Budding Botanists in Action!

What do you notice Blue Jay?

Ready to start our day outside on a chilly morning at Harrington Hall!  The cold that keeps hanging on didn’t stop our hair heads from showing off their growth of grassy hair!  We did a small Earth Day clean up as we explored but we are happy to report that we did not find many pieces of garbage to clean up! What else did we find growing during our adventures this week?

Time to test out the soil!  What did the fresh soil smell like?  What did it feel like when you touched it?  Do you remember what happened to the sample of soil in the jar?  Think about three things you saw happening when water was added. 

After investigating Dragonfly’s soil samples it was time to hit the trails, Sunrise Field and Butterfly Hill to investigate soil in its natural habitat.  Was there life?  What tools did you find worked the best for your investigations?  Leopard Frog and Grey Wolf (also known as Nature Samplers) found lots of green moss, bursting with moisture when Cardinal squeezed it like a sponge.  What were those green spikey plants growing out of the moss?  Do some research at home, let us know if you find the answer!

Bugs and worms were moving through the soil, purple violets were growing as was garlic mustard, dandelions and Colt’s Foot.  What plants did you notice?  What was the green leafy plant around Sunrise Hill?  Hint…Begins with the name of a stinky animal and no one liked the smell of it!

Plants and seeds aren’t the only thing the soil can hold.  Do you think someone will find the nature caches we hid in Cedar Hideaway?  Will it be animals or humans who find them first?  The Turtles took turns digging the hole for the caches.  Grey Wolf noticed how loose the soil felt and Deer found a worm.  We all agreed the soil was good for growing.  We made a map with the nature treasures marked. Snapping Turtle marked the path/trail to take to the treasures on the map. We wonder if our caches will be there next week!

One of our discoveries was a bird’s nest which reminded us of the creatures who are happy to see the first signs of plants.  What plant life did birds use to make the nest we found on Butterfly Hill?  In the library Grey Squirrel read us the story Which Nest is Best.  Which bird made the biggest nest?  Which made the smallest?  What kind of materials did they use?  Where you able to guess your bird with the clue in the book Whose Feather Is It? 

Maybe with a few more tweaks to the construction our rope ladder can allow us to get up a little higher to see more of all the plant life around us!  There are traces everywhere!  What will we see growing next week? What a day to celebrate with Black Bear in day 1 of his seventh year!