On May 15th, over 60 fifth grade students and students from Colton-Pierrepont, St. Mary's School, Trinity Catholic, and Hermon-DeKalb attended Conservation Field Day at the Indian Creek Nature center.  We were delighted to spend the day outside in near-perfect May weather, with radiant sunshine and a nice breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay.  Conservation Field Day is a longstanding tradition at Indian Creek Nature, with the goal of giving students hands on experience in nature while learning about conservation, ecology, and the flora and fauna of our local forests and wetlands. 

This year's activities included a forest walk with DEC foresters Steve Sherwood and John Wood ( could two foresters possibly have more appropriate last names?), a bird walk with MaryBeth Warburton, lessons on recycling from John Tenbusch of the St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council, Reptile and Amphibian displays with SUNY Potsdam's Glen Johnson, exploring wetland wildlife with DEC biologist Tim Pyszcyznski,  examining soil and water with Reanne Dulanski of the SLC Soil and Water Conservation District, and a lesson about bluebirds from Ted Linn of the NYS Bluebird Society.  Nature Up North offered an ecology scavenger hunt.    

What can kids learn about nature through a scavenger hunt?  The first step to learning about the natural world is to study it closely.  All scientists and naturalists get their start by simply observing what’s around them.  So, we equipped groups of 4-5 students with digital cameras and sent them off into the woods to search for and photograph ferns, blooming flowers, animal tracks, birds’ nests, lichen, fruit trees, evergreens, and frogs.   

Below are some of the best photos that students took during the day:   

Can you spot the spring peeper in this photo taken by Trinity students Andrea, Violet, and Mason?

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New leaves on a box elder photographed by Colton-Pierrepont students Caleb, Timmy, and Tommy.

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With a keen eye for detail, Hermon-Dekalb students Logan, Aric, Hailey, Chris, Joshua, and Gage caputured this image of a spider. 

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St. Mary's students Jack, Gretchen, Sara, and Emily took this nice shot of a patch of wild violet.  

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Nature Up North had a lot of fun partnering with Indian Creek Nature Center for Conservation Field Day. We thank the teachers, parents, and other activity leaders for helping to make the day a success.