Fantastic Walk & Tree Discussions!

Hello Everyone,

Today we had a fantastic walk in the sunshine to Everett Crowley Park! Everyone used their plant guides to try and identify local plants used by First Nations. We were able to find most of them, although we didn’t see any lady fern, lily of the valley, or skunk cabbage, mainly because the forest is too exposed to light and those plants need more of a wet, rainforest environment.

Overall, it was a fun walk in the beautiful weather! We met Mr. Corbett, one of the main volunteers who works to improve the park, and he explained all about mason bees and the nests they had set up in the park. Mason bees don’t sting and are great pollinators!

You may want to celebrate EARTH DAY by visiting Everett Crowley for their activities from 11-3 on April 22nd. More details here.

Earth Day is also being celebrated at Science World, so if you would like to know about their March for Science, please see details here.

When we came back, we did a journal entry describing some of the things we saw. We also used some of the guide books we have in the classroom to help identify plants and trees we saw but did not have the names for in our guides. Please look in your house for any guides you could bring to help us as we identify plants!

We talked about how Vancouver and surrounding areas are part of a larger rainforest and looked at a graphic of the Pacific Rim Forest to see what types of vegetation can be found in our wetter forests. Go visit Pacific Spirit Park at UBC to see some great rainforest vegetation (and also the site of beautiful walks and nature that are frequently used by filmmakers as setting in our favourite movies.)

Using the book Treeology, we began to read about trees in more detail, so we can better understand how to identify them. We also played a game about old growth forests called Forest Trek. Everyone has a game board and the info to play at home, too.

Tonight, everyone is going to make a new page in their journal — a nature map of your home. Go outside and investigate the natural bits around your house or apartment building. Then, make a map on the paper that shows from above where nature can be found around your area.

Tomorrow, the organization O.W.L. will visit our classroom from 10-11:30 AM. They will explain how they help orphaned owls, talk about predatory birds like hawks and owls, and tell about the work they do to rescue them, as well as the situations in nature they need to rescue them from due to our changing environment. Please write any questions you have for them in your journal so you are prepared. Remember that the birds do not like loud noises, so we will be quiet during the presentation. Review their website tonight if you have time to see what their organization is all about!

Reminders: Deep Cove Notices overdue, Finish Earth By The Numbers Data for Math so we can begin charts tomorrow, no school on Friday/Monday, and report cards handed out on Wednesday or Thursday.

Have a great night!

Ms. D