Green Science Adventure Camp: Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! Can you believe we’re already halfway through the week?! This camp is flying by and we’re loving every bit of it.

Our campers are learning a lot about being responsible for the animals here at Tollgate. This morning, I stopped in to find the Yellow Peppers feeding and milking the goats. After a bit of practice, they were able to fill the milk buckets and get the goats ready for their day.

I found the Red Peppers tending to the chicken coop. This meant collecting eggs, cleaning out the coop and leaving fresh food and water for the chickens. While they were working, they had a visit from some Purple Peppers that wanted to practice holding the chickens.

What great experiences these campers are having here!

In our Adapt-A-Seed activity, we talked about the ways that seeds can move around and end up growing in new places. When asked about how seeds move away from their parent plants, Red Peppers shared that the wind can move them, they can get stuck to animal fur and they can float away on water. In the activity, they worked in three groups to make adaptations to a seed to help it move by one of the three methods they shared. The different designs had to help the seed float, be carried by wind, or stick to a moving animal for a few feet before falling off in a new location.

We had a special visit from a Bee Keeper! He shared all about the cool things that bees do. He taught us that all the tasty produce we love to eat is available because of the hard work that the bees do during pollination. He also pointed out that the food that our animals eat is helped by pollination as well. Basically, bees are a big deal and we really need their help! The Yellow Peppers thought the differences between the work that the male and female bees do was pretty interesting. Our visitor brought along an activity for the groups to work on and take home. Each pepper was able to make a recycled flower pot with sunflower seeds!

Today, our goats had the pleasure of accompanying Pepper groups on their hikes around the farm. I checked in with the Orange Peppers as they took their goat pal around the fields. These peppers were showing animal safety by holding on to the rope tightly to help them steer the goat (who was pretty interested in stopping frequently for snack breaks along the way). They were also doing their best to use quiet voices and stay back from the camper that was holding the rope so that they wouldn’t make the goat feel to over-crowded.

During Garden Kitchen Miss Emma showed us how to make some tasty snacks using greens! The first was Green Hummus. The added spinach gave it an interesting twist. Check out the recipe and pictures below!

Green Hummus:

  • 14 oz chickpeas, 1 can
  • 1 cup baby spinach
  • 3 artichoke hearts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 3 tablespoons tahini sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Add chickpeas, spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and seasonings to the bowl of a 2-quart food processor. Blend until smooth. While blending, slowly add in the olive oil until hummus is creamy and smooth.

On Monday, the campers learned that CARES stands for Cooperation, Attitude, Respect, Empathy and Safety. I found a few campers that were recognized by their Eduleaders, Stewards and SITs for showing some of these character strengths. We’re so proud to have campers that work to do their best and work with others!

REMINDER: On Friday, there will be a Camp Closing Celebration! Parents and families are invited to join us at 3:15pm. We hope to see you there!

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