Tonight on Tollgate Action News: Bug week gets buggier than ever as some special visitors arrive on the farm. Stay tuned.
Good afternoon everyone, this is Coltrane T. Turtle reporting to you live from the Children’s Garden bridge. Today, we will be continuing to follow the story of bug week, specifically, the adventures that the campers got up to here on their third day of camp.
Your favorite reporter
The first story I have for you is another tale of animal chores. The campers got to journey out to the chicken coop that’s inside the goat pasture. Of course, they said hi to the baby goats on the way!
Good morning chickens!
Happy goats, happy camper
Kids having fun
After stopping at the barn, the campers continued on down to the edu-garden for some singing, weeding, and bean picking! The Red Peppers also enjoyed many verses of a new camp song called “Purple Soup.”
“We’re making a purple soup with purple potatoes and purple tomatoes!”
Green bean machine
Now those are some long roots!
And then, we had something really special: Some entomologists from MSU came with some of their collection! The campers got to see tons of different bug species, both alive and dead, and some of them even held and touched a tarantula. Yikes!
Putting the bug in bug camp
The butterflies were less terrifying
Making new friends
After that, the campers gathered in their pepper spots to have some lunch and prepare themselves for the next activity: a bug hike! The campers got to test out their new nets by catching some bugs in the forest and around the pond. We haven’t started looking for ladybugs just yet, but it’s looking like the campers will be ready to use their nets for the project tomorrow!
Water bug sighting!
Checking for captives
What a nice looking net!
I also have a brief update for you following the Build A Bug project. The campers had a chance today to gather materials in order to create a habitat for their creatures.
Home sweet home
This habitat features some beautiful flowers
Then, the entomologists were back again to teach the peppers about the different ways that bugs eat food. (Visit the MSU Bug House website here!) After the demonstration, campers got to try it themselves and then participate in a relay race where each camper had to demonstrate a way that bugs eat.
Relay race!
Some bugs suck up the nectar like this
Everyone learned so much from our visitors!
Bug mouth teamwork!
Now, today in Garden Kitchen, campers got a chance to make two delicious green snacks: garden slaw and, a crowd favorite, fancy beans.
Garden fresh!
So aPEELing
A perfectly peeled cucumber
The garden slaw included fennel straight from Tollgate!
Our source has provided us with this look at today’s schedule
Both dishes were highly reviewed by campers today
And of course, here’s today’s Coltrane’s Captured Moment:
Tickling fennel fun
For more exclusive images from today, click here.
And that about concludes our look into Tollgate Bug Camp day three. It was a super cool day that really allowed peppers to expand their bug knowledge. Will tomorrow be just as awesome? Check back to find out! For Tollgate Action News, I’m Coltrane T. Turtle.