4-H Green Science Adventure Camp: Week 4, Day 1

Hello  peppers, friends, and family! Welcome to this summer’s final week of the 4-H Green Science Adventure Camp. My name is Clifford and I am the calf here at the MSUE Tollgate Education Farm Center. I have had the pleasure of spending the past three camps meeting many wonderful peppers (campers) and observing all the fun activities they do each day. The first day of camp is always very new and exciting and all the new peppers had a great day exploring the farm and learning about plants.

I’m Clifford the Calf and I’m looking forward to all our fun adventures this week!

To start the day, the peppers gathered outside for a pepper party (moo!) where they met their counselors and fellow peppers for the week. During the party, the peppers made new friends, reconnected with old friends, and decorated flags to represent their pepper groups. The peppers are very artistic, so  the flags turned out great.

What is rule number one Red and Orange Peppers?

After making flags, the pepper groups went on a hayride to explore the farm. The peppers learned that the farm is 160 acres of land and everything on the farm has a purpose. The trees in the woods provide sap to make maple syrup,  bees provide honey, and grass from the field provide food for the animals. Mr. Alan also taught the peppers the difference between hay and straw. Hay is grass as well as food for the animals. Straw is grain and used for bedding. Peppers were actually sitting on straw rather than hay on the hayride. The hayride is called a hayride because the wagon that the peppers sit in is normally used to haul hay bales, so it is a hay wagon. Since peppers are being transported around the farm in a hay wagon, they are taking a hayride.

Green and Yellow Peppers listening to Mr. Alan.

The hayride also included some special stops for bonding activities. During one stop, Mr. Alan explained that every pepper at camp was participating in a 4-H program. Congratulations new 4-Hers! 4-H is a community of young people across America (and the world!) who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills through experiential exploration. A couple peppers were already participating in 4-H programs, so they helped Mr. Alan teach everyone the 4-H pledge for a true initiation.

“I pledge my head to clearer thinking.”

After learning the pledge, the peppers spent some quality time together playing games. The first step of any science endeavor is observation, so the peppers played a game to test their observation skills. The peppers paired up and spent some time looking at their partners and memorizing details. Then the peppers spun around and changed three things about themselves. When they spun back around each pepper had to determine what was different about his/her partner. Those peppers are so observant that they caught the differences right away. I wonder what else they’ll observe around the farm this week!

The Red and Orange Peppers changing three things to test their partners’ observation skills.

Following the hayride, the peppers spent time in the garden. Each pepper group has its own garden plot. Today the peppers spent time identifying the different plants in the garden, weeding, and harvesting radishes. The peppers learned that all plants in a garden are competing for resources such as water, soil nutrients, sunlight, and space. Weeds are plants that grow in areas where they are not wanted (such as a garden) and take resources away from the valued plants. In the peppers’ garden plots, purslane, an edible plant that has a spinach-like taste to it, grows abundantly. The peppers had to weed the purslane because it is taking away resources from the peppers, tomatoes, basil, and radishes that are growing in the garden plots. The peppers enjoyed weeding purslane because they were able to snack on it while they worked.

The Orange Peppers weeding the garden.

To wrap up the morning, the peppers made a snack in the Garden Kitchen. Ms. Robbin explained the importance of hygiene in the kitchen such as washing our hands. After all the peppers were cleaned up, they went to work smashing berries and blending sunflower seeds to make delicious sunbutter and jam, a great alternative to peanut butter and jelly for our nut allergy friends. The peppers enjoyed the sunbutter and jam with crackers and even had some jam to take home to share with their family and friends!

A Green Pepper smashing berries to make jam.

The morning sessions were all over, but the afternoon brought even more fun activities! To begin the afternoon, the peppers spent time in the Children’s Garden doing a plant scavenger hunt. The Children’s Garden is filled with sensory mysteries like Jack’s Purple Beanstalk, the Tick-tock Thyme, and the Fishy Bridge! I don’t know if I’d be able to find everything on the scavenger hunt list, but the peppers worked really hard and were able to decipher all the clues.

Red and Orange Peppers counting the koi in the pond.

Now that the peppers had found different plants in the Children’s Garden, it was time to look at plants more in depth. The peppers played a game where they learned about the different parts of a plant, such as the root, stem, and leaf. They learned that the root grounds the plant and absorbs water, the stem provides transportation between the roots and leaves so that the leaves receive water and nutrients, and the leaves absorb sunlight to perform photosynthesis. To perform photosynthesis, the leaves absorb energy from sunlight to transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

The Green Peppers demonstrating that the leaf of a plant stores food.

After exploring plant life, the peppers received their camp t-shirts and their counselors taught them how to tie dye. Some peppers tied their shirts into swirls and others didn’t tie theirs at all. Each pepper was very careful tie dying so no dye would get on their clothes. I can’t wait to see all the peppers wearing their shirts on Friday!

Yellow Peppers tie-dying their t-shirt.

The peppers ended the day in the Garden Kitchen for another session with Ms. Robbin. This time the peppers made the Perfect Pumpkin Dip to give them all a head start on delicious snack ideas for fall. All the pumpkin pie lovers in the kitchen are now even more eager for the autumn months!

The Red Peppers whisking and measuring to make Perfect Pumpkin Dip.

After snack time, the peppers went home to rest after a long day of learning and exploring. Tomorrow is Fowl Day and I know the new chicks on the farm are very excited to meet new friends. So rest up little peppers and I will see you tomorrow. Explore the gallery below to check out our day or like us on Facebook and share with all your friends and family.

Until Tomorrow,

Clifford the Calf

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