All Intermediate

Landmark 22 (Citizen Science)
One of my favourite things to do with my group here is citizen science! Citizen Science allows us to connect to our world in a productive way. Learning the names and properties of the wild beings that share our home teaches us to appreciate their beauty and their importance. This morning we began “The Great Mushroom Hunt”, which is an effort to create a map of the mushrooms and fungi of North America. How exciting! We first stopped to sketch “Shaggy Inkcaps”, of various sizes. We also found what we think is an entoloma. What I love about this task, which we will carry on for the entirety of the international event, is that we will be learning about our findings together! I know only a small bit about mushrooms, and am looking forward to discovering more with the friends.

Babbling Brook Daycare – September 19, 2022

Landmark 17 (Three New Outdoor Skills)

For Quest 4 we found all sorts of colours on our nature walk. Sydney cut some of our flowers and made an awesome arrangement and then she taught Leif how to sew using leaves. We were able to get out camping at Rondeau Provincial Park and certainly enjoyed the contrast in colours of the water, beach and sand/rocks.

The Nancekivell Clan – August 8, 2022

Landmark 19 (Explore Biodiversity)

Adventure #8: We looked at pictures of milkweed and discovered several monarch butterflies flying around milkweed plants. The kids talked about the symmetry they saw on the wings and made up stories about what the butterflies would see on their migration journey to Mexico. When we got home, they researched monarchs on Pebble Go and were excited to learn more about the role milkweed plays in the lives of monarchs.

Hipgrave Family – August 30, 2022

Landmark 17 (Three New Outdoor Skills)

We attended a soapstone carving workshop with Glen Caradus at the Peterborough Library. We learned about the history of soapstone and the steps of soapstone carving. The kids were fascinated with the carving process and love how their new pendants shine. What a wonderful way to spend our afternoon.

Hipgrave Family – July 27, 2022

Landmark 22 (Citizen Science)

We contributed to a Citizen Scientist initiative by Parks Canada. These “coasties” help track changes to coastlines due to erosion, storms, beach use, etc. The sand dunes are very fragile – the roots of the marram grass form a living net to hold them all together. So cool!

Hipgrave Family – July 17, 2022

Landmark 20 (Plan and Conduct a Project)

My son David and myself planned a trip to see if we could feed chickadees. I helped him look up and research the type of food that chickadees eat and I did my own research to see where in the are would be the best spot to have a chance to hand feed the chickadees. We bought the seed and drove the small commute down to Whitby. David was so excited and couldn’t wait to see if he could have a bird land on him. Right away we could hear the chickadees calling to each other in the trees. We were able to have our first chickadee’s eat the seeds from us right at the beginning of the path! It was very exciting and they are so tiny you barely feel them on your hand. We soon figured out that being close to the beginning of the path means there is a lot of foot traffic that could make the chickadee’s not come. We were able to find a nice spot nestled in a bunch of trees that the chickadees loved. They were soon all around us and taking the seeds from our hands. In the end, we stayed and fed the birds for over an hour. It was such a fun adventure!

– Hamlyn Family – March 6, 2021

Landmark #17 (Three New Outdoor Skills)

These little Chickadees took advantage of this amazing November weather to learn a new skill. Skateboarding at the Lakefield Skate Park is a great place to learn!!

The Chickadees – Nov 6/20

Landmark #18 (Natural Area Booklet, Blog or Video)

We looked around the yard for plants that were edible according to the… book.
Then we made our own reference book with what we found.

Chickadees – August 31/20

Landmark #17 (Three New Outdoor Skills)

My mom and I went to Barnardo Park with hand clippers and cut some cattails. I only cut down 3 of them that had cattails on them because the brown cattails are the most important part of the plant because it spreads the seeds for plants to grow next year. We brought the tall reeds home and with string I showed my mom how to tie them into a cattail mat. First Nation Peoples used to use this technique to make beds, baskets and clothes. I learned this at Camp Kawartha. I also fluffed the brown cattails and put it in a bag. We brought it camping and use it as a fire starter.

Nature Ninjas – Aug 25/20

Landmark #19 (Explore Biodiversity)

When I was camping with my family in North Frontenac I found a GIANT caterpillar. It was the biggest one I have ever seen. It had 2 big fang looking things on its head and a weird butt. It was as wide as my dad’s thumb and as long as my finger! Does anyone know what it is?? I also found turtles in the marsh and small black snakes and their nest with hatched egg shells around the island we camped on.

Nature Ninjas – Aug 25/20

Landmark #17 (Three New Outdoor Skills)

We explored our local environment by going Geocaching for the first time.
The Super Ninjas – Aug 18/20

Landmark #19 (Explore Biodiversity)

Explored Killarney Park. We camped, went swimming and hiked the local terrain around Georgian Bay.
The James Family – Aug 8/20

Landmark #8 (Art Project)

A pastel drawing of a picture taken of an owl seen in a tree while out four wheeling.
The Chickadees – July 31/20

Landmark #25 (New Outdoor Skill)

Geocaching around Bridgenorth. My kids learned how to locate an object using GPS coordinates and distances on a map. They logged what they found and the hike with our dog was great too!

The James Family – July 22/20

Landmark #9 (Special Outdoor Place 2X/Month)

We visited nature trails in the summer and found the river bed had dried so we walked along it.

TheSuperNinjas  – August 6/20

Landmark #18 (Celebrate a Natural Area)

Paddled around in an inlet and watched /counted turtles, frogs, fish and birds. We saw painted turtles, terns, osprey, and a heron. We saw an osprey dive and caught a fish. The fish were hiding in the weeds. We sat and reflected on how lucky we are to live so close to such variety in nature.

The James Family – July 25/20

🌲 One of our #pathwayexplorers submitted their Landmark photo yesterday and got 25 points on the leaderboard by exploring a nearby waterway and going Geocaching! Big 🙌 for them! ☀️🐝🐸🦋🌷🌎