Monday, February 28, 2011

Winter 2011 SKIP - Week 4 (Birding)

Last week we focused on water, this week we took to the skies! It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon for a program on birds.

Our volunteer naturalist Heather Lunn led a fantastic program, which started with the kids dividing into two groups and visiting four different bird-related stations. Heather's station dealt with identifying birds in winter. She brought several pictures and guides and situated the group in some edge habitat (where the field meets the edge of the forest) to talk about the four main birds that stay at Murphys Point in winter: ruffed grouse, great horned owl, downy woodpecker and black-capped chickadee. She played bird calls and talked about other ways to identify them, such as visual cues.

Volunteer Judy Buehler, another outdoor enthusiast and birder, conducted the next station, which focused on backyard bird feeding. Several different feeders were set up in the big pine tree behind the Lally Homestead. Judy showed the group different food for birds, such as suet and seeds, and discussed the best ways to feed birds in the backyard - from favourite foods to good locations. Then the kids made Cheerio-bird-feeding necklaces that they could take home and hang on a tree for the birds.

Volunteer Pat Batchelor led the group on a short hike along the Lally Trail to discuss winter homes and habitats for birds. First they discussed good homes for birds that stay in winter and demonstrated different bird boxes. Each participant received a map of the Lally Trail with a clipboard and stickers. As they went along the trail they identified good homes and food sources for birds, and marked them on the map with the stickers.

The last station was led by Steph Gray and Linda McLaren and consisted of a winter survival game in the field. After a discussion about what birds need to survive in winter (food, water and shelter), one participant was designated to be a great horned owl and the rest were red cardinals. The cardinals had to collect a scoop of seeds from a bucket at one end of the field and deliver it "home" to an empty bucket, then do the same with a scoop of water and a tree branch to represent shelter. Anyone who collected all three items without being tagged was a true survivor!

The grand finale took place in the homestead with special guests Dwayne Struthers and Garnet Baker from the Leeds County Stewardship Council, along with Jeff Ward from the Lanark County Stewardship Council. Dwayne and Garnet led a session on bluebird box building, and came with kits for the kids to use so that they could each assemble a box to take home!

The kits contained pre-cut wood and pre-drilled holes, and the participants had the chance to line everything up and use a screwdriver to put everything together. Each box is made so that one side that swings open so the box can be cleaned out each year. The boxes should be fastened to a post (ideally steel so predators can't climb up) at least one metre above the ground. Dwayne and Garnet explained that not every box will attract a bluebird, but they should attract some kind of bird, such as swallows. An installation and care sheet will be provided to the kids with their workbook pages at the end of the program.

While the participants worked on the boxes they nibbled on a delicious snack provided by Skipper Linda McLaren - apples, juice and "seedy" cookies.

A huge thank you to Dwayne and Garnet for providing their skills, expertise and supplies for the bluebird boxes; to Heather for leading this week's program and to all of our program volunteers: Linda, Pat, Judy and Steph. Next week we look forward to communing with the trees - possibly on snowshoes!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Winter 2011 SKIP - Week 3 (Fish and Ice Fishing)

Wow - what a jam-packed afternoon!

With the weather taking a turn last week and the warm spell and rain leaving top water on area waterways, our SKIP crew decided to play it safe and change our original ice-fishing program to a more land-based games afternoon instead. Luckily, though, things cooled and got downright frigid on Saturday, so when our special guests Conservation Officer Mike Dubé and Deputy-Conservation Officer Curtis Thompson (also Murphys Point Acting Superintendent) tested conditions on Sunday morning, we were able to compromise and add a little bit of ice fishing after all!

This week we met at the park office area and started off by dividing our SKIP kids (parents and siblings were invited to this program, too, and we thank all who stayed) into four teams and rotated around four fish-themed stations.

Heather engaged the kids in a lively rounds of Fish Habitat Tag, where the "fish" kids had to collect three coloured spoons representing food, clean water and sunshine/oxygen - all important things for fish survival. One player was "it" and represented a predator (such as an osprey) or disease or pollution and tried to tag the fishies before they got back to home base.

At the next station, Beth helped each participant to strap on a pair of snowshoes and then they hiked up a short hill to retrieve puzzle pieces. The groups worked as a team to assemble two fish puzzles, and then they had to identify the fish from a chart showing all Ontario species.

Tobi conducted a fishing game at the next station. The kids took turns wearing a blindfold and the group worked as a team (a chorus of voices!) to guide each person toward a bucket filled with fish cards. Then they had to come back and determine what species they got. If they caught one that was out of season (such as large- or smallmouth bass), it had to go back to the bucket.

The last station was a memory hike led by Linda. The kids travelled along a short loop trail and looked for big fish cards hanging from trees. The cards were labelled and the kids had to remember all seven species when they reached the end of the hike.

Then we headed for Loon Lake, where Mike and Curtis awaited. They started with helpful information about ice safety, including thickness and safety equipment.
 
They demonstrated using a power auger to drill a hole and we all got to see the thickness of the ice and observed the various colours - which represent the type of ice and its strength. The big message from Mike and Curtis is that kids should never go out on the ice without an adult making sure it's safe.

They also reiterated that there are seasons for fish and sometimes certain species can't be kept at certain times. This weekend was a special one for fishing in Ontario because it is Family Fun Fishing Weekend, which means everyone can fish without a licence through to the holiday Monday! The rest of the time adults ages 18 and up need a licence.

Mike and Curtis had drilled several holes in order to demonstrate the different types of equipment you can use when ice fishing. This included everything from the low-tech stick with fishing line attached to a tip-up featuring a snazzy flag and rod and reel sets with jigs - not to mention fish finding equipment that showed us when a fish was about to nibble on the bait!
 
Then they showed us some of the specimens they had caught, including several perch. Mike pointed out the features of a good-sized female perch carrying eggs.

Everyone had a chance to try the rod for a couple of minutes and check out the action on the fish finder. We hope next year the weather will co-operate so we can plan for an full program of fishing.

Then we headed back to the chalet where Skipper Pat had prepared a wonderful fish-themed snack: fish-shaped cookies and crackers (with a gummy worm treat - bait, you know!) and hot chocolate and juice. Everyone got to take home a "loot" bag made up of fishing bait and tackle generously donated by Canadian Tire in Perth - a huge thank you to them!

Big thanks go out to everyone involved in the program this week: Conservation Officer Mike Dubé and Deputy-Conservation Officer Curtis Thompson; Park Naturalist Tobi Kiesewalter and volunteers Stephanie Gray, Pat Batchelor, Beth Peterkin, Linda McLaren and Heather Lunn. Also thanks to Jeff Ward (Stewardship Council) who helped to coordinate things, and to Trevor Deachman at Canadian Tire, as well as to Wendell Crosbie and the Lanark and District Fish and Game Club for their generous donation toward ice-fishing equipment used in today's program, which will be retained for future years.

Great day, everyone!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Winter 2011 SKIP - Week 2 (Winter Survival)

Last week our Super Kids In Parks tackled shelter building, and this week it was the whole kit and kaboodle: what to do if stuck in the woods in winter?

Our skilled volunteer leader Alida, who is an interpreter at Murphys Point in the summer and student of all things pertaining to outdoors and education the rest of the time, led us through a great program that featured some helpful tips and fun activities related to winter survival.

The first important message? Don't panic! If you find yourself in a survival situation, stop and think, stay put and make a plan. One way to do this is to pick a landmark, such as a tree, and make it your home base. We practised the skill of finding our landmarks after some disorienting spinning in the field - how quickly could we get to our base?

Another key to survival in the winter is warmth. We know lots of animals have this mastered - they come equipped with special layered fur coats or feathers, for instance. Technically humans have this mastered, too; we just have to use our noggins and dress appropriately. The most important thing is to wear layers: have lots for warmth and peel them off as you cool down and sweat so you don't get cold and clammy. Another trick is to exercise (we did jumping jacks) to keep warm, being careful to conserve your energy.

Speaking of energy, food and water were the next topic. We learned that we can go quite a few days without food, but not long at all without water. We also learned that eating snow takes a lot of energy and uses a lot of warmth, so it's best to build a fire (more warmth) and melt the snow if possible.

We broke into four groups and Alida timed us to see which group could build a small fire (with help from adult volunteers and kit with some supplies) and melt snow in a can the fastest. The winning group completed the task in mere minutes, and one group demonstrated building fires is tricky business - and had no luck at all!

The next big tip for winter survival is to be seen and heard. Like a cardinal against snow, bright colours help a person to be seen. Make noise, too - bring a whistle and emit three short blasts to signal for help. We practised the art of noise making (not that a large group of kids needs a lot of practise with that) by doing coyote calls, with Alida explaining the difference between the noises made by pups and adults.

Finally, it doesn't hurt to leave a message for your rescuer, so we spent some time tromping through the field to write large messages in the snow that could be seen from above.

Our Skipper Pat then "rescued" us with hot chocolate and other snacks in the warm drive shed while we recapped all we'd learned. There was even a little time for frolicking in the snow before going home.

A big thank you to Alida for a great program, as well as to our volunteers Pat, Judy, Beth, Lynn and Steph. Ice fishing fun is planned for the next program - stay tuned!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Winter 2011 SKIP - Week 1

Our first program of the Winter 2011 session of Super Kids In Parks got off to a great start! New participants mingled with seasoned veterans and worked as a team to build a big shelter on the Lally Homestead site at Murphys Point.

We kicked the afternoon off with an introduction to the program in the warmth of the drive shed, and then program leader Beth dispatched the crew to the barn foundation, where heaps of discarded Christmas trees awaited a new recycled adventure. Volunteers explained to the kids that we can't use trees or brush or deadfall from within the park because it is protected, so we gathered used Christmas trees from outside of the park specifically for this program.

The first task was to haul the trees from the foundation to the shelter site, which was located against an old fence rail and in some scrubby trees for added protection. Not an easy task in the deep deep snow!

Then the kids flattened the snow in the area. Next the trees and branches were lined up to form a wall, which was then supported with snow banks.

Following a group photo demonstrating the team effort, we talked about different types of shelters and good locations for them if needed.

The participants were then released to the open field by the homestead, where they worked on building forts and snowmen and other snowy creations before returning to the drive shed for hot chocolate and other snacks.

The Friends of Murphys Point Park extend a big welcome to our Winter 2011 participants. Thanks also to our Skipper Judy, who looked after the woodstove in the drive shed and provided the snacks, as well as our program leader, Beth, and volunteers Heather, Nancy, Cathy and Steph.

Stay tuned for details of our winter survival program next week!