Today was the day we planned on finding the elusive wild persimmon tree. Here is a link to learn more about the wild persimmon. It kind of reminds me of an apricot. http://www.eattheweeds.com/persimmons-pure-pucker-power-2/ Needless to say we were unsuccessful on our hunt but we know it’s out there since it has been seen by other… Read more »
Happy Belated Thanksgiving Everyone! We hope everyone had a fulfilling holiday full of food, family and fun. Here at Irvine on the 14th we started our class with an opening circle where we all went around and shared at least one thing we’re grateful and thankful for, it was a fantastic start to the day!… Read more »
Although we normally start with a check in circle, it is more important to read the energy of the group to decide what to do. Thusly, we decided not to have one. It was a great way to bring up the concept of ruts both in the human world and the deer world. A rut… Read more »
Week 7! After checking in, and stopping to check out some salamanders near the gazebo, we headed towards the vernal wetlands. Once we got to the access road, we reinspected the Perilla and Jewelweed as it is always important to be able to identify plants as they change throughout the year. Right at the trail… Read more »
Happy Halloween! We had a fun and spooky day at Irvine as we learned about onion grass, worked on our shelter and collected milkweed for our fire in our costumes. Henry found a cricket and Alex and Aidan wore their Halloween costumes (Henry lowered his ninja mask for the picture). This little cricket was… Read more »
Today we took an epic walk to the ponds in a far off land after starting with our daily check-in circle. It was a really hot day so a trip to the pond was very fitting! After walking through the forests and across the meadows, checking out some Monarch Butterflies enjoying the sunshine, we finally… Read more »
For our 5th week, we got a new instructor Kelly that will be with us for the rest of the semester! Kelly is an awesome naturalist and will be a great addition to our class 🙂 We started out by having a small check in circle near the Woodland Garden to check in… Read more »
Week 4! We began the week by making straws from Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium) found right near the Irvine building! They are really cool because you drink water from a straw that can be over six feet and it makes your water taste sweet! We then headed down to the left of the main meadow… Read more »
Aright, Week 3! After having some time to settle in, we went to the beginning of the trail to meet Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)! Sassafras was one of the first exports when Europeans came to North America. It is the main ingredient in Root Beer! Its twigs can be used as a tooth brush because it… Read more »
For our second week we started off by playing a really fun game called camouflage in the outdoor classroom. The outdoor classroom is really just an awesome area with lots of natural objects to hide behind, climb on, dig in, and create with, where it’s impossible to not want to play! Camouflage is… Read more »
