Photography Day Hike:
We've teamed up with Nature Photographer David Foster for a Nature Photography Day hike.
October 30, 2010
Join us!
Kingfisher March Day Hike
March 25th, 2010 Day Hike, Kingfisher AcademyNo Responses » Read or Post Your Own
Though most of our Kingfisher programs this year have included rain (mainly because it’s been such a wet year in general), our March day hike couldn’t have been better.
A group of seven 7-9 year old, their teacher, Lili, and I took a 4-mile day hike along the Chattahoochee River. This trail is superb in so many ways. It starts out flat along the river, the uphills are only in the middle of the hike, there are several scenic overlooks, there is an awesome bamboo forest and rock ledge overlook at the far end of the loop, and the hike ends with a downhill. Because this was a younger group than I often hike with, it was important to design a hike that would push the kids physically, but that included lots of opportunity for play, exploration, and varied terrain. This trail was exactly that, and the kids had a great time.
Learning on these day hikes comes in several forms. We look at the plants around us and do some identification - hickory trees, trillium flowers about to bloom, river cane.
On another level, we promote the idea that the woods are for exploring, rocks are for climbing, and fallen trees are for balancing on. We facilitate the kids learning to connect to nature on physical level. I believe that physical connection leads to love of nature and good stewardship.
The biggest growth I see is in their confidence. I believe that the ability to walk up a mountain is partly physical, but primarily a question of confidence. During the March hike, this was clearly evident. Several children were struggling to walk up a steep hill, so they decided to trade backpacks (even though no one’s pack was significantly lighter than anyone else’s). Upon switching backpacks, they declared how “light” their packs were, and proceeded to motor up the hill. The smallest girl on the trip even asked to switch backpacks with me. I told her mine was way too heavy (containing first aid kit, extra clothes, extra water, etc.), but she insisted, took my pack, and powered up the hill none-the-less. In learning to be confident in their physical capabilities, the kids gain the strength of knowing that “they can, even when they think they can’t.” It is for this reason that I lead hikes.
On this hike, one young man in particular climbed EVERY rock, tree and dirt pile (left). However, all the students were adventurous. When I asked if they wanted to go the “crazy rock-climbing way” or the trail, guess what they chose? Luckily, I sometimes speak in hyperbole, so there was nothing crazy about it, nor any rock-climbing, just a good off-trail scramble.
Another young man started the hike saying, “I don’t want to go.” Since I knew he had a good sense of directions and could read maps well, I gave him my trail map and asked him to lead. He did a superb job and never took us the wrong way.
On every trip, there are many moments like this one in which a student feeling defeated, tired, grumpy, or scared. But fun, exploration, and contentment seem to regularly prevail!
I’m going to end this post with a series of photos, but you should really check out all the photos on Facebook, as the blue sky and photogenic kids made for lots of good pictures.
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Raising City Chickens Class & Tour
March 24th, 2010 ClassesNo Responses » Read or Post Your Own
Two weeks ago, I got to teach yet another class on raising backyard chickens. In the past, my classes have mainly been for kids. But this time, the participants were all adults and either planning on or investigating the possibilities of starting their own coop!
Our 14 participants were mainly from intown neighborhoods and ranged from young to old, single and married. There were definitely several people who were using the class to convince their spouse that raising chickens is a good idea.
In comparison to other classes on raising chickens, I design mine to be practical and hands-on. The classroom is my backyard (which I covered with a tarp on this drizzly day), and the first thing we do is let the chickens roam among the chairs and make sure each person starts out by learning to hold a chicken.
As usual, Spilly, our blind chicken, got the most lovin’:
We looked closely at coop construction, methods of watering and feeding the birds, measures to protect the chickens from predators. We discussed flock-sizes, daily routines, feeding kitchen scraps to your flock, uses of chicken poop.
The participants had great questions and it was lots of fun for me because I could see that they were analyzing every topic we covered, figuring out how they’d, for example, protect their own birds from hawks.
Whenever I could, I’d demonstrate a technique (such as clipping the birds’ wings, as you see in this photo) rather than just explain it. The participants got to watch me run in circles trying to catch our Ameraucana (named Bully Hawk). We passed around chicken feed and oyster shells. We fed the birds bread. We built a homemade waterer from a bucket and planter.
After my presentation, many questions and plenty of chicken-chasing, we went on our tour. The participants got to meet three very different chicken-owners and see a wide-variety of coops. Most of the chicken-owners on the tour built their coops themselves, using mostly scrap wood (as did my wife & father-in-law). One coop had seven birds, another had twenty. I think the tour helped the participants really visualize how they will bring chickens to their own backyards.
To date, at least three participants have ordered chicks (one ordered 25 and wants to share!) My cousin in Memphis even called me the evening of the class and asked me for advice, because she’s going to start a flock. And I’m still hearing from people who are excited about taking the next class I teach. Another is not scheduled until the fall, but if we get enough interest, I might be able to teach another in mid-May. Contact me!
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Kingfisher Cumberland Camping
March 3rd, 2010 Cumberland Island, First-time Backpacking, Kingfisher Academy, Overnight, Swimming, Tree ClimbingNo Responses » Read or Post Your Own
I couldn’t resist the alliteration in the title of this post!
Last week, Ms. McGinnis (a middle-school teacher at Kingfisher Academy) and I took a group of twelve 9-13 year olds on a 4-day, 3-night camping trip on Cumberland Island National Seashore on the coast of Georgia. For those of you not familiar with Cumberland, it is my favorite place in the United States. From the jungle of live oak trees, saw palmettos, and Spanish moss to the wild horses to the pristine beaches, Cumberland is an exquisite place to be outdoors.
I’m always excited to introduce new people to the island, and this group of students from Kingfisher Academy were in for a treat! February is one of the best times to visit Cumberland because the gnats and mosquitos are not out yet and it is still sometimes warm enough to soak in the sun at the beach. On this trip, we experienced the best day possible: 75 degree temperatures, full sun, no bugs, and an island virtually to ourselves because the ferry doesn’t run on Tuesdays.
Though rain was predicted on Monday and Wednesday, nature smiled on us and only produced a slight drizzle both days. Enough to get us damp, but not soaked to the bone.
Despite this good fortune, this was still a most difficult trip. Not only were these students relatively young (four days out is a long time for 9-10 year olds), but this was the longest camping trip most of them had been on, the first camping trip for some, and the first time away from parents overnight for one or two. As a result, our group had to learn a camp routine and develop comfort sleeping and living in the woods. We were not without a good deal of complaining, but I saw a lot of growth in the kids.
Some kids refused to wear “dirty” clothes, insisting on changing into “clean” ones (sometimes twice a day), but on our last evening when the temperature was dropped into the mid-30s, all the kids quickly put on multiple layers when I asked them to - no matter if they had any “clean” clothes left.
One girl slept really poorly the first night, laying awake listening to the sounds of the forest. The next night, feeling more comfortable, she slept like a rock.
We developed lots of routines: dish washing and tooth brushing after meals, where to put trash, where to keep our food safe from raccoons, always zipping up the tent when you leave it, etc.
At the end of the trip when Ms. McGinnis asked the students what they were most proud of, and it was a joy to hear their answers: completing a 7.5 mile hike, having a quiet moment watching the bright moon at night, and my favorite, just coming on this trip!
Though we stayed in Sea Camp all three nights, we were not at all sedentary. I’m not sure if you can be with kids this age. The first day, we set up camp and then spent the rest of the day combing the beach for sea life and running. This group ran around more than any other group I’ve been with. No wonder we were all in bed by 9pm each night!
On Tuesday, in the glorious 75-degree weather that I previously described, we took a 5-mile day hike to Dungeness, a ruined Carnegie mansion from the early 1900s. We visited Raccoon Keys and searched (mostly fruitlessly) for sharks teeth. We saw 9 wild horses. We visited the salt marshes on the southern end of the island, and took a long walk back to camp along the beach.
We even got to go swimming…well, sort of. My rule was that no one goes in the water unless I do, and it was so beautiful on Tuesday that I decided it would be okay. We splashed in the waves, got thoroughly wet, and then had to rinse the salt water off our bodies in ice cold showers! But it was worth it!
That night, the kids collected wood, built a pyre, and lit the fire. We roasted marshmallows, made s’mores, and told stories.
The next day we cleaned up camp and tightened the guy-lines on our tents in case of rain and then took a 7.5 mile day hike to Stafford Beach and back. This was not easy for the kids. 7.5 miles is the longest hike I’ve taken them on this year and it started drizzling when were a mile from camp. Prepared, we put on our rain gear and continued. Though blisters, sore ankles, knees and legs hobbled us, we did it! And at least one student learned it’s better to not wear short socks with high-top basketball shoes.
Though the rain soaked some of our firewood, the kids (and me and Ms. McGinnis) were diligent and stashed enough wood under the tarp for a fire on our last morning. The students built a pyre the previous night and covered it with my pack cover. So on Thursday morning, I awoke before everyone and used their pyre to light the fire. We toasted our bagels, drank tea and cocoa, then packed up camp to leave.
We were all very ready to go home, but leaving Cumberland is still bittersweet for me - especially since the clouds cleared and blue skies and sun streamed down through the Spanish moss as we backpacked to the ferry on Thursday morning. 
Despite the chilly wind, I couldn’t help but sit on the upper deck of the ferry to wish the island adieu. Most of the kids fell asleep on benches in the heated cabin of the ferry.
I can’t wait for my next journey to Cumberland Island in the fall. Be on the lookout for our announcement (in May) of our next Cumberland Island trip open to the general public.
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