Young Naturalists Meet Farmer Hans

Welcome to Session Two: Buzzing About Bees! This morning the Young Naturalists walked next door to Bramble Hill Farm, where Hans Leo manages the farm and keeps bees. Hans spoke to us about the different parts of a honeybee hive and the different jobs bees have. We got to hold and sniff the frames which held the hexagonal cells in which bees lay their eggs and produce honey. They smelled sooo good! Like beeswax! We learned that it takes the work of tens of thousands of bees just to make a teaspoon of honey! Campers had many questions about how bees sting and what happens when they sting. I learned that bees can sting each other and other insects! Hans showed us his beautiful bee garden. The beehives faced a garden that was overflowing with organic flowers that bees love, such as basil, borage, lemon balm, catnip and thyme. Many of these herbs and flowers have healthy, immune-boosting properties for bees. Campers were inspired to help bees - one boy mentioned that he would really like to plant some wildflower seeds at home to provide more food for the bees. It was so lovely to be up on the hill on this beautiful day! 

The Explorers are on a field trip today. I heard reports of many many cool insects found at Mt. Pollux! They are heading to the pool for the afternoon. Pictures coming soon, I hope!

Young Naturalists Go On A Field Trip!

 Yesterday Peter, Courtney and all the Leaders in Training visited the Young Naturalists' group. Peter told the story of Abiyoyo with some help from his guitar. Many kids knew this story, which was made into a song by Pete Seeger, and joined in. It was lots of fun!

The Young Naturalists' mystery corner question yesterday was "can you figure out what these close-up patterns are?" Taped to the board were from close-up mystery photos. They were tricky but campers recognized some right away, such as ferns and baby shrimp. Here Amy is holding up one of the photos - sea lion skin up close!

The Young Naturalists' name game was the toss the ball name game. On Day 3, campers are starting to learn mostly everybody's names. When it was their turn with the ball, they said their own name and then the name of the person they wanted to throw it to. Here's Hannah teaching the game.

Then it was time for the field trip to Amethyst Brook Conservation Area! We hiked through a meadow into the shady woods and discovered the river. I found the object above on a rock in the stream. Do you think this object is just a stick? Guess again! The true identity is revealed in the last photo.

 Many campers tried and successfully caught tiny minnows that were swimming on top of the water.

A dead crayfish Thomas found.

 River art!

Here's the "stick" from the photo above! It is much more than a stick, it's a caddisfly larva! It is true the there are several sticks - that is the caddisfly's house! Can you see it crawling out on the right hand side? Caddisflies are wonderfully camouflaged in this way. They make "houses" out of whatever objects are around them to camouflage themselves to hide from predators. Later, they "hatch" out into adults and fly away! We found some made out of stones too!

Leaders in Training Rock Climbing Trip!

Yesterday was the highly anticipated rock climbing trip for the Leaders in Training. Campers and counselors traveled out to Chapel Ledge in Ashfield, a popular rock climbing spot. Leah Lamdin and Greg DiFortuna of Kroka Expeditions in New Hampshire led the trip. Everyone tried their best and conquered some personal challenges! Leah and Greg had a great belaying system in which a series of campers was responsible for belaying one climber. Two campers held the belay rope and a third held the climbers harness to keep them upright (seen in the first photo). Many campers repelled down the ledge at the end of the day, which can be exhilarating! All in all a great day of team challenges, group trust and leadership was had by all. Bonus: it was mostly in the shade and much cooler than Amherst on such a hot day!

Session One Has Begun!

We're into our second day of camp and having a great time! The Young Naturalist campers (ages 6-7) are exploring what patterns are and searching for them in nature. Today they're discovering patterns in the plant world. In the morning campers made crayon rubbings of the different tree bark on our trails and this afternoon kids mad their own plant patterns with solar prints!

The Young Naturalists are also enjoying some sprinkler time today! Hooray! Tomorrow is their field trip - don't forget booster seats!

 The Leaders in Training have been out all day on their rock climbing trip in Ashfield. Pictures coming soon! Here is a picture of them from yesterday "going on a bear hunt" with Peter and Courtney. Peter used to sing this song with campers when he was a counselor in the Hitchcock Center's early days! The leaders in training have been learning lots of group challenges, songs and games in preparation to be a mentors and leaders at Hitchcock camp and beyond! Their "homework" for tomorrow is to bring a game, activity or song to teach to the rest of the group for leadership prep.

Meet the Counselors!

Wow! Summer camp is days away! The counselors arrived Monday and have been busy planning and training for summer camp all week long. We can't wait to start next week! We have a very special summer planned, with four brand new sessions and our first ever camp for 11-16 year olds: our Leadership Training Camp! Here's a sneak preview of who will be staffing camp this summer:

Peter

Peter has come full circle.  Having first worked at the Long Plain Nature Center, soon to become the Hitchcock Center, summer camp in 1975, he’s back 39 years later to direct and be a counselor for the new leadership camp.  Peter recently retired (or as one student put it, “expired”) from over 30 years as a classroom teacher, most of which was spent at the Fort River School teaching 6^th grade.  He loves being in the outdoors walking, hiking, biking, skiing, birding, kayaking, camping, gardening, or taking pictures, but taking kids out to share his enjoyment of nature with them has been a love since that first summer almost 40 years ago.

Courtney

Courtney is excited to be returning to Hitchcock this summer for camp after spending this past school year working as a paraprofessional at the elementary level. Learning about nature is a lot more fun! Courtney grew up in Maryland and before coming to the Hitchcock Center she spent her time working on a refuge doing a variety of field studies and as a park naturalists doing school programs and camps. She graduated with a B.S. in Conservation and Wildlife in 2011. In her spare time she likes to play with her dog Jenny, read, bake, go birding and photography. She can't wait to meet everyone this summer and have a blast.


Patrick

Since graduating from Unity College in 2010 Patrick has been roaming New England working with kids in nature and educating the public about the environment. Patrick is returning for his second year as a counselor at the Hitchcock Center this year. He has previously worked at the W. Alton Jones Environmental Education Center in Rhode Island, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, and at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. He's excited to be back at Hitchcock for another season! Patrick's interests include snakes, dinosaurs, science fiction, movies, music, books and lively conversation.


Amy

Amy is so excited to be spending her summer working at the Hitchcock Center. Though it is her first summer at this camp, Amy has held multiple camp counselor positions with young children in the past. Amy is currently studying to become an elementary school teacher at UMASS where she will be a senior in the fall. Amy grew up on the south shore of Massachusetts but has loved living in the Valley for the past three years. In her free time, Amy enjoys sailing, hiking in the White Mountains, gardening, and traveling as much as possible. Amy can't wait to spend her summer exploring the outdoors!


Hannah

Hannah will be entering her senior year at UMASS, where she is studying environmental science and biology. Hannah has spent the past three years working at the UMASS Student Union Craft Center, where she specializes in bookmaking and paper marbling, teaching these skills, as well as other crafts, to students faculty, and staff. Her field experience includes work with invasive species and turtles, and she has been a counselor at circus camp and with Circle Camps for Grieving Children. In her spare time she can be found juggling with the UMASS Juggling Club, working as a fellow for Sustainable UMASS, and playing music on the violin or ukelele. Hannah is thrilled to be joining the Hitchcock Center as a nature camp counselor this summer!


Katie

This will be Katie's fourth summer as Camp Director of the Hitchcock Nature Camp. During the school year Katie works at the Hitchcock Center teaching and coordinating children and family programs such as homeschool and after school. In her free time this summer Katie will be gardening, working on her house in Belchertown and getting ready for her wedding at the end of the summer! She especially loves to go for walks in the woods listening to birds and spotting wildflowers. Her favorite things to do at camp are singing songs, playing running games and exploring nature mysteries with campers. Before working at Hitchcock, Katie was a bird rehabilitation intern, a Kindergarten paraprofessional and a camp counselor for eight years.