Monday:
Happy Monday and welcome to day one of Green Science Adventure Day!
We kicked off the camp week with a Flag Ceremony lead by the green pepper group! The green peppers did an amazing job and will have the opportunity to improve their flag raising skills later on in the week.
After the flag ceremony we went off to do our morning activities which included Tie Dye, a Wagon ride around the farm, and heading out to the Tollgate forest to learn about animal tracks. In the forest we predicted what types of animals we might find and what animals we might be able to trick into our “trap”. We will update you on our findings later this week 🙂
In addition to hunting for animal tracks, we also went on a bug hunt. We learned how to identify poison ivy and why we should avoid it, we found some cool creatures like snails, ants, spiders, worms, etc… and we also talked about humans impact on forests.
After lunch we continued our daily adventures. We went to the Educational Garden to learn about what we grow and what plants need to survive. While we were out there we munched on some fresh lettuce and hummus wraps! They were a hit!
After snacking, we took a trip to Ms. Mister under the magical cherry tree. All the peppers agree that this is the place to be on a long hot summer day! The cool shade and the wet mist blowing down is an experience most of the campers look forward to. In the afternoon we also started our week long STEAM project where we are learning about sustainable agriculture and creating a sustainable farm of our own. We will continue to work on this project throughout the week.
See you all tomorrow!
Tuesday:
We kicked off Tuesday with the Yellow Peppers Leading the flag ceremony. They did an incredible job and were a great example for the green peppers to follow tomorrow!
After the flag ceremony it was time for the morning activities. We started the day with animal chores. The yellow peppers got to take care of the ducks and milk goats while the green peppers got to take care of the chickens and took a quick visit to say hi to the goats! The kid goats were very excited to have human kids in their pen to play with!
We also got to go the Educational Garden where we met up with some the garden volunteers who talked to us about the garden and had us paint garden signs for the food we are growing. Both pepper groups did an amazing job at this. Check out the pictures below to see some of the works of art they made.
While in the garden we also checked out the plants we were growing and did a little weeding and watering. We found some potato beetle pests and were able to successfully remove from our potato plants and feed to the chickens. YUM!
Another one of our morning activities was fishing where both of the pepper groups caught 4 fish each! It was a HUGE success for how hot the day was. Everyone who fished was amazing at remembering how to be safe and how to maintain a positive attitude.
Vermicomposting was our next activity! We learned about composting and how worms help us break down food scraps and turn it into nutrient rich soil. Campers got excited to get their hands dirty and dig around to find worms and their eggs.
Oh no soil erosion! This afternoon we learned about soil erosion and how we can help protect our water using simple nature made materials. We learned how plants, rocks, and materials like mulch and leaves help prevent erosion when properly placed. We did a filtration experiment to see how clean we could keep our water.
For our afternoon snack we headed out to the CSA field to harvest some carrots. We wanted to see if Tollgate farm carrots taste different than the farm carrots you buy at the store. The campers say YES they do taste different! Some campers LOVED the farm ones while other preferred the ones from the store.
We wrapped up the day with some games, our STEAM project and making newspaper pots to grow beans! Another hot fun day, looking forward to what tomorrow brings 🙂
Wednesday:
Happy Wednesday! Looking forward to some cooler days ahead.
Today the yellow peppers got to lead the flag ceremony and did an incredible job once again. The flag ceremony is an important tradition at camp because it teaches teamwork, listening, respect and much more!
After flag ceremony, the morning activities included pollinator seed bombs, pond study, garden time, and chores.
This morning the Yellow peppers got to care for the chickens and goats while the green peppers cared for the ducks and the rabbits.
When caring for the ducks we got to change out their pool and feed them collard greens. We enjoyed seeing the ducks fish out the collard greens from the pool.
After chores we made pollinator seed bombs. During this activity we learned about the use of cover crops in agriculture and how it is a sustainable practice for farms. To do this we mixed compost with clay and water and made balls with oat and pea seed in the middle. We got real messy in the process, but will have a beautiful healthy garden this fall thanks to their hard work.
Next, off to the garden for snack time and weeding and watering. Todays snack was ants on a log with Sunbutter to replace the traditional peanut butter. Campers were skeptical at first but many asked for seconds, thirds, and fourths after trying. After snack time we put our freshly painted garden signs into their appropriate beds and did some quick weeding.
After snack its time to cool off at the pond. We did a pond study where we talked about what a healthy water reservoir should look like and how we can help. We also talked about the kinds of animals you might find in a fresh water. After discussing we decided to be explorers and explored the life in our pond. We found snails, fish, crawfish, and lots of water bugs!
After lunch we headed out to the forest to check out our track traps. The green pepper group had great success with theirs finding raccoon markings and squirrel markings. After checking our trap we followed deer and dog prints along the rivers edge. We found a lot of prints but the mosquitos were so bad we needed to get out the forest FAST!
After the forest we learned about seed and their adaptations. We learned about how some seeds use flight, hooks, taste, and movement to disperse. After learning about different kinds of seed dispersal the campers got to engineer a seed adaptation of their own. The campers got to plan, build, and test their seeds and everyone did a great job at dispersing their seeds!
We started building our STEAM: Sustainable farm projects, and got a surprise visit from Farmer Gwen to show us the frogs their found in their water reservoir.
Too soon the lighting got too close so we needed to head indoors.
Inside we had a snack, play games and reflected until it was time to go home! Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. Fingers crossed the weather cooperates!