AVALON EXPLORERS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH NATURE!!!

Week one of camp is complete.  Although we were in the midst of one of summer’s famous heat-waves we made the very best of our adventures.  All of our Kindergarten through Grade three campers came to camp ready to hike and explore.  

And explore we did!  First two days were spent collecting bugs.  I was so impressed with all of the campers…. I did not hear one eeeewwww or scream as we found and captured milkweed bugs, caterpillars, long horned beetles, worms, honey bees, and more!!

We spent our first day out in the wildflower fields and the second in the woods.  Marguerite, of the instructors helped the campers understand that bugs are both good and bad.  We had some interesting conversations with these young minds.  

 

Hornets nest (abandoned of course!!)

The next two days we spent at the pond.  I loved how all of the campers were so engaged in pond dipping and skimming with nets.  We were lucky enough to have three teenage helpers, Wendy, Julia and Luke, each of whom helped the campers dig deep into the pond and see all the creatures up close that they may have only seen in books.  Frogs, pond skaters, dragon flies, dragon fly nymph, tapeless, turtles, duckweed and more!  I was proud of how adventurous they all were!!!

Duckweed.  Floating roots.  Penelope said they looked like mini lily pads.

Resident Bull Frog!

Letting go of the tadpole.

 Dragon fly nymphs
What else is in there??  Ah my little limnologists!

My hope is that each of the campers will return to Avalon with their families and talk about what they saw and also discover that there is still more to be found.  

I was so proud of all of them!

Keep exploring 

Miss Sue