By Morgan Freese | Forest View Program Lead Mentor
Thanks to your support, we are able to run our afterschool program for a third year! We have several returning kids and some new ones. The veterans and new EarthKeepers alike have been strenghtening a growing bond with nature because of your generosity!
We have been enjoying the start of this EarthKeeper season with the slow entrance of fall, and much needed rain. Behind Forest View Elementary School, one of our partners for the Earthkeepers Afterschool program, you can find a tiny creek... sometimes. During the rainier times of year, the creek appears from a drainage pipe and trickles through the woods, but the rest of the time it’s a string of puddles, or a muddy crease in the forest floor. Even though it doesn’t look like much, it has been an incredible place for our students to learn about the importance of water.
Despite the fact that the creek is tiny and intermittent, we have seen that it supports plenty of wildlife. We find crayfish there often, and we’ve seen toad eggs in the deeper pools! Earlier this week, when we were talking about “creek critters,” our new student, Ramona, commented that "water is still important for animals that don’t live in it", using dragonflies as an example. Other kids were amazed to find out that dragonflies do live underwater for part of their lives. They were even more excited when we explored the creek with dip nets and discovered another insect that starts out in streams: we caught a worm-like young crane fly hiding under leaves.
Even when we aren’t actively learning about the creek, it’s clear that our Earthkeepers feel connected to it. They love making “fishing rods” out of sticks, grass, and other odds and ends. Our student, Madeleine, has made beautiful nature art fishing scenes, too.
Your generous donations allowing kids to be Earthkeepers not only help children learn to love our water, but inspire them to become good stewards of it. When I asked them to tell me about something they wanted to find in the creek, one of our veteran's, Kenji said, “Another giant boot!” The last time we did a forest cleanup day, he had unearthed an abandoned shoe. After the giggles of other students subsided, he asked, “When can we clean the stream again?” Clearly, Kenji cares about our surrounding environment and the importance in keeping it clean.
We’re planning another cleanup day now, and I can’t wait to see their passion for nature in action!
Your support continues to allow us the opportunity to grow deep connections with our seasoned students. We are so grateful to you and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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By Education Team Staff | Project Leaders
By Karen McCall and Jarl Rasmussen | Project Leader and Camp Counselor
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