The Naturalist’s Blog

Week of August 11, 2024 – August 17, 2024 by Katie McLaughlin, Environmental Educator Nature is where we get everything from. From clothing, to food, to even our technology – without nature humankind would not be where we are today. This past week I have spent time with our Voyagers wilderness survival camp. We traveled back in time to start a fire, carved our own spoons using coals from the fire, [...]

Week of August 4, 2024 – August 10, 2024 by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator During the chaos of summer schedules, you can’t help but notice the calmness and the sense of balance in nature. There is harmony amongst the plants and animals at Baltimore Woods – everything in an ecosystem gives value to one another while adapting to changes and persevering. Feeling the sun shine down on the preserve breathing life into [...]

Week of July 28, 2024 – August 3, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator The week before last was one of my favorite camp weeks of the summer– art camp! Throughout this themed Voyager week, we explore all over the preserve while drawing, painting, sculpting, acting, and creating other forms of nature art. I provide materials and some guidance, but this week is mostly camper-led in terms of how the kids [...]

Week of July 21, 2024 – July 27, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator When was the last time you got dirty? Was it your hands in soil, or paint, or something sticky? For some it may not be often, but life is messy and we should embrace that. This week while walking the trail  we were talking with a camper who had been exploring in Boulder Brook. Little bits of [...]

Week of July 14, 2024 – July 20, 2024 by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator I recently joined the Baltimore Woods Nature Center staff as an Environmental Educator and one of my roles in this position is to transition into a summer camp counselor for the duration of the season. Having worked in this field for many years at swim camps, sleepover camps, and educational camps there are many pastimes and games [...]

Week of July 7, 2024 – July 13, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator As we have been preparing for summer camp this week, I find myself looking back on what I did as a kid. From the age of 4 or 5 I was at a summer camp somewhere in CNY or exploring the creek near my parents’ house. A few memories always make me smile. I remember having nets [...]

Week of June 30, 2024 – July 6, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Throughout this past spring, Syracuse third graders had the special opportunity to explore the waters of Furnace Brook in Elmwood Park as part of the Baltimore Woods Nature in the City program. This field trip is one of my favorite things that we do each spring, in large part because it’s wonderful to see the joy that students experience. [...]

Week of June 23, 2024 – June 29, 2024 by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator From the times we’re brushing off the snow from the winter and dusting off the pollen of the spring, to when the weather becomes warmer as we enter summertime, our days are becoming longer. The summer months bring an entirely new set of activities as the weather grows hotter and lakes, oceans, beaches, and green spaces become [...]

Week of June 16, 2024 – June 22, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator If you missed it, June 7th kicked off a month long Bioblitz that is happening here at Baltimore Woods. From now until July 7th 2024 we are collecting data of every living thing that is on the preserve, and you can easily help! Take some photos of what you see when you’re hiking here and upload them [...]