Ever wonder what it takes to care for a park in the city? This week, campers discovered what it takes to become a steward of the South Platte River by learning about native plants and animals, doing a service project, and educating others about the River. 
Monday: Rangers Know their Park 
Campers kicked off the week the best way SPREE could think of- with learning about scat of course! We studied scat (rubber replicas, not real thankfully!) and tracks of some animals that could be found in the park. We also played a track/animal matching memory game to learn some animal tracks from around the world. 
After learning about these "bio clues," our next thing to investigate was plants. We learned to identify many of the native plants found in and around the park, used some plant guide books, and made some plant rubbings from around the park. We then got to plant some native wildflower seeds of our own! 
Now that campers had learned about plants and land animals of the park, it was time to investigate what lives in the water! We did our first critter crawl of the week- we waded in the creek and caught some crawdads and macroinvertebrates!

Tuesday: Rangers Educate Others (Field Day)
Our field day is usually later in the week, but we moved it up this week for a special treat! Campers and staff did a service project with a park worker from Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR). We learned a little more about how and why people take care of parks, and then did a trash sweep in Confluence park. After the service project, we cooled down with some water games and had some fun in the park. 

Wednesday: Rangers are Prepared
Today we focused on being prepared for spending lots of time outdoors like rangers do! We made some mini first aid kits to take with us on a trek, learned how sundials work and made one of our own, and got back into the creek to cool off and catch some more critters!

Thursday: Rangers at Work and Play!
As we had been learning throughout the week so far, one problem that park rangers regularly face (and work to help solve!) is trash in parks. Campers learned about trash facts (did you know it can take 200 years for an aluminum can to break down?) and learned what can and can't be recycled at camp- and why! Learning about trash can be fun... but campers had another even more fun activity as part of their day- rafting! The Cherry Creek dam was raised to temporarily fill up the creek with enough water for our small raft to float on. After gearing up and going over rules, the campers had a blast paddling on the creek together. 

Friday: Rangers make Impacts
After a week of becoming park ranger experts, campers wrapped up the week by becoming junior park rangers! We made our own paper ranger vests, did a final critter crawl of the week, and also made some bird feeders to hang up at home. Lastly, the campers all took part in a graduation ceremony to finish off the week, and each camper got a state parks passport to take home!

The last week of June took campers on a journey- a journey of the South Platte River! 
On Monday, campers started in the mountains, learning about where and how the South Platte begins. We made our own mini mountain models and discovered how snow melt forms into creeks, streams, and eventually rivers. And, we learned about how Colorado is the headwaters state, and that all of the water in Colorado flows out into other states. 
We built miniature watershed models demonstrating how water gets to Denver through the transmountain diversion and how it is then distributed and used throughout the city.
On Tuesday, the focus was on how people in Colorado use and utilize the river as a resource. We played games about irrigation, explored native and non-native plants, dug miniature reserviors, and built our own model water-treatment plants. 

Field Day was on Wednesday! We explored a new nearby park and learned about our local waterways with a hands-on activities. First, we investigated the storm drains that were nearby camp. These inlets and outfalls are where rainwater and snowmelt drain away from streets and sidewalks so that the city doesn't flood. Campers learned that this storm water goes straight from the streets to the creeks and river, with no filtering- even when the water picks up debris and trash on the way. Campers had a blast volunteering to pick up some trash in the park with grabbers and gloves to help prevent it from going into the river through the storm drain.

Thursday and Friday were dedicated to the animals of the South Platte in Denver. On Thursday, we focused on the larger, vertebrate river dwellers. Campers acted out the lives and skills of beavers, made prints with native fish, and learned about Colorado's state fish- the Greenback Cutthroat Trout. 

On Friday we zoomed in ever further on the South Platte. We caught, looked at, and learned about macroinvertebrates such as crawdads, clams, and dragonfly nymphs. Then, we got to look at some microscopic life, too! We used microscopes to look at and learn about some of the tiniest critters and particles that are in the river water. We especially liked learning about tardigrades, or water bears. They are tiny, near indestructible microscopic creatures that have many cool adaptations that allow them to survive in a wide variety of environments- even space!
Next, we did some scientific tests to give the river a "check up." We tested the dissolved oxygen levels, pH, turbidity (clarity of the water), and took its temperature. With these test results, combined with the pollution intolerant critters we found, we were able to determine that the River is pretty healthy! 
After a week of learning about the South Platte's journey, the expert campers had a graduation ceremony!

Our first week of 2018 summer camps was a blast! Over June 4-8, both of our camp locations had the theme: Special Agent Training! Our focus was on being becoming special agents of the environment and the community. 
Monday was the introduction to being a special agent. We learned and developed many skills including, teamwork, observation, and becoming an expert in your surrounding environment.
On Tuesday we went more in depth in learning about the waterways and water systems in Denver. We had some very special guests to give us a demonstration- Denver's storm drain cleaners! They have the very important job of making sure the storm drains stay clean and safe so that the city doesn't flood!

On Wednesday we focused more in on some special agent skills! We analyzed our fingerprints, investigated animal tracks, made nature disguises, and made pompom launchers!

Next, on Thursday, we learned about some more of Denver's own local special agents- Park Rangers! And, we worked on becoming experts in the park spaces around camp as well. We went on nature hikes, learned how to pick up trash safely (and how to help prevent it from getting into the park and river), and even made trash/doggie bag dispensers!
Friday was field day and graduation day! We explored a new nearby park, went on a scavenger hunt, did a relay race, played games, and much more!
We wrapped up our week with a graduation ceremony celebrating all the new things we learned and discovered this week.