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News Notices for July 2010
Introductory Note from the Director
It has been a while since we posted activities on the website. However, this is definitely not because of inactivity on the part of ATFS but merely due to the fact that folks have been away on vacations or simply have been too busy to gather together pictures and to write up reports. So here is an attempt to rectify this situation and to report on some of July’s activities – Enjoy.
Ulster Project
July 7, one of the hottest days of the month, saw the third annual visit to ATFS from the Ulster Project of Greenville. As always, the project involved youth from Northern Ireland and youth from Greenville with their adult leaders. This year’s project involved the Ulster Team cutting the lumber and assembling a half dozen Leopold Benches. The Leopold Bench is a simple design by Aldo Leopold (the founding father of wildlife biology and the science of game management) but is a sturdy, comfortably sitting bench. These benches will ultimately be located at various locations around the Nature Conservancy.
Also included in the Ulster Project’s visit was a tour of the Nature Conservancy and Learning Center, a traditional American hot-dog lunch at the Learning Center, and a chance to see, up close and personal, the nose wheel tire from one of the missions of the Space Shuttle Endeavor that is on loan from NASA and Go-Science.
Additional thanks go to the adult leaders and supervisors from the various churches and to the folks from the Pitt County Soil and Water Conservation District – O! and to Spirit, the spirit of the conservancy, who will miss all of the good friends she made.
Click a photo to start the slideshow, move the mouse cursor off the photo to see without controls.
July 10 ATFS Saturday Family Fun Day and Go-Science IYB Explorer Program
Although no pictures are available, the second of our Saturday Family Fun Day’s nature walk was conducted by ATFS’s Nature Interpreter Leah Connell followed by craft time in which the participants made butterfly fans. That morning assistance from ATFS to our science brethren at Go-Science was given by Bryan Evans. For their IYB Explorer program at Goose Creek State Park, Bryan directed the macro-invertebrate activity in which these little critters were captured from the near shore waters and examined under a viewing scope followed by a discussion of their relationship to water quality. We are not surprised that the report was that Bryan did a great job. Only a couple pictures were available.
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Boys and Girls Club Gardening Project
Most Tuesdays and Thursdays saw Nancy Bray and or Joni Torres at the new Ayden Boys and Girls club continuing with the “Edible Landscape” garden project. The last time documented one of their first cooking sessions this time we are featuring their two forays into Italian cooking. The budding chefs harvested their veggies, made their sauces and even made their pizza dough and pasta. Check out these shots of the fun. You can find other posts on subject here.
Click a photo to start the slideshow, move the mouse cursor off the photo to see without controls.
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Pitt County Soil and Water Conservation District Environmental Education Workshops
Over three days July 20 – 22 Educators with the Pitt County Soil and Water Conservation District offered a series of workshops – Project Wet, Project Aquatic Wild and Project Wild. Conducting these workshops at the A Time for Science Center, these educators are able get eastern North Carolina teachers and students outside in order to participate in fun, hands-on learning activities.
On Tuesday July 20th, they focused on Project Wet which consisted of activities and projects that gave teachers the tools they need to stimulate the minds of students into recognizing how we use our most important resource, water. Participants created their own water cycle diagrams, ground water models, irrigation models and also visited the Greenville Utilities Wastewater Treatment Plant. These educational workshops allow educators to stay ahead of the learning curve and give them the resources needed to engage children in environmental education.
On Wednesday July 21st, the focus was Project Aquatic Wild. Activities in Project Aquatic Wild can be easily integrated into an existing curriculum to further solidify the topics being presented in classrooms. This workshop was led by Mike Campbell with the Wildlife Commission, and was filled with fun, hands-on activities. The lessons involved a macro-invertebrate study to determine water quality, an ice breaker that involved species description, and a water usage lesson.
On Thursday July 22nd, the focus was Project Wild, which is one of the most widely-used conservation and environmental education programs among K-12 educators. It is based on the premise that young people and educators have a vital interest in learning about our natural world. Mike Campbell led the workshop and focused on activities that opened educators’ eyes to the wildlife and the habitats that we have here in North Carolina. Participants experienced great activities to discuss the growing deer population we encounter in North Carolina, animal adaptation, and also learned how to identify animal tracks found in the wild.
Click a photo to start the slideshow, move the mouse cursor off the photo to see without controls.
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A Few Other Activities
AST-251 Telescope Making
Five evenings through the month of July saw members of the AST-251 Telescope Making Class utilizing the dark skies at Bray Hollow Conservancy to bring their scopes into collimation and calibration and then to view the stars with their new “toys.”
Pumpkin Patch and Trail Blazing
Several youth volunteers joined with “Mother Nature” (a.k.a. Nancy) to plant pumpkins for future fall use. As of now, with the recent rains, the plants look fairly healthy and are beginning to blossom. By October we hope to have a variety of pumpkins for various activities.
Of course there are any number of other activities in preparation such as our next Saturday Family Fun Day (August 14) and Pioneer Technology Day (November 13) so we hope that this will give you a picture of our work at ATFS.