What a great week of having great summer nature fun and learning T.A.S.K.S (teamwork, action, skills, knowledge and sharing)!
We had a number of new campers join us for Nature Rangers this summer, so we took a nice long exploration hike to start off our week, while discussing living and non-living things. We also investigated wilderness survival, the Rule of 3's and learned how to make a survival shelter out of natural items found in the woods. We also talked about being prepared for outdoor adventures and discussed some wilderness scenarios and how to make good decisions outdoors.
To start Day 2, Mr. Bob joined us and took us on a time travel adventure as we learned the history of the property of Tifft Nature Preserve. We also explored the marsh at Lisa Pond, looking for macroinvertebrates, small fish, and tadpoles. Campers voted to have a lunch 'on the trail' so we found a shady spot and enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back for some free time. The afternoon found us practicing our orienteering skills, having popsicles for snack and designing a water strider (an insect that can 'walk' on water) out of craft materials.
Wednesday was action morning, as we worked with Mr. Zach and Mr. Forest on an invasive species resource management project. We learned all about Japanese knotweed (invader species) and helped roll weed barrier fabric out to keep this bully plant from invading more of the forest. We also got to spread wood chips to cover the fabric and water some tree saplings that had been previously planted in the area. The campers worked really hard and it was great to see the finished project. We also had a visit by a blue-spotted salamander, which we rarely ever see here at Tifft. In the afternoon, Ms. Kimberly guided us through a great nature journaling workshop-sketching, painting and getting us to really take a different look at nature in a variety of ways.
Day 4 was a hot and sticky day, but the clouds stuck around in the morning to allow us to have a fabulous morning of fishing. Mr. Paul and Mr. Bill came in to share this fishing knowledge and quite a few campers caught their first fish ever! The afternoon brought out the sunshine and our energy. A round of Everybody's It, followed by a teamwork game called Insanity let us enjoy the sticky, sunny day. We then created a 'Thank You' picture to be included in a note for all our guest speakers this week, with each of us designing a letter to make the message. Our last experiment of the day was trying to force some worms out of their hiding places in the soil. Evidently worms don't like mustard, so we mixed up mustard powder and water and spread it on the garden. Our experiment didn't work, but it was fun to guess what would happen.
Friday brought a little rain so we started indoors playing a large version of Bananagrams, and then Mr. Walt joined us and helped us learn more about the Iroquois Indians and how they used nature in their daily lives. We got a chance to use pump drills, fire bows and drills and made a message sticks, as well as learning about lots of other tools they used. The rain let up to allow us to take a nice walk out to the marsh to look for frogs, turtles and insects. We finished up our day with learning some knots, making a survival knot bracelet and learning about fire and fire safety. We had the best snack of the week, roasted marshmallows and edible fires, before our time for the week ended!
Campers did a great job doing the work to earn the NR badge and hopefully had a fun week too!
Here is a photo album so you can see some of our adventures: Nature Rangers Photos
Thanks for letting me send time with your campers this week and share some of my knowledge with them. I had a great time getting to know each one of the campers!
Miss Caryn
We had a number of new campers join us for Nature Rangers this summer, so we took a nice long exploration hike to start off our week, while discussing living and non-living things. We also investigated wilderness survival, the Rule of 3's and learned how to make a survival shelter out of natural items found in the woods. We also talked about being prepared for outdoor adventures and discussed some wilderness scenarios and how to make good decisions outdoors.
To start Day 2, Mr. Bob joined us and took us on a time travel adventure as we learned the history of the property of Tifft Nature Preserve. We also explored the marsh at Lisa Pond, looking for macroinvertebrates, small fish, and tadpoles. Campers voted to have a lunch 'on the trail' so we found a shady spot and enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back for some free time. The afternoon found us practicing our orienteering skills, having popsicles for snack and designing a water strider (an insect that can 'walk' on water) out of craft materials.
Wednesday was action morning, as we worked with Mr. Zach and Mr. Forest on an invasive species resource management project. We learned all about Japanese knotweed (invader species) and helped roll weed barrier fabric out to keep this bully plant from invading more of the forest. We also got to spread wood chips to cover the fabric and water some tree saplings that had been previously planted in the area. The campers worked really hard and it was great to see the finished project. We also had a visit by a blue-spotted salamander, which we rarely ever see here at Tifft. In the afternoon, Ms. Kimberly guided us through a great nature journaling workshop-sketching, painting and getting us to really take a different look at nature in a variety of ways.
Day 4 was a hot and sticky day, but the clouds stuck around in the morning to allow us to have a fabulous morning of fishing. Mr. Paul and Mr. Bill came in to share this fishing knowledge and quite a few campers caught their first fish ever! The afternoon brought out the sunshine and our energy. A round of Everybody's It, followed by a teamwork game called Insanity let us enjoy the sticky, sunny day. We then created a 'Thank You' picture to be included in a note for all our guest speakers this week, with each of us designing a letter to make the message. Our last experiment of the day was trying to force some worms out of their hiding places in the soil. Evidently worms don't like mustard, so we mixed up mustard powder and water and spread it on the garden. Our experiment didn't work, but it was fun to guess what would happen.
Friday brought a little rain so we started indoors playing a large version of Bananagrams, and then Mr. Walt joined us and helped us learn more about the Iroquois Indians and how they used nature in their daily lives. We got a chance to use pump drills, fire bows and drills and made a message sticks, as well as learning about lots of other tools they used. The rain let up to allow us to take a nice walk out to the marsh to look for frogs, turtles and insects. We finished up our day with learning some knots, making a survival knot bracelet and learning about fire and fire safety. We had the best snack of the week, roasted marshmallows and edible fires, before our time for the week ended!
Campers did a great job doing the work to earn the NR badge and hopefully had a fun week too!
Here is a photo album so you can see some of our adventures: Nature Rangers Photos
Thanks for letting me send time with your campers this week and share some of my knowledge with them. I had a great time getting to know each one of the campers!
Miss Caryn
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