Earth Trekkers!

Last week was a week of adventure with the Earth Trekkers camp (3rd - 6th grade), led by Anne-Marie. This camp brought out the wanderer in all of us, as we visited a new natural location every day. The kids were great sports through all the hiking and hot days, and always found something to inspire excitement and laughter.

• Monday: A hike through the BBNC trails, a pond study and birding started the week. In the afternoon we cooled off at the pool.
• Tuesday: A trip to Pennypack Farm in Horsham was a great experience for all the kids. At this organic farm, the kids had a great time trying to catch chickens and holding chicks. They made a great snack of fresh, organic salsa after picking all of the ingredients during the farm tour, and collected eggs from the hen house. After a picnic lunch, we planted sprouts and had a little more time to see the chicks again. After a hot day at the farm, the kids were all excited to spend the afternoon at the pool.
• Wednesday: A trip to Camden, NJ brought us to Adventure Aquarium to explore the deep, blue sea and other water habitats. The campers loved touching baby sharks and jellyfish, and watching all of the rays, sea turtle and tropical fish swim through the 760,000 gallon tank. The campers were fascinated to see two scuba divers drop into one of the smaller tanks and start cleaning it while swimming around with the fish. A picnic lunch overlooking the waterfront gave us a perfect view of the Philadelphia skyline and a great way to end our trip.
• Thursday: A trip to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum and Cusano Environmental Education Center was an unexpected treasure for all of the campers. After spending time looking at all of the cool exhibits at the Center (which is designed to conserve energy and water!) we hit the trails in search of some exciting wildlife. Only a few steps down the trail and we'd already encountered a woodchuck and a family of wild turkeys! During the hike we kept a log of all the wildlife we saw, which included osprey, egrets, a red winged black bird (which only nests in wetlands), a snake, turtles, a rabbit and lots more. We also saw deer tracks and encountered about a dozen crayfish crawling across a field and down trails. The kids had a great time picking up the crayfish and there were a lot of laughs.
  
• Friday: A two-hour hike from Cresheim Valley Drive to the Valley Green Inn gave the kids a great view of Fairmount Park, the Cresheim Creek, Devil's Pool and the Wissahickon Creek. They were troopers as we hiked up and down hills, over logs and across the creek several times. Our guide from the Wissahickon Environmental Center shared knowledge of native plants and natural history along the way, and even showed us where to find wineberries - a nice treat during the hike! A picnic lunch at the Valley Green Inn was a great way to end the week.
  

Check back soon for fun photos of the week's adventures!