Amesbury Youth Recreation offers over 30 different summer programs to choose from for ages 3 and up. Please see summer brochure for extensive list [download link below]. There are plenty of programs to choose from for kids 4 and up.
Join the The Trustees of Reservations for a fun early-Spring gardening session for kid ages 6-9! Introduced with a reading of [amazon: 0807524522:inline] by Susan Grigsby, this fun gardening workshop for kids will teach your child about planting and maintaining a pea plant. Your child will get to plant their own pea seeds, decorate their pea pot, learn how to care for their plant, and create a journal to monitor their plant’s growth just like the students in the story.
Get into peeper season this Spring! Learn about the temporary habitat of vernal ponds, what lives in them, why they are home to specialized woodland creatures and how to protect them. Nighttime is the right time to see and hear these vernal pools come ALIVE! Sign up for a night field trip to a vernal pool.
Discovery Adventures' Summer Children's Program encourages children ages 8-15 to explore Cape Ann's incredible surroundings by kayak and dive into learning about the local marine life through snorkeling. They will learn and practice all of the safety skills involved with these sports while they enjoy being on the water with friends. This is an incredible way for them to experience the ocean.
Spring is the season when frogs, toads, and salamanders return to the wetlands to lay their eggs. After a short introduction in our Nature Center where we will learn about the life cycles of these amazing creatures, we will search the sanctuary's wetlands and woodlands for amphibians on the move. If we're lucky, we might be able to catch a few of them! We'll also be sure to swing by our vernal pool where we should be able to find large masses of wood frog and spotted salamander eggs.
Adventures in Animal Tracking at Ravenswood Park--just like our Hermit did, over 100 years ago! From 1884 to 1917, Mason Walton lived as a "hermit" in Ravenswood. He closely observed, wrote, and drew about wildlife and animal behaviors. He published a book in 1903. We will walk the hermit's footsteps, share tales from his book, and along the way we will closely observe wildlife signs and determine animal behavior. A Hermit's Wild Friends, only available used from Amazon: [amazon 1290053391 inline] or check it out from the Sawyer Free Library.
Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport has lots of fun excrusions planned for April Vacation Week! Let's head for the hills and the marsh and the pond! Miss Lisa and Miss Kirsten are ready for an out-of-school adventure, and they have all the field equipment we'll need to go on a mini-trek to explore some of our favorite habitats.
Venture to vernal pools where survival of fairy shrimp, salamanders, and wood frogs are crucial. We will explore pools, learn how to protect them, and meet these creatures that depend on these pools. This program is instructive to participants, so you can take home the techniques, forms, and methods to certify pools in your neighborhood...or back yard. This is a family-friendly opportunity, so exploration is an important--and fun!--element in the program. Directions to pre-registrants.
This year Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries turn 100! Join us on Saturday, April 9 - the 100th day of the year - for a special "100th Day Celebration." Visitors of all ages are welcome - free of charge - to explore our trails in celebration of 100 years of wildlife sanctuaries with Mass Audubon.
Join The Trustees of Reservations on a misty evening in early Spring, vernal pools are hopping! The swales we find tucked amongst the dunes are coming alive, host to a variety of creatures waking from a long winter’s nap and ready for action! We’ll hike out under cover of darkness to spy on – and listen to – this celebration of awakening. Bring a flashlight or headlamp, and wear boots! We’ll have nets and buckets for up-close observations, but our specimen collecting is strictly catch-and-release.
