out in nature

On Friday I took my class on our monthly fieldtrip out to Alpine Pond Open Space Preserve. The park is up in the mountains. We take a windy road up and stop in between to marvel at the view of the valley. As we say good bye to the city we say hello to nature. Each month is an adventure.

This time we split into two groups and with identification charts in hand we took it upon ourselves to notice and identify plants and birds.

Here is a letter I wrote to the parents after our trip:

Dear Parents,

We had the most gorgeous weather up at Alpine Pond Open Space Preserve today. The students (turned scientists) walked into the park with their identification charts in hand determined to find flowers and birds.

So far we identified the following plants:

California Buttercup

Thistle

Scarlet pimpernel

Wild Strawberry and

one flower in the pea family.

Birds we could identify were:

Song Sparrow

Varied Thrush

Scrub Jay

Plain Titmouse

Barn Swallow

And we recorded our observations and will use them to identify other plants and birds.

Enjoy this weekend.

Stepping outside, making the outside the classroom, taking a closer look at the things right in front of you, and yet being in this big space called nature, is not only refreshing, but necessary in remaining balance and perspective.