Use The Screen To Get Into The Green . . . Week six
Welcome to Week 6 of “A Little Screen Time to get More Green Time!,” a celebration of our lovely spring ephemerals, the wildflowers and other perennials that grace us with their presence for only a short time each spring. This week you can learn about the anatomy of a flower (and the importance of pollinators), how to recognize and cook with wild leeks, and how to engage a child in the magical creation of petal potions and flower crowns, to mention just a few of our offerings.
Our new initiative The Southern Vermont Nature-Based Learning Collaborative, is ready with Week Two. This new regional network of nature centers was created in response to this drastic change in work and life, and we are thrilled to be able to promote and support one another during this time and beyond. To begin, we are sharing a weekly series of offerings and online resources, showcasing the work of the committed and inspired environmental educators working throughout the region.
Enjoy your week, sure to be made more colorful by the emerging flowers we have all come to associate with spring.
Vanessa Stern, Executive Director and Jay DeGregorio, Senior Educator
Share and Be Entered in the
Spring Outside Raffle!
Inspired by our prompts this week? Let’s keep the exchanges flowing - send us what you see!
Ways to share your inspiration with us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and share your photos on the weekly posts for each of the themed activities, being sure to use the hashtags for each activity. You can also simply send us an email at info@nature-museum.org.
Every time you share, you’ll be entered into our Spring Outside raffle for a $150 gift card to help get out outfitted for the season ahead. We’ll hold the raffle in early summer (we hope) and look forward to a jar full of entries to pull from!
The Anatomy of a Flower
Venture out into a nearby meadow or wood in search of “spring ephemerals.” Spring ephemerals are wildflowers that emerge quickly in the spring and die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase. Find a wildflower you love, and observe it closely. Draw it in your journal noticing the distinct shapes of its leaves and petals. How many of each does it have?
Use the “Anatomy of a Flower” image to further explore your flower, and label as many parts as you can on your journal page.
Ever wonder how flowers reproduce? Click on the link to watch a lily dissection and to learn about its reproductive system
How does each part of the flower work together to create new seeds?
Which tree has bark like this? See our Facebook page on Tuesday for more photos, clues, and the answer!
Hints: This tree’s bark can vary in appearance for older trees due to a common disease of the species. Young trees often hold onto their dead leaves through the winter months.
There’s a trick to making a crown sit pretty!
Flower Crafts for People of all Ages
Learn about way to turn flowers into beautiful nature inspired gifts...for others, or for yourself!
Please practice responsible flower picking:
Plan your project before picking: Pick only what you will need and avoid picking too much.
Pick and skip: In a patch of flowers, try to distribute your picking evenly and not just in one spot.
Pick only what’s common: Pick common garden flowers or yard flowers (common dandelions and common violet are great!). Avoid picking special spring ephemerals that are in small abundance like trillium.
Pick with permission: If it’s in someone else’s yard, ask for permission or keep searching.
Pressing Flowers:
https://www.ftd.com/blog/create/how-to-press-flowers
Making a daisy chain to wear in your hair:
https://www.creativegreenliving.com/2013/07/how-to-make-daisy-chain-flower-crown.html
Who doesn’t feel a little more special when wearing a Wild Flower Crown?
And for the youngers in your family, Petal Potions are sure to engage!
In early May, the Vermont landscape should be teeming with delicate and colorful wildflowers. Keep your eyes open for some of these special flowering springtime ephemerals
Bloodroot, trout lily, columbine, trillium, jack-in the-pulpit, and dutchman’s breeches.
Learn about some local spring ephemerals by reading, Early Spring Wildflowers of Vermont.
https://www.greenmountainclub.org/early-spring-wildflowers-of-vermont/
The lovely Trout Lilly
Wild for Wildflowers!
Send us your photo of a wildflower that you find particularly beautiful to you. Does this species hold special meaning for you, or stir up heartwarming memories? Share your experience in words with us.
Here’s another resource on spring flowers from our local Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association:
http://www.windmillhillpinnacle.org/pages/resources/wildflower_guide.html
The flowers of Dutchman’s Breeches — you won’t forget that name once you’ve seen them!
Wild Leeks: A Wild Food Rock Star
Have you ever wondered what a “ramp” is on a restaurant menu? Read on to learn all about wild leeks, a rock star among wild foods, and how to make an easy wild leek omelet. We challenge you to use local eggs to make a true local breakfast!
https://northernwoodlands.org/knots_and_bolts/wild-leeks-wild-food-rock-star