It’s been awhile since our last post and we’ve been up to so many adventures! It’s hard to sum up (and remember everything – we have go to keep up on this blog!). From expanding our knowledge on wild edibles, hiking new trails and rock climbing, we have been super busy!
All of our older classes have now had the chance to visit one of our favourite places – Metcalfe Rock. This gem, located in the Kolopore Uplands, is a magical place to explore, play and uncover new things. We certainly pushed our limits rock climbing up the Escarpment – and many of us for the very first time. We are so proud of our students for stepping beyond their comfort zones and trying something new!
Our students are also getting really good at identifying wild edible plants. We have had some more real tasty stir fries (including our favourite – leek and asparagus!) and garlic mustard pesto sauces. We were even able to find some morels!
As the spring unfolds we also see our pond coming alive, too. And with the warm weather we’ve caught many frogs and turtles, and other little critters. It’s been cool catching dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, then connecting with them again as they are out flying around now, eating those unwanted bugs. We are also watching tadpoles grow bigger, birds make nests and have their babies, and bigger mammals (like our neighbour the groundhog) go about their day. It’s this repetitive connection with place that is so important – and so interesting! It’s allowed us the opportunity to see and feel connected to the changes this spring. It’s been quite a treat to see and engage with all of this awesome creation and we know there is more to come!
We got up to a lot of different adventures this week, check out the recap below.
Tuesday
As we explored our senses by taking away sight in a few games throughout the day, we gained a better understanding of how animals survive in the wild. We also sang our hearts out on Tuesday and even wrote our very own song – which rippled its way through the whole week. Some students put on their builder caps, too, and made a giant xylophone to hang from a tree!
When the rain cleared up, it was time for fun by the pond. And, as we were especially sneaky and quiet, we were able to temporarily catch and observe turtles, frogs and thousands of tadpoles. We even caught a snake in the Northern (“Unknown”) Zone!
Wednesday
We took some time in the morning to jump into the role of being a chicken (and a frantic one at that!) This, ironically, set us up for a quiet reflection: students got their journals, observed some real birds and got really creative with what they thought the birds’ conversations would be. This took the form of comic strips, full on scripts, birds with names and much more.
After snack, off to sit spots where we used over 250ft of donated burlap to beef up our shelters (a big thanks to our friends who donated it!). Our next task was to lend the folks at Bygone Day’s a hand by recovering their submerged boat in the pond. Students eagerly volunteered and we were eventually able to flip it – only to uncover that dozens of Rock Bass were hiding underneath and now trapped in the boat! Everyone got a chance to catch them.
At the same time an epic trench was being dug and a full on workforce was organized. Every person had their job -my personal favourite being Prime Minister (Me!). The socio-dramatic play became so immersive, that there was even a group meeting at lunch to discuss plans and details.
With the excitement around being in the Lakeside Area, we just had to return after eating. We laid out different options for students to follow their interests, with many choosing to continue work on the trench. Some grabbed their nets though and caught (and successfully identified) damselfly and dragonfly nymphs, while others harvested some Garlic Mustard and made a delicious pesto!
Thursday
Our students were really excited to spend time in their sit spots Thursday morning and spend time interacting with all sorts of critters. We were easily (and happily!) distracted by all the bird action – orioles, swallows, red-wing black birds, grackles and much more. We were captivated by the sounds and songs (and fights!) of these birds, Students were equally interested in the aquatic critters. In total, we discovered five baby painted turtles, found out what damselfly nymphs looked liked and of course caught some frogs. And this all before snack.
We decided to have a lunch out in Grape Valley where we played and hiked our day away. We checked in on the toad eggs we discovered last week – and now there are thousands of tadpoles! We brought a few back to the class to watch them grow (and a few lucky parents now have some of their very own!).
Friday
Our focus Friday was learning about plants and what’s good to eat – and what to avoid! We headed out to the far West of property to forage and collect what we could. We hiked around both Maple Forest and Mysterious Forest (and played some games in between) and found lots of leeks, garlic mustard, dandelions, wild carrots (Queen Anne’s lace) and trout lilies. We also successfully identified and imprinted in our minds our nemesis poison ivy (eek!) as well as stinging nettle (although also edible!).
After our huge success, including identifying huge patches of Canadian ginger, we headed back. And all the hard work paid off as we celebrated with a feast at “The Fort” fire pit. Students volunteered to chop, grind and gather the veggies as we collectively created a delicious stir-fry over the (flint and steel lit!) fire. Some students also made a tasty pesto from the Garlic Mustard – check out a recipe on our Facebook Page!
And now a shameless pitch:
Want to know more about the plants your kids are learning about so they (and you!) can safely eat at home? We have Only 4 spaces remaining for our Wild Edible Workshop on June 2nd from 1-4pm with local Naturalist Brian McLelland-Tuck. For more info visit here.
What a hot and beautiful day we had! After our opening circle, we dove into (or rather quietly sat into) a sensory awareness activity that got us using all our senses. After some games and further core routines, we headed out for a lunch out a Grape Valley.
Students spent the day searching for critters in the water, building fairy communities, adding to their shelters and getting stuck in the mud! We headed out to be the first FNS group to explore the new trails in Maple Forest and found a lot of exciting things along the way. Edible trout lillies were everywhere and we took (sustainable) advantage as these delicious treats don’t last long! We meandered our way through the Forest, uncovering places we had never seen before. And before we knew it, it was time to head back. But one more treat on the way – a patch of Garlic Mustard! This is one tasty invasive!
Wednesday
Wednesday’s group was visited by a beautiful male Indigo Bunting during our opening circle. We took the time to just observe and see what he was doing, making note of appearance to identify later. After a sensory awareness activity, we were ready for the day!
After snack, the students took a lead role in our Tick Awareness by creating a student-led natural spray to help deter ticks from coming after us. And while we’ve never had a tick on our students at Forest School, we want to keep in that way and knowledge is power. After covering ourselves in it, we headed out to Grape Valley in Maple Forest for lunch.
While there, imaginations came alive, structures were built and the hunt for new creatures was on. We found some strange looking aquatic bugs we later identified as caddisfly larvae and big beetle known as a Meleo. We hiked all the new trails that have been developed which has opened up some awesome new areas to explore and then something really cool happened – the students self-organized to clean up garbage along it and ended up filling a whole bag. What group of environmental superheroes!
Throw in some delicious wild edibles – trout lily, leeks and garlic mustard – and a huge nesting site of bank swallows on Fossil Mountain, and we’ll call it a successful exploration!
Thursday
Thursday brought forth all sorts of emergent interests in our students. We started the day with some teambuilding by conquering the “chocolate river” by using “marshmallows” to cross it (ask your kids!). After our opening circle we spent some time on sensory awareness with our journals in a quiet place. This led us into our check-in and before we knew it, snack had arrived. After snack, we had a quick lesson on tick prevention and awareness before jumping into the role of Geese and learning firsthand some of the perils they face on their long journeys – not everyone survived! Some of our students were focused on birds throughout the whole day and we were able to identify new ones and wonder what they were up to. We even followed some circling vultures to see if we could find their target.
Another theme throughout the day was plants. We worked to together to get our gardens in place, plant the peas for our living tee-“pea” and students even took the initiative to build their own wild edible garden in their sit spots – complete with some of the plants we foraged: garlic mustard, wild strawberry, wild carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace), leeks and more.
And still we had some students dive into amphibians – frogs and toads to be exact. We found eggs and tadpoles and caught a whole bunch of different critters.
And still some other students were really into to building bug homes and making clay.
It’s awesome when we can all share one space, and follow our passions and interest together and apart!
Friday
We started off the day with a silent lava crossing teambuilding challenge and our students rocked it! After our opening circle and check-ins we spent some time building and playing in our sit spots. As it was a chillier day, some students took on the task of creating a fire with flint and steel and were successful!
Our next adventure began after lunch as we headed west to discover some new trails. Along the way, we caught some frogs and uncovered a mass area of toad eggs (now named Toad Egg Bay). Further along, we spotted a pile of bones that got us wondering what had happened.
As we started along the trails we focused our attention downwards and the many wild edibles that have sprung up. Students tried Garlic Mustard, sampled the ample trout lillies and uncovered big patches of leeks. And though not edible, we found that the trilliums are in bloom (so watched out step!) and even identified some Jack in the Pulpit sprouted up.
FYI: We’ve got an edible plant workshop with Naturalist Brian McLelland-Tuck coming up on Saturday June 2nd with a few spaces remaining. At Forest School, your children will be learning a lot about safe foraging and eating, and this workshop is geared towards parents and educators to help them get involved in this special learning. Email us asap if you’d like to register, we only have a handful of spots remaining ($20/person).
We had a sunny day at FNS today and what better way to start than with giant bubbles (and they seriously could’ve done this all day)! But alas, when we checked our mailbox, a special letter had arrived from Queen Sadie of the Fairies of Grape Valley. They needed our help – after that huge winter storm just a few weeks ago (crazy eh?!), their homes and village had been destroyed and they needed us to lend a hand to rebuild. They gave us a map marked with red stars that showed us where to find special materials along the way and we were off. After arriving, students were busy at work creating homes, docks, restaurants, roadways and even helicopter landing pads for the fairies. The fairies will be quite pleased with all their efforts.
Sidebar: The swallows have moved back into to the cliff of Fossil Mountain and it is incredible! We took a breather and just watched them go about their day.
On the way back, we followed one of our brand new trails (thanks Rad Adventures!) through Maple Forest and got a peak at some newly accessible areas to us. We eventually dove off trail and stumbled upon a brand new space we aptly named Spiky Forest. We were treated to trout lilies and garlic mustard along the way to tide us over until we made it back for lunch.
After a picnic lunch we had some (optional) barefoot time! It’s such a great way for us to connect to nature, and your kids might have some dirty soles tonight. We read one of our favourite books (Everyone Needs a Rock – Byrd Baylor) and then went on a search to find the perfect stone. These rocks became our students gratitude rocks – ask them about it!
We slowed down at the end of the day and took some time to be quiet in nature and focus on senses other than sight, after which it was time for our Story of the Day (debrief).
We welcomed the warm weather and (mostly) sunshine with open arms this week at FNS! The birds were quite active, insects were out and about, turtles and frogs were sunning, flowers and grasses were growing – Spring is here. Check out the recap below.
Tuesday
After some of our core routines, we dove into our full values contract. If you are unfamiliar with this, essentially we brainstorm of ideas to what it takes to create a safe, happy and welcoming atmosphere for all, write them all down on leaves and pin them to our FS tree. Everyone signs the roots (and taking ownership over it) and these become our norms and guidelines that we were refer when needed.
We then headed out for our camp out lunch to Mysterious Forest to try and unravel some of the mysteries. Children sought to understand the “Mystery” of Mysterious Forest and discovered all sorts of clues to what it could be. And so what is the Mystery? Well, the jury is still out on that. But slowly the puzzle pieces are coming together.
Throughout the day, we took time to develop our quiet minds by being intentional on taking time to listen. A great book we read is The Other Way to Listen by Byrd Baylor which set the tone for some quiet connection time in the Forest. We also spent some time channeling our inner animals (aka Animal Forms) in various games like camouflage and person-hunt.
Oh and we found a great big painted turtle just meandering it’s way across the path!
Wednesday
Wednesday was a student-planned day and after months, perhaps years, of asking we finally decided as teachers that Nerf Mania could happen. (For more information on the “behind the scenes” of this decision, we’ve written a a blog in our Campfire Notes – check it out here.)
After creating comprehensive guidelines, our day started off with a triathlon where students raced around the pond, answered an FNS trivia question and then fired at their homemade target to see how many points they could achieve. From here we moved into target practice by setting up “antique tin cans” (toilet paper rolls) on a fence and trying to knock them over. It’s surprising how accurate they can be.
We had snack and moved into learning about hunting. We talked about skills as a hunter (silence, camouflage, patience, etc) and sustainable practices. The students then became hunters with the goal of shooting the deer before the deer noticed them. They set up their perfect space, and waited. And waited. And waited. Until the deer (teachers) started grazing and moved close enough to be hit! Later on, we finished our day with Capture the Flag with a twist using Nerf.
And did we mention Baby Chicks? 16 to be exact. With all the Nerf excitement, we as teachers were pleasantly surprised when students opted to spend most of their days playing with the chicks (to be clear: Nerf and Baby Chicks were two very separate activities). They gave them names, built huge elaborate homes, and even some amusement parks. We as teachers also learned an important lesson – it’s hard to debrief when everyone in the circle is holding a squawking little chick!
Thursday
Our day started off with the usual routines, but when we headed to our check-in and sit spots we noticed something. There were so many birds! And one thing led to another and before we knew it, we were following some turkey vultures to see what they had found. This led us North to an off-the-map area and we found it! Massive vultures over the remains of Green-Winged Teal (we later identified) which gave us a first-hand look at the food chain. After finding some other interesting things, we all agreed that we need to explore this area in more depth.
After snack we jumped into a new team-building game we like to call Islands. The premise is all students have some sort of ability taken away, and all know a few bits of the puzzle. They rocked this game and came up with some really creative answers. Ask your child about it.
Before lunch, we got out some tools and constructed a giant slingshot with some of our students. After lunch, we just had to try it out and headed out to explore around the lake. With the sun so hot, we inevitably stumbled across a TINY painted turtle. Check out the pictures below!
Friday
Another beautiful day, and we took full advantage. After spending some time in our sit spots and trying our the giant slingshot, it was the Friday groups turn to try out the Island teambuilding game (see Thursday). And they rocked it! It also led to a really powerful debrief for this group about teamwork, cooperation and communication.
After lunch, we slowly headed West with our Willow Crowns, checking for our amphibian and reptile friends along the way (and climbing a mountain). Eventually we made it out to Maple Forest to check out the new trail systems that have been created. This gave us a good chance to reflect on balancing human impacts (including our own) in natural areas. The new trails are beautiful!
Upon arriving to Grape Valley, our campsite, we spent some time getting to know one another better. We broke off into pairs and “interviewed” each other, then reported back to the group to introduce our partners. And before we knew it, it was time to head back.
We focused our attention on our sit spots for the morning, where students were asked to draw from memory a map of their special spot. And then the fun part, as we wondered what these places might look like when we are not there, we channeled our inner sneaky creatures (cheetahs, tigers, chipmunks, snakes, anything!) and quietly made our way to our Sit Spots with a specific task in mind: to listen.
Students remained quiet and still for sometimes more than 15 minutes and came back with many stories to share. Big fat Mama Robins, chirpy little chickadees, Red Tailed Hawks that found a home in the tallest tree of Maple Forest, Geese interrupting the peacefulness and so much more. We visualized and made up stories about what these birds were doing (some with elaborate backstories!), interpreted their bird language and inevitably slowed right down to help instill that sense of not just being a visitor, but belonging in Nature.
Tues-Thurs Groups
Afterwards, teamwork and creation came alive as we spent time constructing and working our sit spots and before we knew it, it was lunch. And of course, we just had to take advantage of of this snow, too. So our afternoon adventures had us headed out to Fossil Mountain (with a keen eye for birds and tracks) to toboggan and tube in Mid-April! And a great place for students to channel their inner penguins!
Friday – Field Trip: Clendennan Dam
After our bird watching, we headed in the van on our first Spring Field Trip to just outside of Clarksburg on the Beaver River. With no set km’s or agenda, a really cool thing happened when we arrived – it took us a full hour to move 100m! We were enticed by the flowing river – first by racing sticks and snowballs down, until we noticed some crayfish hiding and had to try to catch them. A little further along we found an old abandoned stone building which became “Castle Bank” and the epic saga of cops vs bandits ensued. And before we knew it, lunchtime!
After lunch we headed into the woods and got our hike underway. As we progressed, we slipped down slopes, jumped into animal roles during games (camouflage, manhunt) and took some quiet time to listen for the birds. And before we knew it, we had to head back! It’s incredible how fast time flies in Nature.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
This week at Forest School we had a a heavy focus on sensory awareness, quieting the mind and connection with the natural world – the “quiet mind” being an important attribute we hope to help develop in our students. What better way to take a long quiet break than with a focus on birds and their language? It helps our minds calm, become uncluttered and more observant.
As of late, we have been asking our students to share something they’ve noticed in the environment on the way to school or when arriving. And in turn we re-ask this at the end of the day. We’ve seen this turn into a collective view of our world and open our eyes, ears and even our feelings. We challenge you, too, to notice one thing every morning on your way to work or wherever you may be headed.
We also challenged our Thursday students to figure out who’s nest this belongs to:
It’s woven together from slender fibers that can include grass, strips of grapevine bark, wool, and horsehair, as well as artificial fibers.
Our hint to the student’s is that it’s a picture:
Our hint to you: it’s a baseball team.
Why didn’t we tell them what it is? Well we’ve found when you tell someone what something is, the story ends there – it can rob them of the chance to fully understand and know something. By creating this mystery, we’re inviting them into the story in an effort to create an on-going connection.
This week our Tue-Thurs groups were off site on field trips. Check out where they went and the highlights below!
Tuesday
Destination: WebWood Falls, Heathcote(ish)
What a pleasant surprise when the Tuesday group arrived at the side of Old Mail Rd, unloaded from the car and immediately came across a massive waterfall! Dreams of summer came to life in that moment, of natural showers and swimming in the pools. We walked in along the Bruce, and with no set agenda, slowed right down and followed our hearts.
And our hearts led us to some crazy animal tracks! We followed squirrel, rabbit, raccoon, mice, deer, fox and more. Imaginations came to life as we wondered about what these creatures could possibly be doing. So why did the Raccoon cross the road? Well, to get to the other side our students figured. Our keen nature eyes even led us to a dead shrew, that we studied and tried to figure out what when on, with many theories being brought forth. Some students were even so attuned to nature, they were able to spot the remnants of subnivean tunnels that little critters had made during the winter.
Eventually, we headed into the valley and made ourselves comfy by the river for lunch. Rivers are both mesmerizing and alluring and before we knew it, we were ankle deep manipulating rocks, discovering clay, building bridges and searching for creatures.
We took some time to really slow down, read a story and picked quiet places to really focus on our senses other than sight. At this time, students were also ensuring that the Teachers were unable to sneak up behind them and steal their special token. And then it started to snow! A magical moment in the forest that led to some free play and the ultimate discovery of a giant class-sized natural see-saw.
Wednesday
Destination: Bighead River, Meaford
Our Wednesday group headed west to Matt’s hometown to hike one of his favourite trails. Starting at Beautiful Joe Park, we headed upstream along the banks of the swift moving Bighead River. With no set agenda, we were able to slow down and appreciate all our surroundings. We made snow slides, tried to balance rocks, and stomped our way through the mud and snow. Our student’s only objective was to “notice” something (a sound, smell, sight, feeling, etc) to share with the group later on.
Eventually we made our way to a space where we could venture our on the dry river bed where we played around in the huge felled trees and got a first hand lesson on the power of erosion (the river had quite literally eroded away part of the trail this spring.) We lit a bonfire, had lunch and spent some quiet solo time in nature, taking in all the noises – and ensuring the teachers didn’t sneak up and steal our chosen rock by using all our senses except for sight. And these rocks became our “Gratitude Rocks” meant to store all things we are grateful for – then taken home, placed in a special spot, perhaps forgotten about until found again one day to act as a reminder.
We spent some more unstructured time in our new oasis where students began to build a damn, climb massive roots, and do a little eroding of their own. When it was time go, we were sad to leave – the mark of a really great day. We played a quick game of camouflage and were greeted by FNS Educator Kim, new baby Abby and good old goofy Aden, who joined us for the hike out.
Our Thursday group wasn’t bothered by the rain and tackled about 5 km(!!!) of the Bruce and it’s side trails. We wandered in, taking time to follow subnivean tunnels (including a roundabout!), wonder about the life and happenings of the surrounding trees, scope out fungi and lichen, and tell tales of different tracks we came across. We were even surprised by a snowy owl, or it was surprised by us, as it flew just feet over our heads. Along the way, we spent some silent time sauntering along the trail, taking in the sounds, sights and noticing our own feelings that were happening. We uncovered shelters, climbed trees and imagined that many of the trees seemed to be sticking their tongues out at us.
As our hike continued, we jumped onto a side trail that took us across the top of the escarpment, and while we couldn’t take our normal ice slide in because is was too dangerous, we found another adventure route down that (safely!) pushed us out of our comfort zones. Down in the crevasses, we crept and crawled our way through, in awe of the frozen moss on the walls. We even found our own ice slide before heading back out for a really late lunch!
See you next week! Just a heads up, that with the cold weather forecast, our planned activity (Fishing) will most likely be postponed.
After some time building with our loose parts and having a bonfire, students’ imaginations came alive as all the snow on the ground became a lake. They were trapped on an island (a-frame climbing gym), trying to escape the sharks (teachers), while jumping from bridge to bridge (stumps). Our students soon wanted to go in the “water” jumping into the role of baby whales, with the shark as their leader. It sounds like a crazy story, but it’s one of the wonderful experiences we can’t ever plan as teachers but get the privilege of being co-conspirators in this play – one of the million reasons we love doing what we do. When given the space, time and opportunity, it’s truly amazing to see what happens.
After snack, the tone was set with one of our favourite books: “We’re going on a bear hunt”. So naturally, we went on a bear hunt! With frog nets in hand we were off through the woods. We slowed down and quietly stalked our way through the forest, listening for any clues. And while we didn’t find a bear, we swear we may have heard one and heard a lot of other critters along the way, too.
After lunch, we jumped into the roles of prey and predator – fox vs rabbit, where the rabbits could escape to their burrows (black tubes) to avoid getting tagged. This turned into a lot of fun crawling and worming our way through the tubes, until we headed out on our next adventure to the “Fort”. Here we pushed comfort zones climbing trees and forts, swung on the swings, balanced on beams and slid on slides for the last part of of the day. And as you know, it was muddy!!
A crazy mix of weather this week to help us instill the importance of outdoor skills! Here’s the recap:
Tuesday
Our Tuesday group braved the weather and fully embraced their time playing, building and exploring. And though the constant chilly rain limited our mobility a bit, it didn’t dampen our spirits. We got covered in mud and set out to choose (or rediscover) our sit spots. As part of core routines students will spend time every week in their special places, becoming stewards of the land. We use this area for quiet time, reflection, play, creation and so much more.
And with all this cold rain what better conditions to practice (and fully appreciate!) the oh-so-important skill of Fire Building! After learning about the basic needs of a fire, students were put to the test and in small groups were each successful in creating and maintaining fires in some pretty unforgiving conditions. If you can light a fire it that, you can light a fire anywhere!
Wednesday
After our core routines (smudge, check-ins and sit spots) we took a deep dive into the world of shelters on Wednesday. We learned about the fundamentals of three important natural shelters: Lean-to’s, Debris Shelters and Teepees. After a quick break for archery along the way, students arrived in a new area we scouted the previous week in Maple Forest (now known as Grape Valley.) We had a camp out lunch with some interesting “kebobs” on the fire (ie: pretzels, grapes and more) and spent the day making the first steps toward our new little community. Numerous shelters were erected, a bridge to get us safely across the river, a fire pit and much more. We uncovered numerous homes for critters and with a sharp eye were able to find some aquatic bugs. And the most magical things of all? The 3 amazing grapevine swings (hence the new name!).
Thursday
We had a very similar day to the Wednesday group and after our lesson headed to the same area (Grape Valley), but had very different wet weather! The rain turned this area into a mess of mud (as parents’ cars probably know)… but mud is just so much fun! And the muddier we are is a key indicator of how much fun we had. Students built awesome shelters, upgraded the bridge and added a new one, and of course found the grapevine swing (calling themselves “graceful deer” flying through the forest). Awesome teamwork and cooperation unfolded and we are really proud of this group.
After lunch – some baked oranges and cucumbers over the fire (fyi oranges were rated good, cucumbers not so much) – and an epic mud battle, we headed out of Maple Forest, played some of our favourite games (person-hunt and camouflage) and called it a day!
Next Week:
We are getting crafty with some folks, and fire keeping with others!
Happy Spring Everyone, and welcome back (or for the first time!) to Forest and Nature School. We had a great week at Bygone Days exploring our property and reaping some of nature’s sweet benefits!
All week long our main focus was Maple Syrup leaving students with first-hand experience and a better understanding of the science behind this Canadian staple, the parts of the process and set-up and some students now even know how to identify Maple Trees that are good for tapping by their leaves (round edges). And while our goal was to explore the Sugar Shack area, emergent interests took us in all sorts of directions!
After initial free-play and our core routines (smudge and check-ins), groups headed out on their adventure to Maple Forest. All sort of routes were taken and sidetracks made and new things discovered. Throughout the week students discovered along the way the hollow sound of pebbles skipping on ice, 4 different sets of tracks within ten steps, fish from the pond, butterfly sanctuaries (milkweed), our nature playground and much more.
And as student-led learning often goes, we also saw:
Sagas unfold as students tried to tackle Fossil Mountain;
Pulley systems set up to bring up rocks;
Hotels open in the big forest trees;
Games of camouflage and “person”hunt;
Whole systems of trade and barter;
Epic Spring snow slides;
The rediscovery of our last remaining snow cave from the Winter Session;
Millions of years old fossils;
And so much more!
To top it all off, groups were treated to a Maple Syrup treat over the fire to end the day and compare the sweetness of the syrup to that of the sap. Some groups had pancakes, some “scramcakes” (scrambled pancakes) and others Maple Toffee on snow.
Next Week:
A reminder that there is NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, enjoy the Holiday!
For everyone else, we are diving into outdoor skills. For our full schedule, clickhere.
