Let Your Imagination Run Wild
Week of October 13, 2024 – October 19, 2024 by Katie McLaughlin, Environmental Educator Let your imagination run wild! … but how do we do that? It all starts while we are young, as our little minds are trying to figure out the world and how it works. We mimic what we know and observe in play. I would pretend to pour water or potions from an empty bottle to fill [...]
Ecosystem Connections
Week of October 6, 2024 – October 12, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Both spring and fall are exciting transitional times in the natural world around us. Here at Baltimore Woods, I always look forward to the arrival of fifth graders from the Syracuse City School District for their Ecosystem Exploration field trip. For many of these kids, it is their first time exploring such extensive forest, field, and water [...]
Animal Tracking
Week of September 29, 2024 – October 5, 2024 by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator One of my favorite things to do while exploring nature is to look around for animal tracks; the evidence of animals is all around us… if we know where to look! We don’t always need to see animals to know they have been here. Woodpeckers, for example, leave holes in trees in search of food or a [...]
The Baltimore Woods Weather Station
Week of September 22, 2024 – September 28, 2024 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator Did you know that we now have a weather station at Baltimore Woods? A weather station is a collection of instruments that measure atmospheric conditions, or more simply, the weather. Our new station was installed earlier this month with the help of our amazing A-team volunteers. As someone who loves the weather, this was a very special [...]
Nighttime Adventures
Week of September 15, 2024 – September 21, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator I was the child who had those glowing stars on their ceiling as a kid because I am a little afraid of the dark. However this fact did not stop me from exploring the night. During those warm rainy nights in early spring there wasn’t much anyone could do to stop me from going out to look [...]
Back to School
Week of September 8, 2024 – September 14, 2024 by Katie Robideau, School Programs Manager As a child, I always recognized the late summer insect “symphony” as the return to school and a sign that fall was well on the way. I remember associating these sounds with the fear of starting a new school year, joining a new class, and making new friends, a feeling that quickly wore away once the [...]
New Beginnings on the Trails
Week of September 1, 2024 – September 7, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Lately, summer has been winding down and making way for fall to begin. Katydids are becoming quieter and slower with their nighttime songs, the air is cooler, and leaves are even beginning to change to flaming colors of red, orange, and yellow. Fall is also a time of change for us humans as kids return to school, [...]
An Abundance of Rabbits
Week of August 25, 2024 – August 31, 2024 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator Have you seen a cottontail rabbit lately? I feel like I have been seeing them everywhere this summer- in the garden, in peoples’ yards as I walk around town, and foraging along the edges of the fields here at Baltimore Woods. Several of our visitors have told me that they’ve seen more rabbits than previous years around [...]
The Calls of Owls
Week of August 18, 2024 – August 24, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator On the cool summer nights that we’ve been having lately, I’ve found the sounds of nocturnal nature to be very calming. It’s been a great year for katydids and crickets chorusing among the trees and shrubs. If I’m lucky and listen really closely through the window screen, most nights there have been owls calling. Screech owls are [...]