Wild Winter Camp Day #1
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EmailWild Winter Camp Day #1
What an exciting first day of Wild Winter Camp at MSU Tollgate! We began the day by getting to know each other with some engaging icebreakers, and then going through our CARES contract with creative skits, directed and acted out by the talented campers. We then did our first flag ceremony where we learned the 4-H pledge together, and then parted ways as three separate pepper groups.
Our morning activities consisted of animal chores, ice fishing, and garden kitchen. Campers loved getting to know our farm animals and taking on the responsibility of caring for them. Campers were very eager and willing to take on the various jobs carried out every morning to make sure Tollgate's animals are safe, fed, and happy. We also made some great observations of the farm animals' behavior and interesting adaptations for the winter months. Interacting with these beautiful creatures is always such a joy, so it wasn't easy to say goodbye to them for the day and head off for the next activity.
The garden kitchen morning snack was a real treat - pancakes! Flour-less pancakes to be exact. Campers showed their helpful and curious spirit by taking part in all of the preparation. Made from banana, oats, rice milk, salt, and chocolate chips, this recipe is quite simple but incredibly delicious and rather healthy! Pan-griddled and served up with Maple syrup right from the Tollgate sugar shack, these pancakes were the perfect first garden kitchen snack.
Ice fishing was a blast to say the least. We got to see and use tools crafted particularly for ice fishing including a uniquely designed pole, an ice auger, and specialized shelter called a shanty. We also took on an exciting STEM project of designing our own poles. Although we didn't catch anything, one camper got a bite, and we were able to reflect on why fish are less active this time of year and how dormancy helps them to survive. Campers also enjoyed the opportunity to "skate" around on the ice, which is several inches thick thanks to our wonderful winter weather.
All three pepper groups reunited in the upper barn following these morning activities to enjoy their lunch and warm up for a little while. Following this, we bundled back up to embark on our afternoon adventures - including an animal sign and adaptation hike, the making and stationing of animal track traps, a STEM sled project, and revisiting the garden kitchen.
We explored the beautiful Tollgate forest, which was covered with a fresh and sparkling layer of snow, on a quest to look for signs of wildlife. In addition to the snow being fun and pretty, it makes for wonderful opportunities to spot animal tracks. We followed in the footsteps of white-tailed deer, snowshoe hares, and various small rodents and found some other signs as well including scat, nests, and signs of browse. We also learned about some of the fascinating adaptations animals will undergo to survive winter, and about how many animals will migrate or hibernate to enhance their chances of survival.
Following these exciting discoveries in the woods, campers were eager to see what other tracks we could behold, and what better opportunity than to put together a unique invention called a "track trap". This involved using a zip-tie to hold open the door of a live trap, so that animals could come and go as they please, and setting some materials to lure them in. We decided to use cat food, both wet and dry on a plate. And how to see their tracks? We set a piece of cardstock on a tray with a black ink-pad in front of the food. Animals would step in the ink, then step on the paper, before making their way to the meal laid out for them. We will get the opportunity to check back on these track traps tomorrow and identify what types of animals came for the food based on the shape, size, and pattern of their tracks.
For afternoon garden kitchen, we got to enjoy freshly cut veggies with roasted red pepper hummus made from scratch. The campers got to cut up the veggies themselves, including carrot, celery, and bell peppers. We mashed up chickpeas with tahini, lemon juice, salt, cumin, garlic, oil, and of course red pepper and then blended it all together for a scrumptious hummus treat to dip the veggies in. Some of the campers loved it so much that they enjoyed multiple servings. What a great way to get your daily dose of vegetables!
Our final activity of the day was to engineer our own cardboard sleds. Campers got the option to work solo or in groups to design and make a sled using simple materials including cardboard boxes of various shape and size, masking tape, and animal feed bags. The groups incorporated the basic principles of physics into their designs and got creative with unique features to add to the sleds. Some of the pepper groups got the opportunity to put their handiwork to the test in a very fun experiment - sledding! They could then see how their sled worked out, and tomorrow as we continue this project, they can incorporate more elements of the scientific method to improve upon their design and re-test the sleds.
After an eventful day, we wrapped up in the upper barn with some reflections on what we did and learned throughout our various activities with new friends and experiences around the farm. We then bid farewell as campers went home with their families, and all look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!
After exploring the ice fishing equipment of shanty, auger, ladle, lures, and poles, campers crafted their own poles from small branches from the Tollgate forest, outfitted them with hook, line, and sinker, added bait, and waited with hopeful eye for any nibbles.
The morning garden kitchen recipe of flourless banana chocolate chip pancakes was a huge hit, especially with Tollgate maple syrup as topping. Campers enjoyed making roasted red pepper hummus in the afternoon for a treat with fresh veggies.
Campers hiked the farm, looking for signs of animal life as they explored what we can learn about an animal from its tracks and scat. They even made and placed a ‘track trap’ with cat food, white paper, an ink pad, and a trap rigged to stay open so that they might capture animal tracks for identification.
Campers used plenty of science and engineering practices as they embarked on an exciting cardboard sled design project beginning with an investigation of what makes a sled move. They thought about the variables that impact the speed a sled travels, and applied these ideas to the design of their team’s sled. Lots of laughter and squeals were heard as campers tried out their sleds which became faster and faster as the fresh deep snow became packed. After reflection on what worked and didn’t work well, campers will have the opportunity to change their sled design.
