Our Junior Naturalists:

Week 1 - Power of Me, Power of We

Week 2 - Earth's Force

Week 3 - Nectar Collectors

Week 4 - Just Add Water

Week 5 - Hometown Habitat

Week 6 - Rocking Our World

Week 6 - Rocking Our World

Monday: Morgan and Rebecca

    On monday we had a very breathtaking morning, it was a perfect way to start a new week of GAC, first everybody arrived in the morning and then Ryan gave one of his inspiring speeches and  then all the campers went off to there class rooms, Ryan gave a very great prep-talk to us {J.N.}, then we had some very taste bud taking CHEEZ-ITS !!!!!!  After snack Jane’s and Maurella’s{The lovely , pretty MAURELLA!!!}class made inner and outer core models out of clay,that they had just made them  selves , then us loyal J.N dyed the clay models to become the inner and outer core layers. Then we had delicious melt-in-your-mouth Appetizing lunch with power food for the after-noon field trip. Then we where off we hit the road jack!....we went to the GRAVEL-PITT!!!! filled with  mind -blowing -jaw-dropping  ROCKS!!!!! Tons of sky high hills of gravel! Just think how cool was that we could get all the rocks we wanted{not really}:) We  had so much fun! We found tons and tons of rocks it just was not stop-ing! Then when Morgan and I {Rebecca} were trying to dig out a rock and some boy started yelling and laughing because he had a frog up his shirt it went up and up :D.Then  all the kids had  frowns on there faces when Ryan said: “All-right everybody five more minutes!!” , And I {The un-believable non-forgetting  pretty MORGAN!!} found a giaganto rock! Then we where off back to GAC washing hands and getting snack, then Ryan did peace and love thing and left us:(  so then the after noon lingered with boring-ness cause Ryan left . Then parents where coming to get there kids {campers} and the chicks where alone and the school became silent.

Tuesday : Reina and Katie
 
           Today we were working on our rocks that we found at the gravel pit. We found crystal and fossil. So today, we were making them very pretty by polishing them and also cutting them in half. The adults cut and polished the stones for  us. But, the thing that was cutting them in half smelled really bad and we were hold our breath. It was really loud and the table was shaking. When I (Katie) was done cutting the stone it was so awesome, also when Reina was done cutting her stone she gave me one of the pieces of her stone and I gave her one of mine.  I, Reina, found a stone that looked like a Garnet but after when I polished it and cut it, it didn’t look like Garnet anymore and I don’t know why.............   When  I was polishing my stone I thought that I going to cut my finger .....but I didn’t so YAY!!!!!!
And so that what is what we did today...so good bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday - Hannah
Today we had our own glaciers and put it in the sand. We learned about when the glacier melts, the rocks come out of the glacier and the water starts to melt into a river. After that we drew different kinds of rocks, such as coal and sandstone. Last we cut our rocks and grind our rocks. we also had to wash our rocks to make sure it is clean. If we want to, we could paint Dave`s rock.

Week 5 - Hometown Habitat

Monday (morning) Alejandro

In the morning during our class groups Jane’s class made bug catchers made of tennis containers tubes and straws. They practiced on beans and seeds and later went out to catch some real bugs. For snack we had pretzel sticks and read the story Uno’s Garden. After snack we had a visit from Chiwara which is a Permaculture Design Engineering organization locally run by Nathan Ayers. He had a slide show teach about what  permaculture is. Permaculture basically is engineering for a better future. Making buildings and environments more balanced with nature. He taught us about alternative energy and was all in all very informing on the issues of today and how to make things happen to help.

Monday (afternoon) Akhil-

The field trip to Chiwara House involved some cool stuff. We first took the bus down by Packard then we walked up the street to his house. We then went into his backyard. In his backyard he had large garden past his patio. Then next to that was the Earth Oven. the way it worked is you burn a fire in the earth oven for about an hour then clear out the fire. the oven is made of cob which is made up of sand, clay, and dirt. The cob absorbs the heat from the fire, and when you take it out the cob starts to heat the oven instead. then you can cook bread or pizza! Speaking of pizza around the oven he has four wooden poles holding up a roof. growing across the poles and nearby there he grows PIZZA TOPPINGS!!! so you can make your pizza then put on some fresh toppings! so next there was this cool plant called pokeberries. some people at a college realized that if you spread a thin layer of pokeberry juice on a solar panel then it produces more electricity. then we went to the the front and saw his golf cart. he told us that when he goes to beaver island he derives to work, then leaves the cart in the sun(it has a solar panel on top).  At the end of the day he drives back home and then plugs his house into the house. the way this works is that he has 4 big batteries in the cart. they charge in the sun then he huns a small house and powers his electronics.
 
Tuesday - Corey

Green Adventures camp had all the kids make bug catchers and it was a very big project. The catcher was made with a plastic bottle, plastic tube and a straw. The other junior naturalist Kern
and Emma were drilling holes in the bottle/cups so the younger kids could use them! When all
the kids were done making their bug catchers they were split into two different groups one of them was with Paul McCormack and he brought animals from different areas! The other group
of kids got their bug catchers and went outside exploring for bugs!  The first animal Paul McCoramack was a  tree frog he let every one touch it and he put it on the wall and the frog
stuck to it! He showed us possum, a toad that came from Egypt and showed us a chinchilla!
Last but not least showed us a BOA CONSTRICTOR!!!  It was bigger then some of the kids!
A couple facts he told us is that frogs absorb the stuff thats in the water so if oil were to spill
into the water they would absorb it. The Boa constrictor feels more safe when their tails or body
is wrapped around something when they are flat ground.  The Chinchilla lives on high mountain
tops in the andes so there is not much trees.

Thursday - Leo and Emma

    On Thursday, Jessica and Jane’s class made habitats out of natural materials found outside. Two Junior Naturalists assisted with the operation of the hot glue gun, picking up a couple  painful burns along the way. Others helped with the bug catchers. The campers caught various bugs with their nifty bug-catching instruments.
    On the field trip, the campers climbed onto the bus to drive to the Burns-Stokes Reserve to try to catch river critters and to go on a nature hike with the GAC naturalists. Dave  brought two fishing rods, and many fish were caught, as well as a large water spider, a frog, and a large Crayfish. The campers soaked their feet and a couple even fell in.
    For afternoon snack, we had the remaining salad from the previous day with wheat-thins and honey rock melon, before campers began to be picked up by their parents.

Week 4 - Just Add Water
Kern, Emma, Alejandro, Claire, Ethan

Monday (morning) add more

    Today we had a visit from NOAA the national oceanic and atmospheric administration they brought in some hydrologists to teach us about the great lakes. They had a number of stations that included watching a video about ships, a slideshow/trivia game and a game of pictionary.


Monday Emma

    On Monday, GAC went to Gallup Park. The youngest kids (Jane and Murrella’s Class) went canoeing with most of the staff, and also went hiking with John. The older kids went fishing with Dave and made fishing rods. The older kids cought eleven or twelve fish! Dave said that was the most fish caught with that type of fishing rod. The fishing rods were made out of an invasive plant.


Tuesday Alejandro


    Today we started the day learning about the water cycle and how toxic contaminents can disrupt that cycle we had veggie straws for snack and we made water bracelets.

Week 3 - Nectar Collectors

Kern, Emma, Alejandro, Claire

Tuesday - Claire
    This morning we started off the day with a class about bees with Jane. She talked about the queen bee and read a book about bees and what they do. After that, we tasted some honey and watched as Jane drained the bad stuff out of the honey to make it safer to eat.
    After lunch we headed off to Raynor farm. We broke up into groups and explored the farm. In the first group we went on a hike with Dave and explored a nearby pond. To get to the pond we walked through many weeds and bugs. At the pond dave told us about the raft that was floating on the side.
    The next group planted and mulched plants with Sophia. We took some tools and each had our own plant to take care of. She came around with manure and mulch to help.

Wednesday-Alejandro

    During our field trip we went to the Matthei Botanical Gardens. Once there we split into four groups to take part in different activities including a hike with Dave around the surrounding wildlife area. Or when we learned about the parts of a flower in the botanical gardens. We even learned about how different insects eat.

Thursday Kern
    Today we did the same type of things at raynor farm as on Tuesday. Today Jessica and Morrella’s group saw the bees and planted squash and Jason and Jane’s class hung tomatoes. The Junior Naturalists prepped the charcoal kiln.

Week 2 - Earth's Force

Kern, Emma, Davis, Ethan, and Linus

Monday, 7/2 - Linus
    The first part of the field trip was spent outside the Parker Mill, where we had Faye, a guest teach us about the mill; then, we went inside the mill, were Faye taught us more about the mill. Overall, Faye taught us: (not in any order) the Parker Mill was originally owned by Mr. Parker, then his son after that, it was donated to Washtenaw county. The Parker Mill made money   when farmers would pay Mr. Parker to grind their wheat/corn into flour, meal, and tailings (the chunks that were to big to use, so they were fed to the animals). The Parker Mill was (when active) the next new technology, with the idea that a horizontal water wheel is more efficient than a vertical water wheel (as if the iPhone5S came out). The second two-thirds of the field trip was spent with dave, in the creek next to the mill, were we caught mostly crayfish, also a frog, a Huge spider, and a few fish.

Tuesday, 7/3 - Emma, Kern, Davis
    Tuesday afternoon GAC went to Raynor Farm. Green Camp kids were split up in three groups, they got to see Jane’s bees, start an engine with Dave and pulled weeds with John. Junior Naturalists planted Buckwheat with a buckwheat planter and Mr. Raynor. We went in rows and despersed the seeds everywhere.
    Jane’s bees made enough honey to bring back to camp. Soon we are going to put the honey in the spinner to get the hard chunks of wax out. Then we tasted the honey and it was yummy.
    Dave’s group took a look at mechanical items. One of them included a engine. Then  we spin the crank and the engine would start. For some kids it was hard because you have to push in the crank and turn hard.
    John’s/Jane H.’s group pulled out weeds so that some crops could grow comfortably. If their wasn’t any weeds to pull, some would harvest lambs quarters. They also watched out for potatoes.
    Mr. Raynor, Kern, Davis and Emma planted buckwheat with buckwheat planter.  Emma thought the work was Sooooooooo hard she stopped after one round with the planter. Eventually we finished it was so fun.

Week 1 - Power of Me, Power of We

Kern, Alejandro, Emma, Ethan, Davis, Akhil

Monday, 6/25 - Emma
    On Monday morning, Ryan talked about the Peace Plan. The Peace Plan is a list in which people need to do in order to feel safe, happy and to have fun. P is for play and be safe, E is for everything gets respect, A is for Awareness of your surroundings. C is for communicate with each other. E is for Experience the fun.
    During class time, all three classes split up into their own rooms. Jason’s class played the name game in various ways. One way was forming a circle with all of the students, then they would toss a spongy cube around the circle saying their name out loud. Another way we played the name game was acting out a verb starting with the first letter of their name.
    Today, Green Adventures Camp talked about Peaceful Warrior Training. Ryan talked about what it meant and connected it to the “domino effect”. The domino effect is where one person does or says something and other people follow. Peaceful Warrior Training is being kind to others and their surroundings. Being peaceful doesn’t always mean being quiet. You can be loud and still be respectful to people.
    This has been a great start to our week!
    
Monday, 6/25 - Alejandro & Davis
    During our field trip we circulated through various stations that took place around the Allen neighborhood. The first one we attended was a station being led by Ryan. We started by calming our bodies and practicing yoga positions including sun salutation and the “peaceful” warrior pose. Then we worked on free running; this is a safe activity where we learned how to maneuver around the playground in some very creative and expressive ways.
    Then we moved to a station being led by Dave one of our naturalists. We visited Cobblestone Farm, a historical landmark, where the house of a navy sergeant still stands. We learned a number of interesting facts about the time period and even the architecture of the house. Built in 1844 this home housed more than one family--talk about a full house! (*ba-dum-tish*)
    Last but not least we met a high schooler about a very interesting matter involving her preschool. Project Children’s Wet Meadow was started when a class of preschoolers decided to build one in the backyard of their preschool. They came up with the idea while learning about how runoff into storm drains can expose creek critters to harmful pollutants and litter. The wet meadow is an easy way to filter out anything harmful while also helping to cultivate native plants. Way to go kids!
    The field trip was both informational and fun!

Tuesday, 6/26 - Ethan and Akhil
    Trip to fox science preserve
    Ethan’s perspective (John’s group on the preserve)-
At the first part of the trip we were talking about how the preserve came to be. It used to be a gravel pit. Then it became a nature preserve because plants started growing there, and animals started living there.
    While we were walking we saw some deer tracks. There were big and pointy, and the reason we could see them is because they were deep in the mud.
    We continued on and John stopped and heard something. we didn't know what it was at first, but then john said it was a killdeer. (no it is not something that kills deer.) It had a brown body and it had some black feathers on his head. He had a black bill and a white chest, and orange feet.
    After that we saw some iron rope that was used to build the gravel pit. The rope was REALLY RUSTY!!!!!
    Anyway, after that we climbed a small hill. it was about 100 feet tall. then we went back to the bus. Ethan. S

Akhil’s perspective (Dave’s group on the preserve)
    so we were walking through the forest and then dave saw some poison ivy. then we had to walk around it. (wasn’t that an exiting part! :D)
    we were walking by the marshes and then we saw that the small pond had dried up! So then Dave said ”some times tadpoles are trapped in the small parts of water and when they are it EXCELERATES their GROWING PROCESS, so that they can get out of the water fast! interesting huh?
    then we began the long hike to the hill. to get to the top we climbed, but then sometimes the ground slipped from under us! eventually, we made it to  the top. it was a BEAUTIFUL VIEW! We saw the entire forest from our place on the hill. after that Dave said that we could walk the easy way down but it was blocked by mounds of poison ivy! so we had to climb down the hill the hard way. we slipped and fell but we got to the bottom. after that we went back to the bus. it was quite an informative field trip!! Akhil. M   

Wednesday, 6/27 - Kern
    This-morning every one was excited, we were going to go to the bees today. Today we were going to rotate from class to class. One of the stations was all about bees and bee safety with Jane, in Morrella’s class we learnt about pesticides chemicals and why its important to be organic, and in Jason’s class we made organic buttermilk and butter.
 In Jane’s class we learnt how bees reproduce, how to put on a bee suit, how to be safe by the hive and how bees make honey.

    We went to our farm (Raynor Farm) an organic farm. we had three stations. The first station was the: the bees. we put on bee suits and went out to the hives and took out the honey and looked at the bees. One bee was getting eaten by a spider. The second activity was exploring the woods with John. On the walk lots of kids found bones. The last activity was planting potatoes with Dave. In this activity one kid would put a potato in a hole and one kid put fertilizer.