By Vicki Stittleburg, Houston Audubon Environmental Educator & Naturalist
Fledgling Friends, our program for young learners that meets each Thursday for 12 weeks, wrapped up an exciting spring session. Class topics focused on nature and wildlife that children are likely to encounter in the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary (ELMNS) and in the Houston area. In our first class, students learned all about pinecones and watched as a pinecone placed in a jar with water slowly closed during class to protect the seeds inside. Participants enjoyed making pinecone monsters during craft time. Our next class was all about rocks. Students investigated different types of rocks with magnifying glasses and watched as a geode was broken open to reveal the crystals inside.
Since Houston Audubon is a bird conservation organization, birds are always featured prominently in the schedule. This spring, children learned about American Robins and Blue Jays which are commonly observed at ELMNS. Children excelled at making Robin eggs from blue play dough and wrapping blue yarn around a cardboard cutout to make a Blue Jay. They also learned about water birds such as Pelicans and Ducks. One of our most memorable classes was snail class where we were fortunate to host local snail expert Mr. Max Anton, aka The Mollusk Man. Everyone was captivated by the live milk and cactus snails he brought to class. In another class, children learned about Flying Squirrels, nocturnal residents of ELMNS. Making paper bag Flying Squirrel puppets and taking them on a journey on the trails was a popular activity. Around Easter, the students learned all about eggs. Children got to participate in a hunt for eggs with plastic animals inside and then were challenged to sort the animals into bins based on if they hatched from an egg or not.
Our class on Fish was noteworthy as the power went out during the program. Everyone remained calm and the children were content to create fish bracelets in the cabin by lantern light. One of the common reptile residents of ELMNS is the Five-lined Skink. Children learned all about these fascinating lizards and were lucky to get to observe two live skinks on a log in the forest. The final class focused on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats. Participants learned what an important role pollinators play in nature and got to enjoy strawberries and blueberries during snack time, fruits we wouldn’t have without the efforts of our plant helpers.
It’s an absolute delight to get to interact with the same families each week; the Fledgling Friends truly become a family over the course of the program. To the students that are moving on to kindergarten in the fall, we wish them the best and hope they will continue to visit ELMNS. We look forward to welcoming returning students as well as inviting new families to join the fall session. Registration will open in August on our website, and the schedule will feature all new topics for the students to explore!
Houston AuduBlog 