The Greenway Foundation
  • About Us
    • About Us >
      • Greenway Current (Annual Report)
      • Flood of 1965
      • Greenway Videos
    • River & Trail Info
    • Blog
    • Success Stories >
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010-2014
      • 2015-Future
    • Volunteer
    • Employment
    • Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Search
  • Education
    • SPREE >
      • SPREE Home Page
      • Just for Kids!
      • Support SPREE
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • Field Trips >
      • Excursions By Grade >
        • ECE
        • Kindergarten
        • 1st Grade
        • 2nd Grade
        • 3rd Grade
        • 4th Grade
        • 5th Grade
      • Excursion Signup
      • Feedback
      • Excursion FAQ
    • Camp >
      • Summer Camp
      • School Break Camps
      • Leaders in Training
      • FAQ
    • Learning SPREE
    • After School
    • High School >
      • River Rangers >
        • School Internships
        • Summer Employment
        • Why Environmental Education?
      • Greenway Leadership Corps >
        • The Water Connection >
          • About The Water Connection
          • Nautilus Installed in Cherry Creek
          • TAP-IN Colorado
          • Gutter Bin Pilot
          • Clean River Design Challenge
          • Minimum Stream Flow
  • Water Resources
  • Projects
    • River Vision Implementation Plan (RVIP) >
      • Johnson Habitat Park
      • Weir Gulch
    • Chatfield Storage Reallocation Project
    • USACE Feasibility Study
    • Clear Creek Greenway Design Effort
    • Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners
  • Events
    • Spring South Platte Stewardship Day >
      • Family Spring Stewardship Day
    • Art on the River
    • Citizens for the River
    • Reception on the River
    • Rock the River >
      • Rock the River Catering
      • Rock the River Viewing Instructions
    • Gala on the Bridge
    • Bridge Party
    • Fall South Platte Stewardship Day >
      • Family Fall Stewardship Day
    • Family Fishing Day
  • Donate
    • Colorado Gives Day
  • Email Sign Up

THe Greenway Foundation Blog

SPREE HQ Summer Camp Week 8: Junior Park Rangers

8/5/2019

0 Comments

 
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 river and caught some crawdads and macroinvertebrates!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Tuesday: Rangers Educate Others
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 Johnson Habitat park. 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. After the service project, 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! We cooled off at the end of the day with another critter crawl in the river. 
Picture
Picture
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 compasses work, learned how sundials work and made some of our own, and got back into the creek to cool off and catch some more critters!
Picture
Picture
Thursday: Rangers at Work and Play! (Field Day)
Learning park ranger skills throughout the week has been fun so far ... but campers had another even more fun activity scheduled as part of their field day- rafting! The campers started their day at Overland pond park. After gearing up and going over rules, the campers had a blast paddling on the pond together! They also enjoyed catching bugs and spiders, going on a mini hike, and working on a scavenger hunt in a new environment in Overland park and along the South Platte. After a picnic lunch at Overland, the campers walked back to SPREE HQ and had a relaxing afternoon. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
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!
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives
    ​

    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Previous Entries

    Categories

    All
    Archives
    Art
    Camp
    Campout
    Clean River Design Challenge
    DSISD
    Events
    Family Events
    Fish
    GLC
    History
    Holiday
    HQ
    Insects
    Rangers
    Special Agents
    SPREE
    Stewardship
    Water Engineering
    Water Quality

    RSS Feed

donate today!
(303) 455-7109 - Greenway
(303) 743-9720 - SPREE 
1800 Platte St
Denver, CO 80202
Staff Contact Info

FEIN: 51-0193575
sign up for our email list
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • About Us
    • About Us >
      • Greenway Current (Annual Report)
      • Flood of 1965
      • Greenway Videos
    • River & Trail Info
    • Blog
    • Success Stories >
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010-2014
      • 2015-Future
    • Volunteer
    • Employment
    • Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Search
  • Education
    • SPREE >
      • SPREE Home Page
      • Just for Kids!
      • Support SPREE
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • Field Trips >
      • Excursions By Grade >
        • ECE
        • Kindergarten
        • 1st Grade
        • 2nd Grade
        • 3rd Grade
        • 4th Grade
        • 5th Grade
      • Excursion Signup
      • Feedback
      • Excursion FAQ
    • Camp >
      • Summer Camp
      • School Break Camps
      • Leaders in Training
      • FAQ
    • Learning SPREE
    • After School
    • High School >
      • River Rangers >
        • School Internships
        • Summer Employment
        • Why Environmental Education?
      • Greenway Leadership Corps >
        • The Water Connection >
          • About The Water Connection
          • Nautilus Installed in Cherry Creek
          • TAP-IN Colorado
          • Gutter Bin Pilot
          • Clean River Design Challenge
          • Minimum Stream Flow
  • Water Resources
  • Projects
    • River Vision Implementation Plan (RVIP) >
      • Johnson Habitat Park
      • Weir Gulch
    • Chatfield Storage Reallocation Project
    • USACE Feasibility Study
    • Clear Creek Greenway Design Effort
    • Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners
  • Events
    • Spring South Platte Stewardship Day >
      • Family Spring Stewardship Day
    • Art on the River
    • Citizens for the River
    • Reception on the River
    • Rock the River >
      • Rock the River Catering
      • Rock the River Viewing Instructions
    • Gala on the Bridge
    • Bridge Party
    • Fall South Platte Stewardship Day >
      • Family Fall Stewardship Day
    • Family Fishing Day
  • Donate
    • Colorado Gives Day
  • Email Sign Up