and, and they're kind of dot, dot, dot.

That happened after that.

They weren't really traded out front or anything.

They just kind of stay in the back.

And again, this was over, you know, 45 years ago, we learned of this at a family farm in Boulder, Colorado, at 20 acres.

And he basically showed up a USDA.

And I'm paraphrasing here, but he said, what's the option for carnivores where what's what's the plan for them when they need rescuing?

And he was basically told that unless he does, it is again paraphrasing what happened.

So he got everything license.

He got everything fixed up the way he was supposed to, got, everything.

Proper working order and rescue the first animal.

That was a beautiful young jaguar named freckles in 1980 when he was just, 19 years old.

So then when he, was in Boulder, Colorado, and then Lyons, Colorado.

Now, just because the name was perfect, but then moved here to Keansburg, Colorado in 94.

Kind of like a big retirement home for all ages, if that makes sense.

We're huge about talking about empathy here at the Sanctuary Secondary to rescue the animals.

Our goal is, is education really?

So first and foremost, we're a home for them.

But we also want to talk about why we have to do these rescues and, and their world and what it look like.

Animals are coming from apartments, garages, backyards, basements, horse trailers, gas stations, shopping malls, roadside zoos, the Tiger King saga, that whole thing.

Imagine your bedroom right now.

You're born in that room.

You don't go anywhere.

That's where you use the restroom.

That's where you eat.

That's where you sleep.

That is your entire world.

You don't imagine grandma's house.

You don't imagine the library.

You imagine that room and that's it.

On one day, somebody opens that door.

Now, what do you do now?

You can go out there now.

You can go down now.

But it's going to be scary, right?

Your whole world was a box.

It was his room.

So that's what all of our animals are going through when they get here.

That that the door was opened.

So we just have to go gradually.

Some animals take to a habitat immediately and it's a beautiful thing.

We're so happy.

Some animals, it takes a minute.

It's just like people, we all kind of heal and go through things differently, you know, because we're animals are coming from.

I'd say the average sized space was maybe a garage, give or take, but there's often concrete under their feet for the most part, many of our animals have never really experienced grass before coming here being under open sky.

Some animals are meeting their own species for the first time.

So it's like you walked in today on the first human you met.

It's.

What do I do?

I have no sense of structure.

I've no sense of society how this is going to work.

So we have to go slow to big, if that makes sense.

It's not too dissimilar from rescuing a dog or cat at home that's been through some some trauma in their past life.

So we usually start off small, more of an apartment sized, enclosure for them and work their way out as they feel more comfortable giving them the time and opportunity, never forcing anybody.

But then eventually they graduate to a large acreage habitat.

They can go from one end to the other.

They can actually run for the first time in their life.

They can get tired, they can pant, and they can also have enrichment with their own species for the first time in their life, our animal care team, they're all amazing.

I, my my phrasing for them is champions of humanity because they're out there in the rain, sleet or shine.

Out here in Colorado.

The wind is a big thing as well.

The roads get muddy.

They figure out a way to drive through them or go on foot or whatever.

They have to do very, very long days.

And sometimes it's sunup to sundown.

Oh my goodness, look at that.

It's very hard sometimes having to, especially when you see when they first get here, seeing everything that they've been through.

It could be a little bit more difficult.

But I always remind myself that we're here to take care of them.

And even though it's hard, you know, you still have to be here just to provide them the best life that you possibly can.

Kind of helps keep you focused on the goal at hand, and it gives you some time to, not think so much about where they came from and focus more on how to take care of them.

From this point, my job is to kind of assess their well-being and kind of see how they're doing on a day to day basis.

We provide medications to the different animals.

So if we notice that one might be a little sore, we can coordinate with the med staff to get them everything that they need.

So one of the most powerful rescue stories that really affected me personally was story of, Mary Jane was a tiger that was kept at a truck stop for many, many years.

And unfortunately, the truck stop tiger concept was not isolated to just her.

It did happen across the country, but she was living at this at the pump station and she was breathing the fumes all day.

She was also being bred to where her cubs, were being sold to motorists.

Even so, it's a picture that, again, in perspective, she's sitting in this truck, stops breathing the scent, the commotion, the sounds, and then watching her babies drive away.

When she was rescued, she had this beautiful habitat further down, huge habitat.

And, live with other tigers for the first time in her life.

Got to just be with other tigers I did some animal care shifts and was helping with feeding her over the fence.

And we're on the other side.

And she came up right in between two tigers.

And here I am thinking, this is the animal I'm putting in my own thing.

I, I would want to be in a whole.

I would want to be in the corner.

I would be you'd want to be away from everything for the rest of your life.

She could not have been more sweet and pumped to see them.

She walked up and she nuzzled with them, went on our own and just was.

It was a normal day for her.

She was pumped to eat.

She was pumped to be with those boys.

These guys are resilient to a way.

We can't even articulate what they've been through and the heartbreak they've been, the pain they've been through.

And here she's just thriving.

One of my favorite animals here is a little jaguar named Arcas.

He came to us a few years ago.

He was actually rescued from a bar.

Someone brought him into the bar, and then authorities were called.

Afterwards.

He was brought to us at the Texas facility.

When he was.

We were estimating he was about 4 or 5 months old.

So it was a whole new place.

He was very adventurous for his young age and everything that's happened at that point.

So he was very playful.

He loved kind of seeing everybody.

And since he was so young, I got to work really closely with him.

And I've got to watch him grow over the years.

So I've got to see him go from a very curious, at times very confident, kind of timid baby to a very confident, very interested in his surroundings at all times, kind of jaguar.

So he he is my baby.

He's the Bax.

He's the back of my phone, my screensaver.

So I just I love getting to see where he started and where he's at now.

And I'm loving that.

I'm going to get the opportunity to see him continue to grow while I'm here.

You know, so many of our rescues in my mind are confusing human want for animal need, if that makes sense.

So they see the photo op thing.

They see the whole the tiger cub or pet the thing and it whether we it's on a conscious thought, but it's putting a human want ahead of it.

And what does the animal really need this.

Well it's fed well but does it need that or do we just want that?

So I think that's a common misconception is confusing is what's best for the animals.

Are they going to go again?

Oh, one's hiding under the bridge.

It's we're ensuring that folks understand this is not in the entertainment industry is a home first.

And we want people to come here to learn.

We're open for education.

And it's, it can be incredibly a beautiful thing to see them living with the way they are.

And that's kind of things we want to talk about it and hopefully work toward a world where sanctuaries don't have to exist, to where there's there's animals.

Not in these places anymore.

And I think the tide is turning very slowly.

I think one of the biggest challenges wild animal sanctuary faces, I think any kind of nonprofit, especially in the animal world, will probably face, is just ensuring we're meeting our annual budget.

You know, we have a pretty high budget for operating three facilities.

It's all donation based land as well.

As the world grows and changes, you know, things around us get closer and closer.

So trying to make sure that the animals way of life doesn't feel interrupted or impacted by neighboring, construction or something like that.

So make sure they feel the quiet and they can see the stars at night and be like, doesn't we change that?

So those are probably the two big thing.

Oh, look at the blackbird.

Dad, dad, look at the block.

There we are.

Just we're so blessed to have so many wonderful people that believe in us that, that we're able to just keep saving animals.

So the whole goal is that the animals just get to be alike, to be a bear, and they just get to enjoy the good, the the good stuff.

If you plan to visit the Wild Animal Sanctuary, keep in mind that the elevated walkway is a three mile round trip, so take your good walking shoes.

Also, it is Ada accessible.

For more information, visit Wild Animal Sanctuary.

Org.

We love taking our kids to the park.

We.

Okay, he may be 13, but I do have a unique place to tell you about.

Especially for older kids is the Aurora Art Park in the Aurora Highlands.

There's these beautiful art structures everywhere along these long paths so you can get exercise, hang out, talk about the art, I love it, and we also got to talk to some of the artists that made the place come to life.

My artist name is Snyder.

I am a mural artist from Berlin, Germany, and I'm out here to paint for the Aurora Highlands.

My name is Kendall, please.

All of my work is based on glaciers, ice, snow, and like the movement of water.

And that's the imagery that I use to source my designs.

But I also think, like, conceptually, I think that idea of water and change and environment and how water changes a landscape and shapes it, is a mirror to our inner world.

And so a lot of my work includes like poetic statements like in the other one that says, don't let me go and in the tunnel or standing in it reads stillness, which is in German.

Can you feel me?

Which is a phrase that is about the unmeasured energy that you feel when you experience an art installation or something that moves you.

The first time I got approached was by, Carla, who is the curator of all this, and she bought a print of mine a couple of years later.

Olivia Steel reached out to me.

She knows my work from Berlin because she also has a studio there.

And, we always wanted to collaborate on a project.

When she came here to install her art.

It was clear that we could do that collaboration here in one of those tunnels.

So the story of this tunnel is that Olivia came up with a phrase, which is a quote by Robert Frost.

The only way out is true.

And this became the theme of our project, reminding us that perseverance is key when you go through the challenges of life.

We decided to make the message even stronger by painting all of the tunnel so that it becomes more or less an immersive experience.

I love painting outside because I get a direct response from people passing by.

Whereas in the studio you're all by yourself alone for hours and hours and painting outside is much more fun to me.

So the phrase says the only way out is through.

And the other day, a man who lived here in this community passed by a local and said to me that whenever he does his work out out here and he's running through the tunnel, this helps him keep going.

So that's one of the things, one of the small interactions I like about this painting outside that you, you really get to know what people think of your art.

It's the first time I've painted an enclosed outdoor tunnel space, so citing the elements of wind and cold and heat, and then you're also in the public, so you have interruption.

But that also is the best part of it, because you get to see how the art is affecting people as you're installing it.

There were a lot of challenges during this project.

The weather, of course, it was very hot in between.

I have to wear a full face mask all the time when painting.

And the wind.

The wind is probably the worst because it's channeled in the tunnel and you have much more wind in here, which is obviously bad for spring.

This particular project is unique because I am collaborating with another artist, Snyder, who lives in Berlin.

So we didn't have a whole lot of time together in planning to prepare.

But Carla saw that both of our styles really complement each other and wanted the local presence of artists here in Denver and Aurora and, you know, the surrounding areas here in Colorado, but also international representation.

And I think she really saw it as an opportunity to bring not only this community together, but different artists from around the world.

The cool thing about traveling and painting is, for me actually meeting people, meeting new people, and we are like the street art community is it's a community.

I can go wherever I want in the world.

I will always find people who are like minded, and I'm always able to connect wherever I go through my art.

I think what's special for my art is that I'm using this, effect optical effect called chromatic aberration.

That's where my colors come from.

And then I have these fluid shapes, and I'm using these colors for everything I paint, whether it's abstract, like most of the parts in this tunnel or animals or portraits and, that's some kind of my distinguishable, distinguishable style.

There's so many moments in life where you're sharing an experience with someone, and you can just feel that they feel the same way, and it might be slightly different, but that's what makes us human and connects us.

So this piece particularly is especially being here in the Highlands, is about how do we feel about bringing this type of art park in this gallery, this international gallery, to a space that's accessible, public and open daily to anyone who wants to visit and, and, you know, instead of telling people how to feel, it's more like, what does this make you feel?

Also, the fact that people get to see your art without having to buy a ticket for a museum or for a gallery, you know, they just walk the street and suddenly they see something that they didn't expect.

And that's that's the power of street art.

I think there are more and more mural artists out there, and public art is something that's being more and more valued, and that's something I really like about it.

And people start to understand what it can do for a community.

Whereas before they just didn't know you got them on the bus.

Adding as a it's more of the artist's fault side.

All right.

And so it's kind of thanks to forums and, and fascination with finds and hats.

And from one side to IMA does two investment vehicles leaped by Zo Hartman inorganic energy.

You can see her in on.

It's just in.

So the more street art, the more murals we have, the more life there is, I think in cities.

And that's even the case when it's just illegal graffiti.

It shows there's some life going on there.

So graffiti for me is the mother of it all.

And, if you look at this here, which is a curated art park, it has nothing to do with graffiti.

But the good thing is, you get to speak to a broader audience of people when you do street art and murals, as when you do graffiti, where it's just about your ego.

Basically, the size of this park is impressive, and there's no other place that I know of really anywhere, but especially in Colorado that has such a diverse and unique amount and variant of different art pieces from all around the world, but also from local artists and it's truly something to witness, like the larger than life sculptures, like the tucked away signage and just the from like small details to large installations.

Everything is really intentionally curated and thought through.

And there's 20 that I know of and at least 30 more on the way.

And remember, it's free to explore, so bring a friend and take a walk through this one of a kind AR experience to plan your visit or learn more about the artists involved.

Head to the Aurora highlands.com.

Our family loves Colorado road trips, and I may or may not have a fully color-coded itinerary, but I'm learning that sometimes the best places and the best memories you just stumble into.

You never know where the road can take you.

We were driving on a family road trip through the San Luis Valley when a very unexpected find on our trip.

We stopped in Alamosa to find alligators.

What looks like a roadside curiosity in Alamosa turns out to be something much bigger.

I mean, lots of people are very surprised to find that there are alligators out here.

Lots of people are very curious as to why there are alligators out here.

And honestly, there's lots of people who think that it's some sort of joke.

It's definitely not a joke.

It's a rescue.

Alligators are brought here to Colorado by the young family.

They were operating a tilapia farm in 1977, and, they brought alligators here to eat the waste, right?

They were, cutting the meat off the fish, and that left the carcass of the fish.

And so they brought alligators to dispose of that.

You know, time went on.

People realized, oh, you know, you have alligators here.

That's really cool.

They wanted to come see it.

And then slowly from there, it turned into, you know, the police calling, saying, well, we had to confiscate an alligator over the zoo saying, hey, we got alligators we can't handle anymore.

Private owners saying, hey, I've got alligators that I don't want to handle anymore.

They're too big.

They're too mean, whatever the case may be.

Over time, unwanted and confiscated animals began showing up, transforming this place into a sanctuary for reptiles.

People tend to to show up and get really excited to see the animals.

Especially having those hands on, educational moments where they can learn a little bit about these animals.

Some of these animals are very mistaken, very misunderstood.

This is an American alligator right here.

He's a year and a half old.

You've had him.

You can touch him anywhere except in the face.

This is one of the reasons people buy alligators.

They are kind of cute when they're small.

They're, you know, eight inches long, an ounce and a half out of the eggs.

They grow up to 8 or 10ft long.

And for a girl, ten up to 15ft for the boys.

And so people get rid of them.

And that education is part of the mission changing how people see animals that are often feared.

But it's not just alligators.

There's a whole world of animals here.

This is a African species of snake.

It's sub-Saharan Africa.

From Atlantic Ocean monkeys to the Nile River, south of the Sahara desert.

They don't get very big, maybe three foot long for a boy twice that size, up to six foot long for a girl.

Whoa.

And that's what they're normally found like in Africa.

Brown, black and tan on in good camouflage.

I get to say whatever, you know?

Yeah.

Very friendly, very fun.

And hands down, my favorite is these turtles.

You can actually feed them.

And let's just say my kids were all in the city.

It.

So you and you put them.

There you you're hungry.

You.

Favorite part of my job is actually the alligators themselves.

I get in with these guys all the time.

I do feedings with them.

I work on training some of them.

And honestly, I just get in there for fun, and you get inside with them?

Yes, I do, all the time.

All right.

Yeah.

And you've been there before?

Many times.

You can see scarring right along there, but it was worth it.

Crossed here.

Absolutely worth it.

No, I am not afraid of the alligators at all.

The crocodiles I'm not afraid of it.

Is the caiman the terrifying it.

Why the human?

So alligators are the most placid out of the three of them.

And they're very easy to predict as to what they're going to do next.

I've been around them enough.

I have enough experience with them that it's very easy for me to look at them go, okay, I can kind of see what's going on.

I can read that body language.

And so it's a little bit easier to kind of predict, okay, I can see you're thinking about things and there's a little bit more purpose in their movement where I came in, I find they just explode.

These animals were never meant to be pets.

Oh, it is potentially incredibly dangerous for these animals to be released back into the wild.

They can't go anywhere else.

So people showing up, people seeing the animals, people paying that admission price, that's what keeps them alive.

That's what keeps them fed.

That's what keeps the lights on here so that we can continue to operate as a rescue.

Every ticket, every visit helps keep the rescue running, because once these animals are domesticated, once they are pets, once, they've been fed by people, they can't go back into the wild.

They pose a very real threat to human lives.

To that point in time, this is their home now.

And now I'm wondering who's the favorite.

Elvis is a particular favorite of mine.

He's our biggest alligator, about 13ft long by 800 pounds.

He actually made me a little famous my first year on the job.

We had a little mishap when we were trying to feed him a turkey that slipped his back was taking my leg off.

That video went viral.

My overall favorite, unfortunately, did pass away, earlier this year or, last year back in, May.

Yeah.

Unfortunately just got really old.

And, you know, life happens passed away on us.

That was a heartbreaking moment for us.

The alligator.

But, life goes on because beyond the shock factor, beyond the roadside surprise, this is a place built on care.

From an unexpected stop to a deeper understanding of rescue, responsibility and respect for wildlife.

This place in Alamosa proves the I'm back.

With.

For PBS 12 I'm Erica McClary.

You can find more information about visiting the Sanctuary at Colorado gators.com.

Looking for in a punch bag, you get.

My son and I love to go and get Boba, but this time we decided to try one of those at home kits.

Now, I'm not a big fan.

I feel like it was a lot of work.

What do you think?

It's good, but it just doesn't compare to the real thing.

True.

Very true.

Now our favorite place to go is tiki boba in the Little Saigon district.

And we got to know the owner, Kat, and her story.

And wow, is it incredible.

Check it out.

In a small tea shop tucked in to the Little Saigon district.

Okay, let me read it out for you.

There's something more than Boba being served.

I'm here at teehee, where everything is handcrafted and a piece of art.

But what makes this place really special is the story behind it.

For one single mom of three.

This place is years in the making.

So we're in my little space called Teeny Little Tea House.

She calls it her little space.

But getting here took decades.

The year 2000, I started my own boba shop, and, wanted to introduce it to everyone in Denver.

I think it didn't work just cause it was too new of a concept.

But I did feel, you know, like a little frustration.

Kind of like, why are we so behind on trends?

Because Boba back then had already been around for 20 something years.

So, after a couple years, yeah, we decided to call it quits.

So she walked away, tried new careers, raised a family.

I pretty much did like different jobs, got married, had kids, and at that, you know, I'm still a full time mom and doing everything so.

And just not happy.

Then life changed.

My ex and I separated.

I would say before Covid hit, a single mom, three daughters and a lot of uncertainty.

I always in the back of my head was like, I'm not happy.

What would make me happy?

And I always it always led back to the time, that I had the shop.

I mean, it's okay.

Okay.

Sorry.

During Covid, it's kind of when, she he started basically stuck in the house together.

So I was like, okay, well, we need to do something like to get our minds off of everything.

So we started an Etsy shop.

We started a craft, and it was soapmaking.

So like, the soap era was kind of I feel like it was throughout the first kind of year or so of being just like with my mom, only.

So she was like a single mother.

Then first time we were on the house and she wanted to pick up a hobby, so we all started making soap together in her basement.

Then something unexpected.

And so all of a sudden, I got, like, this big giant order for soap.

First of all, I soap.

And it was a very unusually large order.

And so after everything was done, I was like, let me, research this person.

Like, who are they?

I thought it was like, maybe a teacher.

And I found out it was like a Hollywood producer.

I don't know if I could name it.

I'll tell you, but, it's Jon Landau.

Yeah.

So I tell that story a little because from that money, Yeah.

So I got the seed money.

Now, with the seed money, a second chance at the dream.

She never let go.

But it didn't happen overnight.

And then I moved to, like, a little horse trailer that I sell out of.

I looked for, like, maybe almost three years.

Like, I felt like I was looking at plate spaces and nothing's all right.

And until one day, the right place found her.

The space just felt right and, like, very nostalgic to me.

So I was like, okay, I really like this feeling.

It was hard because doing everything, like, alone pretty much.

And it's kind of like, I don't have anyone to, like, kind of lean on, like, I didn't even tell my parents.

Olympic support.

But she wasn't really alone.

Her three daughters are.

Why?

I'm proud of my mom.

Because she's hard working, and she loves me and my sisters and her family.

And she's never gives up.

She opened this shop all by herself.

Sometimes I'm like, wow, how can she even do that?

Watching her be solo is a really good role model for all of us.

At the end of the day, loving yourself and giving yourself grace isn't just for you.

It's for your kids.

When they see their mom happy, they realize that they could do anything they want in life, too.

I think it's very admirable what she did.

Like waiting to make sure we're all okay first before kind of starting her dream.

We got this.

Like, you can go do your thing.

Like just seeing her grow and the shop become everything she want it to be.

It's just been very inspiring.

It's the pantheon coconut cream.

And it's the most popular drink here.

So, like, whenever something happens or she's struggling, she always just finds a way to just push through it.

Like a almost like a superhero.

She's very passionate.

She loves people.

I she's extremely hard working.

She's here every day.

She's committed.

Thank you so much.

It's an incredible story.

And the drinks live up to it.

We call it the tiger salted cloud.

And it's more like a traditional boba tea.

That's the lychee berry shortcake.

Yeah.

Just being a full time parent.

You don't really have that much time for yourself.

It's like that five minutes right there.

That you're just brewing the octopus, brewing the tea itself.

Like gave you my moment.

Oh, my gosh, it's so good.

Running a business and raising kids all at once can be challenging.

I honestly don't know.

I just had, like, this is what I have to do.

Pretty much all the trying to just do it.

I think it was probably it's probably one of the most difficult things in the world to raise children.

Well, especially alone.

And she was able to do it with three girls, and we're all extremely close knit.

This is a very personal thing.

Like, I think when people come in, like, you can feel that it's a very family centered business, like everything in here, every single drink, every single.

I guess choice in here was a very personal thing for my mom, and we kind of together came up with the name Tiki.

So Tiki is like something cute.

Like, you know, when you're laughing.

And I think for me, I love everything cute because it comes.

It comforts me a place to share with your friends and laugh and with community.

She's like a light hearted, fun vibe.

You can get boba and hang out and have a good time.

We.

We get really busy.

Like, I will get emotional as well.

I'll step back there and, Yeah, it's just like seeing people in here and that makes me happy.

To find out more about T, you can go to Teco I would not live in this.

What if something small and a little wiggly could make a big difference?

We're here with Denver Urban Garden learning how to make nutrient rich compost that you could do right at home using worm bins has.

And we're learning not only how to make the worm bins, but also why worms are the superheroes of nutrient rich compost.

Joining us today is Christy from Denver Urban Gardens to teach Charli and her bestie Murray how to make their own warm bed.

So we start with a ten gallon tote.

What do you see in this bin?

Oh, oh.

Why do we have holes in the bin?

We're like here to get you.

Got it.

Charlie, for air.

Our worms are living creatures, so we're going to build them a really happy home so that they can turn our food scraps into compost.

We've got some paper bags.

I've got a cardboard drink tray and then some compostable packaging that we can put in our warm bin.

The other thing that we use for bedding and use leaves when the leaves fall to the ground in fall.

In the fall.

Exactly.

So these are all free materials that we can get from our very own home and use them for bedding.

So let's start sharing some stuff up.

You want to take a napkin, Charlie?

You grab that one, Mary, and let's put it into this bin.

All right.

Throw it in here.

This will be our bucket, and we'll just make it into little pieces.

Okay?

What else can we put in there?

Let's get some newspaper.

Okay, so why don't we put some gloves on?

Because we're going to crumble up these leaves and put them in the bin here.

Shake, shake, shake up.

Get in there with your hands and crumple up those leaves.

Pretty.

You guys ready to add some water?

Yeah.

Let's go outside.

Okay.

Making a glare.

Going.

You.

Do you guys want to add your leaves into that pan?

So rather than sending all this great or organic material to the landfill, we're going to turn it into compost and we're will go in there.

They're going to go in there.

But first we're going to set up their home.

This looks pretty wet, doesn't it?

Can worms swim?

No, no.

You're right.

This looks like a good worm.

What do you think it.

I mean, I would not live in this.

It's.

It's soggy.

Soggy wet.

I don't think mine wants to live in newspaper.

It might be cold.

Okay, so we're back inside.

Are you guys ready to meet our office warmed in?

Yes.

Okay, so this is the lid that we have.

Notice that it's not closed.

Why do you think that might be?

So the worms can breathe more.

You're so smart.

Yes, exactly.

So the worms can breathe.

So we always want to leave the lid a little bit open so that the worms have lots of airflow.

Do you think worms can see?

Do they have eyeballs?

No.

You're right, but they do detect light.

So these are really special worms.

These are composting worms.

They're called red wigglers.

And they live in the leaf litter.

They're decomposers.

So that's why they work really well for home composting.

So if we keep the lid ajar, they can see the light, and then they know where their home is.

Otherwise, if it was all completely dark, it would be one.

They would be so lost, they'd be so confused.

So that's our lid.

Okay.

This is their air conditioning.

So when we have a bin, we use the spray bottle to keep the paper nice and moist.

And then that way when it evaporates, it acts like a little cooling system so that our worms don't get too hot or too cold.

So these worms are going to live nice and happy, either indoors in our air conditioning, in our garages.

Maybe they can live in our basement.

And then if we put all of this bedding aside, where do you think we'll find the worms?

The barn at the bottom.

Exact link.

The worms like to live really close to where their food is.

They also don't like the light.

So if we were to pick some of these guys up and scoop them up, they're going to try to hide from the light to see all the little babies.

Yeah, they're being so busy turning all of our kitchen scraps.

Everything that we're putting into the bin, into soil, into compost.

Now, what do these worms eat?

That is such a good question.

Delicious.

I want to eat this so bad.

So we've got a banana peel.

We've got some avocado shells.

I've got half eaten apple, apple core, some mushy lettuce.

And then what?

And lots of tea.

I drink a lot of tea, but if you drink coffee, you guys don't drink coffee, tea or coffee?

I actually do have coffee.

The worms love coffee.

Do they eat, like, the coffee grounds?

They do eat the coffee grounds.

So, what do you think?

These are really small worms.

Do you think they're going to be able to eat this big banana peel?

Should we peel it up into pieces?

Yeah, but our worms are vegan, so they don't like to eat meat, fat, cheese or dairy.

They just like to eat vegetable scraps.

But they can also eat paper products.

So basically, if it comes from the earth, it can go back to the Earth.

Oh that's funny.

You guys are like a sous chef for the worms.

So we're going to give the worms a little bit of eggshells to see how it's these big pieces here.

This is going to be really hard for them to break down.

So when we put egg shells in, we want to grind them really fine.

So you can use a mortar and pestle or you can put them in your blender.

Do you think that worms have teeth?

No they don't.

Do they just like, swallow at home?

So they have a really, really basic digestive system.

So we give them these eggshells so that they have a little bit of grit that helps their gizzard move along their food.

All right.

So a worms favorite food.

Is it's avocado.

Yes.

Okay.

So when we feed the worms, we want to put the food at the very, very bottom.

So let's move all of this bedding out of the way.

This is the gooey part in you.

Yay!

Hungry, hungry worms.

These worms are doing a great ecological service, and they're turning that food into compost.

So one day, this whole bin is going to be just worm castings.

Look at that.

Fresh compost ready to go into our soil so that we can grow some healthy food.

Or it's good for our plants.

It's good for our planet.

It's like we're recycling.

It is recycling.

We are recycling organic material.

So how do you know if your ones are happy?

Well, there's a couple ways to tell.

First of all, if they're living in the bottom, then they're happy.

If you come in, you see your worms trying to crawl away.

They're looking for a better place to live.

Do we want to collect some worms from here?

Yes.

Let's do it.

How do you think we get the worms out?

Why don't you just take it and get more?

We can have, like, some sort of.

We've got a special tool.

So this is a sifter, a soil sifter.

And when I want to collect my worms, I'm going to keep all of this bedding, and I will just go into the old barn.

We'll give them a new place to live.

But say we wanted to harvest these guys.

So we can put some of this stuff on here.

And then we would just shake it up, see how all the castings are coming out the bottom.

You're going to keep doing that until all that's left in here is worms.

But I think for today we're just going to go worm hunting.

So just dig in.

Let's dig in there and find, what's going on inside this guy's barn?

Involve the composting worm.

This is Timothy.

Timmy.

The special.

Oh, there's a few.

Look at that.

What should this guy give me?

Tony.

Tony, do you want some worms?

My sister.

Oh, he's going so fast.

Said oh, yeah.

Speedo.

Speedo.

Teredo.

Sanic.

Compost club book.

Okay.

All right.

So.

Oh, go finish them.

I'll go into the bin and we're going to put a brick or a block or something so that the bin is lifted up off of the ground.

What will happen if we put it right flat on the ground.

The holes might not be able to like that.

We don't like too much water.

Just.

Exactly.

Do you want to put your worms in their new home?

Can I grab them one at a time or just pour?

Just dump them in there.

Kristy also said that this is perfect if you live in an apartment or you don't have a backyard.

They even have a worm bin at their office, which is pretty cool.

Anyway, thanks so much for learning today.

They're welcome.

And if you want to see more workshops with Doug, you just go to Doug Talk.

Which one's Bob again?

to find out more about Denver Urban Gardens and all their other family workshops coming up.

You can head to dugg.org.

Whether you would venture all across Colorado or to your backyard, you're going to want to make some time and you're never ending to do list to make some memories.

For this episode of The Family B and all other future episodes, you can head to PBS Twelve's YouTube channel and social media.

I'm Erica McLarty and from my family to yours.

Have a great night.

Hey, hey, I said wait.

No.