First Day of Camp!

The first day of camp is finally here! Campers were all able to squeak outside for a while before the rain began in the morning, and then again when it let up in the afternoon. We learned about what makes an insect an insect and did some exploring out on the trails to find some.

Stay tuned for more stories and photos tomorrow - hopefully we will see more sunshine for some outdoor pictures! Here's a sampling of the Explorers' craft this afternoon. A praying mantis, a crayfish, and a butterfly were just a few of the 3D arthropods that campers created!

Meet the Counselors!

Welcome to Summer Camp 2013! The counselors arrived today for their first day of staff orientation, pumped to start a summer of fun in the outdoors! Here's a sneak preview of our camp staff this year.

Courtney

Courtney graduated from Delaware Valley College in 2011 with a B.S. in Conservation and Wildlife Management. She is originally from Maryland and moved to Massachusetts this month! She really enjoys working with children and educating about the environment and the magical world of nature that surrounds them every day. After graduation, Courtney worked as a naturalist and camp counselor at a park in Maryland. Since then she has been conducting field studies on waterfowl, songbirds, butterflies and wild game. She hopes to bring to summer camp what she learned during her time in the field. In her spare time, Courtney enjoys riding her horses, who have unfortunately have not made the trip North yet. She also likes hiking, sharpening her birding skills and learning the differences between the ecosystems in Maryland and Massachusetts. She hopes to start gardening and to get back into photography during some of her spare time this summer. She is very excited to meet all the camp families this summer!

Corrin

The daughter of a fisheries biologist and a marine biologist, Corrin grew up with a natural exposure and interest in the environment around her. She and her sister spent their free time in imaginative play in the woods and stream around their home, where Corrin developed a specific interest in catching bugs and amphibians and reptiles (to her sister's dismay and her mother's delight). Towards the end of her college experience, Corrin became increasingly interested in gardening and the local, small-scale organic agriculture scene. After several farm stays of her own, she began to see a need to inspire environmental and local values in communities all over America. She began volunteering with the Farm Education Collaborative's various farm-based preschools and homeschool groups, and has since spent two years in various volunteer and internship positions working with farm-based and environmental education. She is very excited to begin work with the Hitchcock Center!

Joanna

Joanna recently graduated from UMASS Amherst with a degree in Environmental Education and Social Awareness. She is a firm believer that a love of nature should start young through educational and personal experiences. Joanna grew up spending most of her time outdoors, regardless of the weather, enjoying the acres of conservation land near her home. Because of this, she developed a connection with nature she enjoys sharing with others today. As she grew older, she started working at local nature camps and conservation areas to encourage others to create a similar connection. Excited to join the summer camp staff, Joanna is currently pursuing her first ever veggie garden and has recently adopted four chickens - 2 chicks and 2 hens.

Alex

Alex grew up in the Boston area and moved to Amherst for college, where he attended UMASS Amherst. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and proceeded to work in the field. His main focus as a biology major was animal behavior and ornithology. Previously, Alex worked for many summers with the Milton Community School system on the south shore of Massachusetts. Since graduating, Alex's work has included a hawk migration study or "hawk watch" in Westchester, NY, assistance with large scale warbler research projects in western Mass, and volunteer work with the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. He is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys hiking, fishing, photography and of course, bird watching. 

Archaeologists for a Day

Campers had an AWESOME day yesterday! The Explorers went on a field trip to Skinner State Park, where they got a close look at some of the amazing geological features of the Connecticut River Valley, plus a nice view of the river from above. They had a picnic when they got to the top! 

The Young Naturalists became archaeologists for a day. They went to the archaeological dig site at the farm next door, where quadrants were already roped off. They got into groups and started digging... and found bones! Campers found jaws, skulls, leg bones, ribs, and back bones... what could they be? (Answer below) It was a great adventure! 

The bones came from sheep that lived on the farm years ago. When the sheep died, they were put on a compost pile, and after their bodies decomposed their bones were left behind. The counselors borrowed the bones from Farmer Hans and buried them for the campers to find.

Later, Ted visited the classroom for a look at some metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks that are found locally. We played “Guess My Rule” in which Ted made two piles of rocks, and the campers had to guess what the two groups were. Then the campers got a turn! Some of the ideas they had were: shiny/not shiny, bumpy/smooth, gas bubbles/no gas bubbles.

  

Beneski Museum of Natural History

Both groups of campers visited the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College this week. What an amazing place! A student named Megan showed us around the dinosaur track fossils (the biggest collection in the world!) and the various prehistoric animal skeletons, and then we had a chance to explore the hallways with the mineral displays. Awesome!

 

Meghan showed us how the animals around us today have evolved from animals in the past. We saw the ancestors of deer, elephants, bears, wolves, horses, and cats!

 

We also spent time looking at the feet of dinosaurs, counting their toes and legs. Many three-toed dinosaurs were upright, two-legged dinosaurs, she explained, while dinosaurs with more than three toes probably walked on four legs.

 

We got a close look at some prehistoric animal teeth and skulls and explored the differences between omnivore, herbivore and carnivore dentition. Thanks Megan!

Wood Duck Visit and Dino Game

On Tuesday all campers got to meet baby wood ducks! The Mileski family has been caring for some abandoned wood ducklings they found earlier this summer. The ducks are now teenagers and ready to be released. Campers got a close look at them and one especially amazing adaptation: the claws on their feet! Wood ducks spend a lot of time up in trees – I can attest to this, because I saw a pair up in a tree on Mount Holyoke at Skinner State Park this May – and the claws help them climb. These teenage ducks are all a dark greenish gray color now, and their sex can’t be distinguished. But campers all got to see in a field guide what their coloring will look like as adults – the males are very striking and colorful and the females are remain an overall greenish gray, which helps them camouflage in their wetland habitat.

 

 All campers have been playing the Dinosaur Rock-Paper-Scissors game this week. Everyone starts by being an egg, low to the ground. They play rock-paper-scissors with each other. The person that “wins” can advance on to the baby dinosaur phase, and the person that doesn’t stays an egg and keeps playing until they win. By the time campers are adult dinosaurs, they are completely upright, and theatrics are encouraged, so there’s roaring and outstretched arms and chomping jaws too!

 

The Explorers went to the Mill River recreation area on Tuesday, where they had the choice of swimming in the pool or exploring the river. The river looked particularly picturesque that day!

Clues to Nature's Past

Hitchcock campers kicked off Session Four: “Clues to Nature’s Past” yesterday by hiking around the Hitchcock trails, getting to know each other, and having special visitors! 

The Young Naturalists had a visit from our resident Box Turtle, Speedy. Believe it or not, Speedy really is a fast mover! He’s about 52 years old and has lived in captivity for a long time. Box turtles are not too common to find, but do live in Massachusetts. They are a woodland turtle and do not swim, although they might go near water to find food. When confronted with a predator, box turtles can go inside their shell, sealing up like a box. During Speedy visits, campers sit in a circle and the counselors put Speedy in the middle. Speedy walks around, probably looking for an exit, and meanwhile campers can feel his shell and ask questions.

 Meanwhile, the next classroom over, the Explorers had a special visitor too, and this one could talk! Ted Watt, an educator and naturalist at the Hitchcock Center, came in to talk about local geology of the Connecticut River Valley. First, Ted asked the campers what they’d seen so far that day. The list was impressive: canine (could be dog, could be fox) tracks, scat, and a praying mantis, to name a few.  Then Ted pulled out some rocks that cna be found in this area. Campers recognized some: quartz, granite, mica, marble. And some were newish: vesicular basalt and puddingstone. It is always a huge treat to work with Ted!

  

Campers will continue the learning and fun today, as the Young Naturalists dive into the Rock Cycle and the Explorers head out on their first field trip to the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College.

Explorers: Hiking at Goat Peak

On Tuesday the Explorers traveled to Mount Tom to hike Goat Peak. They hiked to the top and then got the chance to climb the tower. It was the perfect day for a hike!

On Wednesday at request of the campers, the Explorers trekked out to the tire swing. It is always a huge favorite at Hitchcock!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Last week campers explored Turtle Pond, a shady pool that has catfish, frogs and painted turtles galore!