Summers at the Field Station Belong to Children
Posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Within the upcoming six weeks, the Field Station grounds will be swarming with college students enrolled in biology and environmental science lab courses. But in the late spring and the summer months, the facilities here belonged to the kids of the community. Since Earth Week and the end of April over 100 children have come out to share this environmental education resource. That is as it should be!
Pre-schoolers from two Head Start schools came in spring to plant seedling trees in our Nursery, hike the Nature Trail, observe killdeer eggs laid in the Labyrinth and even toast (or burn) some marshmallows over the open fire. Their enthusiasm was amazing. One child, referring to the seedlings, remarked, "These are small," and I replied, "Just like you once were -- but look how much you've grown." Planting those seedlings is a testimony to the childlike optimism for the future that ought to spark all of us from another generation!
Leslie Bollibon, '09, who helped with one of these pre-school outings before taking her last exams at Westminster en route to medical school at Drexel University, commented on how much fun it was to watch these kids enjoy and interact with nature. "They were so curious about everything they saw - from skunk cabbage, to worms, to killdeer eggs."
June had a flurry of activity at the Field Station and on the main campus as 38 children, first through fourth graders, from the Wilmington Elementary School participated in the second annual Science Camp. Their vigor for education in places without walls spilled into the Little Neshannock Creek and the Nature Trail. What a way to begin the summer!
June was also the month to fledge more than birds! A new club with an environmental bent for children of Wilmington Area took to wings. This is the Bear Tree Connections club. The first meeting on the evening of June 18 was a wet one. Laura Branby and Kelsey Mitchell from Allegheny College's Creek Connections program led the youngsters into the Little Neshannock for the intriguing quest of macroinvertebrates. That long word scared no one, not even the parents! Lisa Sotter, a parent of children involved said, "My kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I love outdoor educational opportunities!" Wendy Kinnear, another parent and club organizer: "June was a wonderful first meeting [for the club]."
Several churches of the community know that the Field Station is available for kids in summer programs that are often called vacation church school. Fourth and fifth graders from the local Presbyterian Church regularly have come out for a labyrinth walk and devotional thought. That happened again on June 9.
The New Wilmington United Methodist Church just completed the second annual Day Camp on July 16 that fully utilized the Nature Center, the Frey Nature Trail, the Sandy Edmiston Labyrinth and, of course, the Little Neshannock Creek that flows under the span of the green bridge. Seventeen kids of diverse ages and locations (some even from Virginia, Arkansas and Oregon) bubbled with excitement at forests, birds and critters. Some of those tiny critters required microscopes and a bit of patience to be seen. Admittedly, the creek-walk (that quickly became a creek-swim) had more to do with diversion from the summer heat than curiosity of the ecology of the creek!
What we can all learn from children is that whether looking at a small painted turtle in an aquarium or an amoeba under the microscope, curiosity and enthusiasm will take us a long way toward being healthy stewards of the earth . . .and a healthy community!
Clarence Harms, Director
Field Station
724-946-8520
harmsc@westminster.edu
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