|
It's been sad to see so few guests here - we miss having students and teachers here having fun and learning. We also really miss having our Instructors and Cabin Leaders around at meals and on hikes, making so many great experiences happen for our guests, as well as for each other.
We have been thankful to help host an Adventure Day Camp program at Thousand Pines, facilitating students' zoom classes or homeschool assignments, as well as providing our own afternoon programs like archery, the climbing wall, sledding, and a camp-wide scavenger hunt. Having students come week-after-week is very different than Outdoor Science School but we have found it rewarding in its own ways. We're still planning ahead for future weeks of our OSS programs, here in Crestline and with our sister program that takes camp on the road throughout California. Until those start up again we've got some resources to keep you active and learning from home. Three are short documents that have experiments and activities you can do, and the last one is a video we made so that we can keep teaching you!
We are still hiring for the school year, making plans to be available to schools not only for our usual week-long activities but also for new opportunities. We are talking with homeschool co-ops, private schools, and even looking at the needs of our local community. No matter what we do, we plan to do it with excellence. If you're interested in working with us, come apply at our "jobs" tab at the top of the page. If you're a school, parent, or anyone else who wants our help providing programs for students, please contact us at the "contacts" tab at the top of the page.
 We're taking some time to feature and thank some of the staff members that have worked with us this year. This week we have Program Instructor Thomas. Thank you for joining us and the students outside this year! Where are you from? Lakewood, CA Favorite book? Marvel’s Civil War, the Graphic Novel Favorite Disney movie? UP What was your favorite class / teacher in school? Ecology What brought you to TP? The opportunity to work in nature What's your favorite Trail at TP and why? The waterfall hike! All of the different terrain and cool features along the entire trail What's your favorite Camp meal? Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese What's your favorite dance from dance night? The Cowboy Macarena What 5 things would you carry in your survival pack? Knife, water filter, waterproof matches, space blanket, compass What are you looking forward to next? Getting Married in July!  A not so cuddly friend we see here is the Wolf spider! Don’t worry he doesn’t howl at the moon or eat you; he does however have some fur and will hunt its prey. The wolf spider finds a warm dry spot in houses and will rest in cracks or baseboards during the day. At night he’ll come out and search for food such as beetles, ants, or other small insects. Unlike most spiders, this guy doesn’t spin a web, instead he uses his 8 eyes to see prey, and his 8 legs to run at a rapid pace to catch or corner dinner. We don’t worry about being bitten, they aren’t aggressive towards humans, and they are beneficial to have in your home if you don’t like other bugs around!  The Black Bear Winter is over and a quick Spring has arrived into hot summer! This means prime weather conditions to invite the American Black Bear out of hibernation. After waking from their deep sleep in the spring, they will begin to forage for berries, roots, nuts, and are not opposed to finding protein from bees, ants, larvae, and yellow jackets. If they live near a human population they will use their incredible sense of smell from miles away to find leftovers in trash cans or even campsite coolers. Using nimble paws to manipulate most jars, cans, and door handles that we may think are closed tight; the black bear can eat most anything. Predators are not a huge concern for these big animals, cubs are more in danger if a coyote or mountain lion is near. As always it’s smart to hike along with others and if you find yourself face to face with a black bear there are steps to keep safe. Speak in a calm, appeasing tone, back away slowly, walk, don't run, and keep your eye on the bear so you can see how it will react. In most cases, the bear will flee.  |
|
359 Thousand Pines Road, Crestline, CA 92325
|
© 2018 Thousand Pines Outdoor Science School