After many years since our last after-school program at Birchview Elementary in Ishpeming, MooseWood Nature Center is happy to announce that we will once again be offering this program. This year’s program will be offered to students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades at Graveraet Elementary School. It is our hope to grow this program into a three seasons (Spring, Fall, Winter) program.
The After-School Program will be led by retired, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Park Ranger, Dave Kronk. Dave has modeled the program after his very successful after-school “Junior Ranger” program at the Park. Kronk will be assisted by Northern Michigan University students.
The program will take place on Thursdays, May 5, 12 and 19 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at MooseWood Nature Center.
Cost for the program is $12 total for all three sessions. Checks should be written to MooseWood Nature Center. Please note: An additional donation of $12 would be used to provide a scholarship to a student who otherwise would not be able to attend and help provide healthy snacks and drinks during the three-week program.
Participating students will take a school bus from Graveraet toward Presque Isle where they will be dropped off at the intersection of Lakeshore Boulevard and Island Beach Road. Program instructors will meet students there and walk back to MooseWood. At 6:00 pm parents and/or caretakers will pick up their students at MooseWood.
Students are required to bring a daypack with a water bottle, rain gear and old shoes and clothes that can get dirty.
As stated above, healthy snacks and juice will be provided prior to the students going outside for learning games and adventures.
The program agenda is as follows (may or may not change due to current weather conditions):
Session 1- Introduction to outdoor education and recreation safety and gear. Cooperation games: the knots game, skin the snake, the blob. Birding basics with binoculars. Insect basics, collecting, identifying with field guides and races. Learn how to use a compass, then expolore for salamanders and other wildlife.
Session 2- Pond exploration, water quality testing and the micro-invertebrate game.
Session 3- Instincts for survival game, animal populations game and the muskox maneuvers game.
Dave Kronk will be giving a 10-minute presentation at Graveraet (very soon) explaining the program and providing registration/information forms for them to take home to their parents.
If further information on the after-school program is needed please contact Dave at dkronk@nmu.edu or MooseWood at info@moosewood.org.
Thank you and Happy Spring!