Salmon Station Visit

 Dear Families of current campers: Stay tuned for some pictures of Session Three: What Would Nature Do? which started yesterday! Here are a few last photos from last week.

 Last week as part of learning about systems and cycles, the Explorers visited the Salmon Station in Sunderland.

 Micky Novak, a biologist/educator there, met the campers to discuss the life cycle of a salmon and the work they do at the station. 

 Campers got to see salmon up close in the indoor tank, then got to put on waders and clean out the outdoor tanks so they could see the fish! 

 

Plus they got to hear some jokes from Micky, the ultimate joker! Such as: Why is the Connecticut River so rich? Because there's a bank on either side!

Thanks to Micky and everyone at the Salmon Station for an awesome field trip!  

Here are some more photos of the Young Naturalists’ favorite activities last session.

Ponding!

Making miniature gardens!

Watching Maizie the corn snake eat!

Connecting to Our Land

Both groups of campers have been talking a lot this session about the importance of eating locally. We’ve discussed how we live in special place with abundant farms and therefore abundant local food. We’ve visited farms and spoken with farmers, gotten our hands in the dirt and picked fruits and vegetables right off the plants. It has been a session full of learning, connecting with our land, and hands-on fun!

We all went blueberry picking at Nourse Farms in Whately.

The Explorers made ice cream with the berries. The Young Naturalists are going to try it today!

 
We met with Hans, the farmer who manages Bramble Hill Farm next door. He spoke to the Explorers about compost and gave them a ride on his tractor. Hans spoke to the Young Naturalists about eating local food and what organic means. Some campers found animal bones and Hans explained that years ago, sheep were added to the compost pile when they died. So you can find bones all over the farm!

Group Challenges

An important part of every day at Hitchcock summer camp is the group challenge.  Each day during morning circle, Hitchcock campers participate in a team building activity, usually some sort of problem that they all have to solve together. A group challenge is considered a success if everyone participates using good communication skills, and supporting one another along the way. Here are just a few of the challenges we do at camp.

In “Magic Squares,” there is a grid of carpet squares on the floor or ground. A counselor makes a secret map of a maze going through the squares. Campers step on the carpet squares and guess the secret path through the maze. If they make a correct guess, they can continue. But if they guess wrong, the next person goes. This game depends on mistakes – with each wrong guess, the team can move forward and eliminate the wrong carpet squares!

In Blind Polygon, campers have to form a shape (this day, it was a square) using only verbal communication because everyone is blindfolded. This is a very difficult one!

In the Hula Hoop Challenge, campers must get a hula hoop around the circle without letting go of each other’s hands. When they get really good at it, there is the added challenge of adding more hoops to the mix!

In Minefield, the group instructs one or two blindfolded campers through a “mine field” of blocks or other objects. The blindfolded people depend on the others to get them through it. If they accidentally touch an object with their feet, they “lose a foot” and a buddy comes to help them through the rest of it. It can be challenging to listen to a lot of voices telling you what to do when you can’t see! 

Skinner State Park

This week all campers hiked Mount Holyoke at Skinner State Park. It is a steep hike, and quite a feat for young legs, but everyone did it! At the top, campers got a glimpse of the Connecticut River from above, and were eye level with birds, planes and clouds! Campers guessed where Amherst and Northampton were, and the Hitchcock Center. You could see the Pelham Hills too and the Route 9 bridge over the Connecticut River.

 

The Explorers climbed rocks.

The Young Naturalists had journal writing time at the top.

Both groups encountered interesting wildlife – millipedes, a large black beetle, and the Young Naturalists spotted multiple centipedes, even a purple one!

Many Hands Farm

All campers visited Many Hands Farm in Amherst this week. Many Hands is a new farm as of last year, next door to the Amethyst Brook conservation area in Amherst. It is a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm with about 80 shares over the summer, offering vegetables, herbs and flowers.

 

Farmer Eric met us and gave us a tour around the farm and answered our questions.

  
Campers herded and picked up chickens, patted the goats, and picked some ripe squash and bell peppers. 

 They witnessed potato bugs and saw the resulting dead potato plants, but also got to dig up the potatoes, which were small but still in good shape!