WONDER WAGONS

The Pathway Project is pleased to partner with the Peterborough Child and Families Centres’ Toy Lending Library to provide Pathway’s ‘Wonder Wagons’, mobile educational learning kits. 

Wonder Wagons are a perfect resource for any parent or educator who needs help engaging children with nature-based learning tools. 

These activity-based mobile kits are linked to themes from ‘Animals in Winter’ to ‘Birds’ to ‘Trees’.  Other supplies available include clip-boards, sit-upons and a picnic blanket.

To book a bin, call the toy lending library to set up a pick-up time: 705-748-9144 ex. 310

Visit www.ptbocfc.ca for more information.

Library Hours

Tuesdays: 9:30 am to noon, In-person by appt

Wednesdays: 9:30 am to noon In-person by appt

Thursdays: 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm In-person by appt

Saturdays: 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, 9:30 am to noon In-person by appt

• Note: Book a wagon to transport your bin(s)
  

Large Bin – Primary Art

• Leaf Man (book)
• Crayons
• Art paper
• 5 large Paintbrushes
• 20 small Paintbrushes
• 5 large watercolour blocks
• 10 glue sticks (and instructions for butterfly or artist palette nature art)
• 7 small rulers
• Modeling clay (and instructions for clay nature art: impressions, fall bouquets)
• 2 rolls masking tape (and instructions for Nature Bracelets)

• Note: Book a wagon to transport your bin(s).
  

Large Bin – Junior Art

• Andy Goldsworthy A Collaboration with Nature (book)
• 12 Watercolour paint sets
• 100 Pencil crayons
• Pad of art paper
• Modeling clay (and instructions for Clay Faces)

Large Bin – Winter

• Animals in Winter (book)
• Hibernation game instructions and 6 small containers
• Animal signs bingo
• 3 winter tracking sheets
• Tracking stick and instructions
• 1 ruler
• Stranger in the Woods (book)
• Stranger in the Woods kit including hat, mitts, and scarf for the snowman
• Over and Under the Snow (book)
• 12 plastic pails and shovels, 8 metal spoons for shoveling snow
• The Snowy Day (book)
• Snowflake observation squares
• Snowflake identification sheet
• 8 small magnifiers
• The Manitous (storybook)
• Maple Moon (book)

Large Bin – Wonder

• I Wonder (book)
• Rabbits, Squirrels, and Chipmunks (book)
• Quick Reference to Wildflowers of Ontario (poster)
• Frogs, Toads, and Turtles (book)
• 12 large magnifying glasses
• 4 rulers
• Mini tape measure
• Soup or mud kitchen mini pots and pans
• 5 wicker collecting baskets
• 2 jute rope
• 4 Texture Sensory Boxes
• Forest game ideas
• Colour matching paint chips

Large Bin – Bugs

• 4 green and yellow viewers
• Peterson First Guide to Insects (book)
• Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies (book)
• 6 telescoping Butterfly Nets
• 2 mini bug nets
• 12 bug boxes with magnifier lids
• 2 bug containers with tweezers
• 7 laminated Litter Critter identification sheets
• Minibeast hunt sheet
• Insect hunt ideas
• Plastic bugs for Insect hunt ideas (“camo trail” and “what is insect”)

Small Bin – Birds

4 Bushnell Binoculars

2 Kona Binoculars

Birds in Winter (book)

Birds, Nests and Eggs (book)

Quick Reference to Ontario Birds (book)

A sheet of ideas with websites: Christmas Bird Count, Backyard bird count

Small Bin – Binoculars

4 pair blue Bespin Binoculars

4 pair green Kidwinz Binoculars

4 pair Celestron Binoculars

Large Bin – Tracks

Tracks, Scats and Signs (book)

Big Tracks, Little Tracks (book)

Quick Reference to Animal Tracks of Eastern Ontario (poster)

2 rulers

Tracking Stick and instructions

Small bin – Trees

Quick Reference to Trees of Eastern Canada (poster)

Trees, Leaves, and Bark (book)

2 tree wheels for identifying Ontario conifers

Coniferous tree key

“Trees Provide Food” sheets

“Trees Provide Medicine” sheets

Learning through Monarch Milestones

by Sheila Potter

At the same time of year that children are beginning to feel tingles of nervousness about the impending return to school, a special generation of monarch butterfly caterpillars is munching ceaselessly, preparing for an epic adventure of their own. Known as the “super generation”, the monarch caterpillars that hatch in late summer live 8 times longer than their parents or grandparents and travel over 4000km to their overwintering home in Mexico.

This coincidence in timing offers an opportunity for teachers to greet nervous students with something that will amaze and inspire them, distracting them from their private worries and setting the tone for the entire year.

Although a September start to the school year is most often too late for students to witness the egg stage of the monarch’s life cycle, the timing is usually just right for students to see the fully-grown caterpillar turn into a gorgeous turquoise and gold chrysalis, and then emerge as a bright orange butterfly. The metamorphosis and journey of the monarchs also offers a vehicle for lessons in social studies and environmental science that become all the more real with the presence of the butterflies in the classroom.

For teachers who are interested in undertaking this project with their class, there are many resources available to further enhance the learning experience of their students:

Citizen Science

Students can follow in the footsteps of Canadian zoologist, Dr Fred Urquhart who was the first to tag monarch butterflies and to verify that individual butterflies make the entire journey to Mexico. Monarch tagging kits can be ordered from monarchwatch.org and even very young students can easily tag the classroom butterflies before releasing them. Tag numbers and other data can be collected and entered into a database, helping to monitor the size of the monarch population that has lately been in decline due to habitat loss and other threats.

Follow Migration Patterns

Using the website, journeynorth.org/monarchs, students can observe the progress of the monarchs as they move across the continent, eventually arriving in Mexico near the end of October.

Art and cultural exchange

At journeynorth.org/symbolic-migration, teachers can purchase a “passenger ticket” so that their class can participate in an international exchange of monarch-inspired art. Each participating class mails a number of paper monarchs which spend the winter in Mexico. In the spring, the class receives roughly the same number of monarchs made by students all over North America, as well as a note from the students who are the caretakers of the paper monarchs in Mexico.

A Peterborough Project: the monarch ultra and mini-ultra

In 2019, a team of ultra runners, film-makers and pollinator advocates followed the flight of the monarch butterfly by running the same distance of 4,300km (2,671 miles) from Peterborough Ontario to central Mexico. At the same time, local schools were invited to participate in the Mini-Ultra”. Once a school registers for the Mini Monarch Ultra Program, students can start running anytime of the year. Schools are encouraged to keep track of the kilometres that the students run or walk, aiming for a total of 4,300km – the total distance monarch butterflies travel during their fall migration. You can learn more or get involved at: themonarchultra.com/mini-monarch-ultra

Teaching the teacher

Raising monarchs requires a permit and a bit of knowledge. Teachers can learn all that they need to know by taking an excellent workshop from the Monarch Teacher Network: https://trca.ca/learning/professional-development/monarch-teacher-network-canada/

Click on the image to download this image and enjoy learning about Monarchs through art.

Pathway Project Awards 20/21

The Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship celebrated a year of exceptional contribution from our Pathway community at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre on Oct. 3. The awards celebration highlighted the outstanding efforts of families, educators, schools, and community leaders who have contributed to the 14,295 Landmark activities reported in the past year.

“Fostering positive stewards today, for a healthy tomorrow is an endeavour that takes a village. Camp Kawartha is thrilled to work with its many partners to offer up positive stewardship experiences throughout each age and stage of a child’s development to inspire, empower and motivate our children to create a healthy planet where both people and nature can thrive. We are so excited to celebrate the good work of the many amazing educators who have helped to bring this project to life!”

Award Recipients

We were delighted to recognize the following Pathway Explorers for their exceptional contribution over the last year. 

Sunshine Daycare took the group award for Highest Landmark Points with 207 points. The Chickadees were close behind with 147 and captured the Family category for Highest Landmark Points.

Millbrook South Cavan Public School reported 1,203 experiences from their school clinching the prize for Highest Landmark Experiences, Group. The Nature Nuts took the award for Highest Landmark Points for a Family with 67 experiences reported.

The Outstanding Leadership Awards for exceptional contribution by an educator or community leader were:

Heather Snowball, Highland Heights
Emily Warren, Home Childcare
Lindsay Bowen, Immaculate Conception
Indrani Talapatra, KPR virtual Kindergarten
Lisa Gutoskie, R.F. Downey

The following schools and centres completed the Trailblazer, Step 1: Acorn program and are moving into the Trailblazer, Step 2: Sapling program

Highland Heights Public School
Millbrook South Cavan Public School
Peterborough Child and Family Centres
Compass Early Learning Home Childcare
Sunshine Daycare
Northern Lights Children’s Daycare
Trent Childcare at St. Luke’s

Congratulations to all the winners and to each person who has supported the Pathway Project. As the program continues to grow we are inspired and encouraged by all the great work and goodwill.  Keep an eye out for more family outreach opportunities throughout the upcoming year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9lgf1SD_FQ

The Pathway Project is a community partnership directed by Camp Kawartha and sponsored by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Its many partners include Peterborough Public Health, Otonabee Conservation, Peterborough Child and Family Centres, GreenUP, regional Boards of Education, The City of Peterborough, Fleming College and Trent University. The project promotes 30 age-linked Landmarks developed through extensive research and community consultation. These Landmarks are a step-wise approach to fostering healthy kids with strong skills in stewardship and leadership.

KWIC leads the way with secondary classes

This past school year, the Pathway Project has worked with many wonderful partner organizations to bring unique and memorable experiences to children and youth.  The Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) has provided the first workshops for secondary students, based on Landmark 29:  “Explore a local issue of social justice and develop a plan to raise public awareness or motivate public involvement.”

KWIC works from the Trent University campus and Sadlier House, fostering equitable and sustainable communities by expanding our understanding of the world and connecting people with local initiatives that reflect global issues – focussed on environmental and social justice issues.

KWIC staff and volunteers put their years of experience into creating a 4-part workshop series for secondary students, exploring the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).  Adopted in 2015, with a global challenge to tackle them by 2030, the 17 interlinked goals address issues of universal concern, including ending poverty and hunger, tackling climate change, and promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

Workshop 1:  Introduction to the UN SDGs (exploring the 17 goals through global, national, and local lenses; creating a social media challenge)

Workshop 2:  Localizing the SDGs (examples of local action; establishing personal priorities; actions to help themselves and others)

Workshop 3:  Youth as Agents of Change (examples of youth having an impact on issues of peace, justice, gender equality, and climate change; what young people are doing locally and how to get involved)

Workshop 4:  Leaving No-One Behind (how discrimination, inequalities, and other root causes can create alienation and inaction; local examples; what can be done)

During the winter and spring, KWIC worked with more than 600 students to raise their awareness of the SDGs, hear their voices, and develop personal priorities and plans of action.  In spite of an on-line setting necessitated by the Covid pandemic, students were involved through the whole process – responding through the ‘chat’ function, creating group poems, completing polls and playing interactive games with the help of online platforms, such as Kahoot and Slido.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.  Students enjoyed the clear explanations and interactive components.  Many were unaware of the SDGs and their importance, and enjoyed the opportunity to learn about them and to get involved locally.  Students were from a wide range of secondary classes, including Environmental Science, Geography, Drama, Food and Nutrition, Contemporary Voices of First Nations, and English.  We’re grateful to these secondary teachers for involving their classes in the workshops.

Our thanks to KWIC for providing this exceptional opportunity for local youth, and to the skilled and committed youth workshop facilitators who guided the process.

Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) connects people to global issues and local initiatives that can change how we understand the world and foster equitable and sustainable communities. We make positive change through three key program areas:  Community Education, Youth & In School Programs and Umbrella Support for small and emerging community projects.

KWIC creates a local culture of global citizenship prioritizing inclusive inter-generational spaces that amplify diverse voices and knowledge systems through educational workshops, programs and events. KWIC is a grassroots registered charity led by a small, dedicated staff and amazing volunteers working in collaboration with talented community partners. You can visit us on our website at  kwic.info for more information and opportunities to get involved, or to book a workshop!”

2021 Summer – Junior Park Program

The City of Peterborough, Recreation Division, is offering a free outdoor play program for children 4 to 8 years of age. Parents are asked to remain in the park during program hours.

All Public Health Guidelines and COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place and must be followed.

Weekly Schedule (July 5 to July 23)

Week 1: Under the Sea

July 5 to July 9 – 10:30 am – 2:30 pm

Turner Park | Kiwanis Park

Week 2: Let’s Celebrate the Holidays

July 12 to July 16  |  10:30 am – 2:30 pm

Turner Park  |  Kiwanis Park

Week 3: Disney Fun!

July 19 to July 23. |. 10:30 am – 2:30 pm

Turner Park  |  Kiwanis Park

Weekly Schedule (July 26 to Aug 13)

Week 4: Passport to Travel

July 26 to July 30  |  10:30 am – 2:30 pm

John Taylor Park  |  Stewart Street Park

Week 5: Outer Space

August 3 to August 6  |  10:30 am – 2:30 pm

John Taylor Park  |  Stewart Street Park

Week 6: Animal Kingdom

August 9 to August 13  |  10:30 am – 2:30 pm

John Taylor Park  |  Stewart Street Park

          For more information contact Youth Recreationist Ellen Stewart at estewart@peterborough.ca

Family-Friendly Summer Activities

Getting outside with your baby or toddler is great for the whole family.  A bit of fresh air and exercise can help you and your child calm down, relax and refocus.

A hat, some sunscreen for babies over six months and a water bottle are necessities.

Sweet Summer Fun with Babies and Toddlers

Nancy Doherty, Pathway Activity Consultant

Enjoy time together, forget about the dirty dishes and enjoy some of these experiences:

1. A walk around the block may be enough for your toddler, they often like to stop and pick up every stone or stick, as they explore their world.  Outdoors our senses are stimulated; see the colourful flowers, look up at the clouds, hear the chattering squirrels, singing birds, the smell of blossoms, feel of the wind touch the rough bark on the tree.

2. A picnic in a park or your backyard may be a new experience.  Talk about the ants, the feel of the grass, the blue sky; introduce new words, label the colours you see.

3. A visit to a stream or creek provides opportunities for watching the water flow, throwing sticks or stones in the water to see a splash, or dipping toes in the water.  Keep your eyes open for frogs and minnows or turn over some rocks to see the crayfish.

4. Set up a tent in the backyard, babies can crawl in and play some peek-a-boo, toddlers may bring their favourite toys and play or listen to a story while enjoying a new experience.

5. Play with some water, fill up a container that they can dip, dump, and discover in!  Add sponges, rocks, shells, and cups of different sizes.  Toddlers might decide to add some grass or dirt.

Water invites all kinds of discoveries; bathing dolls or toys, add a paintbrush and paint with water, fill up a watering can and water plants, climbing in the bin, and splashing. With support and encouragement from parents, children learn to love being in nature.

Do you know that the Peterborough Family Resource Centre provides programs and supports for families with children 0-6 years of age?  Check out their website or Facebook

Currently, programs are offered virtually but watch for the Summer Schedule coming soon.

Simple Summer Activities

Kim Dobson, Pathway Activity Consultant

Looking for critters in a pond or creek: For some ideas on pond studies and what you’ll find in ponds and creeks, watch the Hidden Life of Ponds with Jacob Rodenburg or Swamped with Nature Nancy. There are so many areas in and around Peterborough to take your net and container and take off your shoes and get looking: Jackson’s Creek, Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, Millbrook pond and trout ponds,  the Back Dam in Warsaw, around the edges of Little Lake and Squirrel Creek. Imagine the Marsh Conservation Area, Miller’s Creek Conservation Area, Hope Mill Conservation Area, and any body of water excluding sandy beaches (you won’t find much life on pure sand).

But pure sand is great for swimming, so take the family to a beach: Selwyn Conservation Area, the beach area at Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, Lakefield Beach, Beavermead, Roger’s Cove, Jones Beach in Bridgenorth, Henry’s Gumming Beach in Curve Lake, Ennismore Waterfront Park, Douro Park, Sandy Lake Beach outside Buckhorn, Quarry Bay Beach on Stoney Lake off of Northey’s Bay Road, Kasshabog Lake Beach north of Havelock.

While you’re there, try your hand at making a sand castle. You can either use the traditional buckets and shovels or try the drip method

More into land activities?

Try disc golf. Peterborough has several great courses: Riverview Park and Zoo, Hamilton Park, Ennismore Waterfront Park, and Viamede Resort. All you need to participate is a frisbee or discs!

Family hikes: Whether it’s a walk around the neighbourhood, a hike through Jackson Park, or further afield, like a hike to High Falls, nothing beats a walk in the woods with your family. Take a picnic (food is a great motivator for little ones on a hike) and walking shoes and away you go. Socks and shoes are helpful for stability but also because of the poison ivy and/or insects. Kawartha Land Trust has many areas with trails that are open to the public, from the Jeffrey Cowan property on Stoney Lake to the John Earle Chase Memorial Park on Pigeon Lake. Find maps and directions on the Kawartha Land Trust website

Become a citizen scientist this summer. Contribute to scientific data being gathered all over the world. It’s as easy as snapping a photo of anything from frogs, plants, insects, and posting them in apps like iNaturalist, eBird, Seek, Bumblebee Watch, Herps of Ontario (part of iNaturalist), Leafsnap. These citizen science apps, and contributing to research, have the added benefit of getting your family to observe what is around them, learning the names of these things, and learning more about them, which in turn will hopefully create a context for caring about these living things and taking care of them.

Create a Butterflyway:  Seven steps to creating a Butterflyway from David Suzuki’s website

1. Grow native wildflowers, Invest in a tree or shrub, Create a woodpile bug hotel, Leave sunny soil patches for bees,
2. Provide a water source, Learn more about local bees and butterflies, Create a neighbourhood Butterflyway!

Unstructured free time: this is what summer is all about and it’s been proven that unstructured free time outdoors is very beneficial for child development and also for connecting to the environment.

Unstructured play provides a variety of benefits for child and youth health and well-being, in terms of: physical health and gross motor skills, mental and emotional health, social health and teamwork, learning and attention at school, and resiliency and risk management skills.

If your child is not used to unstructured free time outside, it might take time to build up their comfort level, stamina and also their imaginations as to what to do with this free time. Start with short time frames and some suggestions and build up to longer times and less “interference”. Most often, if given the time and space, kids will come up with imaginative things to do that you would never have considered. When you think that they are done, and they are saying that they don’t know what to do, give them more time and see what happens. This is often when the magic happens!

Bring the family to a Provincial Park, they are free this summer Monday to Thursday for day use. Provincial Parks in our area are: Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Silent Lake Provincial Park, Emily Provincial Park, Balsam Lake Provincial Park, and further afield Presqu’il Provincial Park.

Get out after dark and stargaze. Several wonderful apps for identifying constellations are: Skyview, Google Sky, SkySafari, Star Tracker and to find out where the International Space Station is, there is even an app for that, called International Space Station.

Even more activities for kids 5+

Nancy Thomson, Pathway Activity Consultant

1.  Geocaching, the world’s biggest treasure hunt! If you like looking for treasures and discovering new places then Geocaching is for you.  All you need is a smart phone or a GPS unit, get an account and decide which treasure hunt you will start with.  There are likely many geocaches close to where you live and there are thousands in Peterborough and the Kawarthas to be found. Go to Geocaching.com and create your account and the geocache options will pop up.  Walk, take a bike or make an unexpected stop while traveling this summer. It is an amazing way to explore the land.

2. Build a Fort

A cool place to beat the heat this summer is in the forest and Peterborough has plenty of them to explore. Jackson Park is the first one that comes to mind and is the perfect spot to build a fort. Let the children figure out what will make forts strong, waterproof, warm at night, and of course stylish.  Please remember to ensure that the fort builders are aware of animal homes and not to cut live branches for their forts as we are sharing the land with so many creatures, big and small.

3. Get on your BIKE and ride!

The Great Trail (otherwise known as the TransCanada Trail) runs right through Peterborough and to the east and west.  There are many sections of the trail that are on old rail trails allowing for easy biking adventures while minimizing exposure to motorized vehicles.  You can bike all the way to Hastings and beyond on the trail, stopping for a picnic along the way.  Or, if you want to go the other way, head west towards Omemee and discover the beautiful lands around the county. Visit https://tctrail.ca/ and see the section of the trail you want to discover.

4. Canoeing and Kayaking the Canal

A canoe trip doesn’t just have to be in the vast wilderness.  Exploring the Peterborough area along the canal is a really fun and exciting way to spend a summer day.  Whether you start in Little Lake or in Lakefield, you can travel along the canal and stop for a bite along the way, at a local café or the picnic you brought to eat at your favourite lock. If you don’t have your own boat or one to borrow, LiftLock Paddle Co has canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards with a PFD included.  Explore the lock system or just paddle the lakes that make the Kawarthas a destination for many travelers.

5. Beach Volleyball

Bring a hat, some sunscreen and a beach ball (or volleyball of course) and enjoy the sand in your toes as you play a game of beach volleyball. There are 6 courts available for public use at Beavermead Park in Peterborough on a first come first serve basis.  If they are already rented when you get there, there is an amazing playground, field space, and beach as some easy alternatives to your game.  A visit to Ecology Park could also be a quick alternative but it is a worthwhile trip on its own.

6.  The Perfect Solution to a Hot Summer’s Night

One of my favourite memories, when my kids were young, were the nights when we went “off script”.  Instead of a regular bedtime routine, we planned a special evening on those hottest of hot summer evenings.  Packing up a dinner picnic with some cool treats, we headed to a park with a splash pad.  After dinner (instead of bath, book, bed) the kids would have fun in the splash pad, cooling them down after a hot day.  At the park, we would change them into their PJs, read a book, and head home where they would be tucked into bed (likely negotiating for one more book before lights out). Such special memories.

There is lots of fun under the sun, but here is a wonderful activity from our Outdoor Activity Consultant, Kelly, King, that brings you out after dark for a late-night adventure.

Night Vision Journeys

Kelly King, Pathway Activity Consultant

Did you know? Red light helps to preserve our night vision because of the low frequency it has when it meets our eyes. At really low, or red light, conditions our eyes produce a chemical called rhodopsin which allows us to more easily see in the dark. From the last bright light, we see it can take about 20 to 40 minutes for our eyes to start producing rhodopsin. This means you’ll need to make sure you’re only using your red light and not looking at any bright lights like street lamps, cellphones, or watches for 20 to 40 minutes before you start seeing the benefits of your night vision flashlight!

What you’ll need:

Small piece of plastic (like saran wrap)

Flashlight

Elastic Band

Red marker

What to do:

1. Colour one side of the plastic with your red marker.

2. Cover the end of your flashlight with the red plastic and secure it with an elastic band.

3. Take your red light on your next night hike and note how much more you can see when you don’t have bright lights around you!

Kim’s Spring Activity Guide

Our Outdoor Activity Consultant, Kim, has rustled up some exciting Spring Activities to keep our Pathway community busy!

1. Kites

learningliftoff.com

As spring can be breezy, it’s a great time to learn about wind and make and fly a kite

 

 2. Help the Birds 

From The Canadian Wildlife FederationEncourage birds to nest around your property by providing mud and nesting materials.

MUD

• Choose a spot at the edge of a flower or vegetable garden to establish a mud hole. Use a hose or a bucket of water to wet the earth.
• Squish the soil using your hands, a stick or a shovel, until it reaches a muddy consistency.
• Try to find clay soil. Don’t worry if the mud contains small bits of grass or other plant fibres. 

NEST LINING MATERIALS

• Stuff a mesh onion bag with materials such as dead twigs, pine needles, leaves, feathers, moss, dry grass (as long as it’s chemical-free), strips of bark, and plant fluff from plants such as cattails or cottonwood.
• Hang the bag from a clothesline or tree branch in your backyard.
• Some materials that were previously recommended for nesting are now considered unsafe. Do not provide hair (human or animal), string, yarn or loose bits of thread, as birds can become entangled in these materials. Likewise, do not provide pieces of felt or cloth, dryer lint, plastic, tinsel, cellophane or aluminum foil; these can be choking hazards or cause internal blockage.

3. Create a Wild Bee Sanctuary

For a detailed outline visit this link at the David Suzuki Organization 

• Fill your yard with flowers
• Plant native
• Go organic
• Add water  

b. Make a Bee Bath

Use a shallow plate and place it at the ground level where you’ve noticed bee activity. Place a few flat stones in the plate to create landing pads or islands and safe places to crawl out should they fall in. Add fresh water but don’t submerge the stones. Birds and butterflies will use it, too. Replace the water every few days to eliminate mosquito larvae… more here

Make a bee home

Honeybees and bumblebees live in social colonies, but most wild bee species are solitary. About two-thirds of solitary nesting bees use tunnels in the ground to lay their eggs. About one-third use hollowed-out plant stems or tunnels in dead trees or fallen logs… Want to discover the best homemade housing you can make for bees in your backyard? Read more here

4. Plant a Pollinators Garden 

Check out this amazing resource from Bee City Canada on how to create a habitat. and Follow it up with the Planting for Pollinators blog from Kidsgardening.org 

5. Create a Spring Checklist 

With your kids, make a checklist of things that make you think of spring. Go on a hike in the forest, check off all of the things that you see and feel on your list. Try to ensure that the list is multi-sensory, so things like feeling the warmth of the sun and different smells of the seasons are also on the list. Feel free to add to the lists as you are walking and noticing more things.

6. Colours of Spring

Pick up some paint chips from a hardware store. On your outdoor adventure, hand them out to your kids and see if they can find matches to many different colours. They may think it’s impossible, but this gets them to really look at items to find a match. Remember to look up, blues often match the sky!

If paint chips are not available to you, crayons will work too.

7. Meet a Tree in your Neighbourhood

Have your kids pick a tree that you really get to know over time. They can get to know it in so many different ways (draw, take bark rubbings, look with a magnifier, or use a camera). In the spring, they will be looking for the buds starting to explode into leaves. Most people think that buds form in the spring, but with careful observation, you will see that buds are actually on the tree all winter!

8. Disc Golf

Get your family involved in this fun, active, burgeoning sport. Peterborough has three easily accessible, free courses for you to enjoy. The courses are at the north end of the Riverview Park and Zoo, TASS, and Hamilton Park just south of Jackson Park. In outlying areas of Peterborough, there is one at Mount Julian Viamede and Ennismore Waterfront Park. Or, you can make your own course anywhere you would like by simply identifying objects as your targets. All you need is a frisbee, or a disc, and a good arm! www.peterboroughdiscgolf.ca

9. Take a Hike

Kawartha Land TrustOtonabee ConservationPeterborough ParksMillbrook Valley Trails Parks in Cavan Monaghan

10. Discover the Pathway Robin Cam

A cheery sign of spring’s arrival, the American Robin is one of our most familiar and beloved birds. Watch a female robin live as she incubates her eggs. Enjoy a nesting craft and read-along with ‘Bird Builds a Nest’.

Visit the live nest cam here

Three Activities for Earth Day

Here are three wonderful activities from our Outdoor Activity Consultant, Nature Nancy, to celebrate Earth Day. Enjoy making a ‘Sense Poem’, capture ‘Nature through the Window’, and find out ‘Who Lives Nearby’. Don’t forget to report your Landmark to get points on the Pathway Individual and Group Leaderboards and be entered into the monthly prize draw.

1. SENSE POEM (GR. 3-8)- USING ALL YOUR SENSES TO CREATE A POEM

How many words can you think of to describe the smell of a flower? How many words can you think of to describe the movement of a cat?

Take a sheet of paper and a pencil and find a comfortable place to sit outside. Sit there for several minutes and use all of your senses (likely not taste unless you brought out a snack). Ask yourself all of these questions.

What do I feel?

What do I smell?

What do I see?

What do I hear?

What do I taste (this can be imagined)?

Answer each question with some words that fit with your experience.

For example, I see….bright yellow flowers, fluffy clouds, windy trees, busy ant.

In order to create your sense poem, take away each of the questions and just use the answers that you wrote next to the question. Try your own sense poems and compare on different days/time of day.

Here is my example:

Monday Morning by Nature Nancy 

Cool wind, tickling grass, warm sun
Oats roasting, fresh-cut grass, sweet lilac waft
Bright yellow flowers, fluffy clouds, windy trees, busy ant
Honk, vroom, screech, caw, buzz, whoosh, chirp chirp Chocolate…Mmmmmm!

 2. Nature Through the Window (Gr. 3-8)- Creating a Frame in a window to observe and draw the out of doors

You will be looking at nature from inside and out. Follow these steps:

1. Make a frame using a piece of construction paper (or plain white paper) by cutting out a rectangle from the middle.

2. Find a window in your home and place the frame on it. You may be looking at a combination of things in nature and human-made items outside. Move your frame around the window and see if it changes what you see. What do you see? Birds, trees, weather, insects, flowers….roads, buildings? How did your scene change when you moved the frame?

3. Compare the smells, sounds, and feeling you detect when you are inside and compare that to when you go outside.

4. Leave your construction paper frame on a part of your window and sketch what you see through the frame.

 3. Who Lives Nearby? (Gr. 1-6) Creating a map of your neighbourhood and finding evidence of other creatures sharing our habitat.

1. With paper and pencil in hand, walk around your neighbourhood and observe
   examples of creatures living in this habitat.
2. In order to do this, you will need to make a map of the area that you are
   observing. When you find evidence of different creatures that you recognize then
   record it on your map. See the example to the left.
3. For example, you may see a robin’s nest in a tree and will mark that on your map where it was found in your neighbourhood. Enjoy!

Soaring Towards 10,000!

Pathway Explorers have been busy logging Landmarks and we’ve reached a record number, soaring towards our goal of 10,000 Landmarks!  The winter provided so many new and exciting activities for our community and photos have warmed our hearts.  We’re already at 3,216 – incredible work!

We’ve had some super ideas from families and other groups this winter proving – rain, snow or shine – it’s great to be outdoors.  Some of our favourites include:

• The Chickadees celebrated the winter season and made garlands out of edible items for their wintering friends in the woods. They decorated with Cheerios, raisins, raisins, peanuts, air-popped popcorn, oranges, and pomegranate peel shaped with cookie cutters. Such a creative way to explore Landmark 11 – Celebrate Each Season
• The Myles Family took advantage of a cold snap and when Rogers Cove was transformed into a giant outdoor rink. They went skating on the open ice, feeling the effects of the wind and listening to the deep sounds of the ice. It was so much fun they went back the next day!
• Children at the Compass Early Learning and Care-Home Childcare Program built a snowman this season! They used snowballs, stacked them, and added a face and a “unicorn horn”. They wondering if any animals might come nibble on the carrot nose and horn.
• After a beautiful dump of perfect snow early in the week, the grade 5s and 6s from Mrs. Monti and Mrs. Belk’s classes from Millbrook South Cavan Public School explored Medd’sMountain on snowshoes as part of the Think Outside program with Nature Nancy. The snow was deep enough to see how effective snowshoes really are. The Millbrook trail system is a close walk from the school and has amazing trees to walk through, marvel at, and use for hiding during a game of “Reggie the Squirrel”.
• Camp Kawartha worked with the Grade 8s at Highland Heights! They engaged in a variety of team-building activities that the students absolutely loved! They completed activities aimed at working together to balance a ball while traveling. They amped up the challenge by placing the stand that the ball had to sit on, on top of a snowbank!
• Immaculate Conception made suncatchers from collected materials and positioned them in the pan. Despite a warm spell, they were so happy when the temperature dropped and they saw their sun catchers come to life!