Beaver hills dark sky preserve anniversary.

Sept 1, 2013 we spent the day at Elk Island National Park. Celebrating the anniversary of the Dark sky preserve. The fist thing we got to do was Solar viewing. Looking at the sun through safe  telescopes. We had lots of fun and our friend Kaleb joined us. 

First Nations astronomy presentation: We listened to a First Nations teacher sing songs and tell us the First Nation legends of the Stars. Our favorite song was the Thunder Bird song. Later that night he told us stories of the stars on the beach and sang songs to the spirits.  Our favorite story is how the wolf, Coyote, and fox gave us their pups so people had dogs.

 Laura and Grace,

The Alberta Ramblers

The Star

~Jane Taylor

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. When the blazing sun is gone, When he nothing shines upon, Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. Then the traveler in the dark, Thanks you for your tiny spark, He could not see which way to go, If you did not twinkle so. In the dark blue sky you keep, And often through my curtains peep, For you never shut you eye, Till the sun is in the sky. As your bright and tiny spark, Lights the traveler in the dark- Though I know not what you are, Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Tree Planting with the Young Naturalist Club

On August 14, 2013 my family and I had a blast learning about trees and planting them. We got to pick one from a bunch of trees planted it to help the forest grow!

We did a game called huga tree. It's where you have a
blindfold on and you have to find a tree and feel it then you
have to go back to the groop. then you take off your tree.

Finily we went and pulled noxious weeds out of the
ground. I like going to nature nights!

Laura Bolster,
an Alberta Rambler

 We went tree planting and it was fun.
We weeded to and it was not fun. We played a game, it was really fun.
 The game was called hug a tree.  I like to plant trees, I planted a forest and
it is cool! I had fun.

Grace Bolster,
an Alberta Rambler

Lake levels experiments at Ross Lake

Some summer time experiments while out camping that we really liked to do, from our pond discovery pack that we got at Whitney Lake Provincial Park. We had a lot of fun!!

Laura & Grace

The Alberta Ramblers

We are going to catch something.....right Dad?

“Fishing is much less about the fishing, and much more about the time alone with your kid, away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday.”
― Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing 

The Alberta Ramblers up early to enjoy some quality time wetting their lines at Ross lake. Here's what they have to say about the beginners rules to fishing.

 

 

Lichen and Moss Diversity

On Wednesday July 24, 2013 my family and I spent the evening doing activities with the Young Naturalist Club. We went on a nature walk. While we were on our walk we looked at fungi and lichens. Lichens are a combination of fungi and alga.  They help each other live.  Fungi gives protection, and alga gives food.  They are pals together like peanut butter and jelly.  We got to look and see what some types of moss and lichens looked like, we found wild raspberries and there were lots of thistles and stinging nettle.

We played a migration game. We had to run from summer to winter and back again. I'm glad I'm not a caribou.

We did a craft with moss. We had to trace an animal or bug, colour it in and it's environment, then glue on moss. Mine was a lady bug, I made it for dad.

Last of all we went and talked about moss and lichens. We each got to keep a piece of it. We learned a lot and had a great night.



Laura,
An Alberta Rambler.






Last night me and my family went to a family nature night. We went for a walk in a forest, the theme was about moss. There were stations, one of the stations was a craft. The craft was moss pictures. One of the stations was a walk, on the walk we looked at moss and lichens. The last was a migrating game. You were a Caribou that had to migrate. Did you know Caribou eat lichen and moss.

The last station was learning about moss and lichens habitat. At the end there was a draw I did not win.  The Young Naturalists have asked me to write a story about what I am doing.  Look for an article in the next newsletter. I had a great night!



Grace,
An Alberta Rambler

We really have great times with the young naturalists club. The activities are great, the staff young, enthusiastic, and well informed. They bring experts in to talk with the kids and share their knowledge. The girls are working through their silver level activity book with the young naturalist club and enjoying it very much. The are to very interested and active young ladies who are applying what they have learned to their Scouting and family lives. On behalf of all the Alberta Ramblers we thank Candace and all the organizers of the Young Naturalist club. Please keep up the great work and fun family times.


Yours in Scouting,
The Alberta Ramblers

Birding with the Young Naturlist Club

Wednesday July 10, 2013

The girls participated in birding with the young naturalists at Hawrelak Park.

 

Grace: "One fun game was to learn how birds use thief beaks. I had a for so lots of things were easy to get, but the tiny beads were very hard"

 

Laura: "tonight I learned other animal will use bird houses and feeding platforms to build their own homes. Like the squirrel home in this picture."

 

Mallards, Golden eye, and American widgeon were some of the birds we saw tonight, and a pretty rainbow.

What's new

Please be sure to check out our flora, fauna and other ID pages on our Blog to see all the fun things we do.

She blinded me with science.

The first attempt at a science video by the girls. Please keep in mind as you watch that this is 100% their own from, design, and style. The experiment is part of their silver level young naturalist club book.

Summer fun

Our week camping trip June 2013.

Hi my name is Grace. For ten days my family went camping. Me and my sister Laura slept in a tent. It is a campground. There is also a lake. In the lake there was swimmers itch. Swimmers itch is a bug, if the bug gets you it will make you itch. 

We identified birds, trees, and flowers. One tree is a trembling Aspen. It makes its own sunscreen. One bird is a Red Winged black bird. It is mostly black but it has red on the wings. One flower is a wild rose. It is Alberta's Provincial flower.

I love camping.

 Alberta's Light House. Near Clyde Alberta.

Eastern Phoebe found at Half Moon Lake.

The highlight! Watching a family of 4 Downy Woodpeckers learning to live.

Street legal racing and Castrol Park Raceway

Cubs and Cars at the Catrol Raceway in Alberta Canada.  May 31, 2013, Five friends, loud cars. snacks and burnin rubber! Good times were had by all.

 As the girls explained Laura got a evening street legal racing for coming in Second in her division in the Northern Lights Council, Western Trails/ Buffalo Plains Area Cub Car Rally. Scouts Canada in partnership with Blackjacks Roadhouse in Nisku Hosted a sky box, snacks and drinks to the winners. Laura along with her sister and a few friends were privileged to enjoy the Sky box all to themselves and take in 3 hours of great Street legal racing.

Lost of smokin tires

Happy Winner

Modified Sleds

Scouting Sisters

Favorite car of the night

 

 

 

fastest cat @ 200MPH

Our sky box view

Thanks to Northern Lights Council, Castrol Raceway, and Blackjacks Roadhouse for making such a great night possible!

Bird Banding with the Young Naturalist Club

On Sunday, May 26th 2013 at 7:30 am Grace joined several other young Naturalists joined Janos Kovacs a veteran bird bander for a morning of Identification, a great explanation of what bird banding is, and sharing of a life time of bird watching.

The prize catch a Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker

Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the measurements taken during the capture, such as molt, fat content, age, sex, wing and tail. An added bonus is the occasional ability to re-find the same individual later. This recapture or recovery of the bird can provide information that includes migration, longevity, mortality, population studies, territoriality, feeding behaviour, and other aspects that are studied by ornithologists

Strathcona Science Provincial Park is a provincial park in Edmonton, Alberta. It was established on December 12, 1979.

A Yellow Warbler caught in the nets

This site was for thousands of years the site of an annual aboriginal camp, as it was located close enough to the river for transportation and trade and the bluffs of the river valley provided excellent bison-hunting opportunities. The park was established to preserve the site from encroaching industrial development. It was the site of archeological excavations in 1978 to 1980.

Clay Coloured Sparrow

The park contains several abandoned interpertive buildings opened by the Alberta government in 1980 but now shuttered. Remnants of the park's history as a public science center include tiled triangular obelisks, a boardwalk through the archaeological area, and a few interpretive plaques. The area is safe but overgrown.

Yellow Warbler already banded the previous year by the same group

Weekend at Berni's

We were finally able to get out to do a little camping this weekend at an acreage belonging to some dear friends of ours. A short ramble to the bank of the River the girls wasted no time and got straight to playing, exploring bridges and working on the their silver level naturalist club badge.
First thing Saturday morning as we were preparing for breakfast grace heard this little guy!

A white throated sparrow


Throughout the day three more birds were added to the girl's bird ID list for both Scouts and the Young Naturalists Club

Great Blue Heron

Red winged Blackbird

 

Barn Swallows

Their weekend at Berni's was not all work the Girls took time to sit by the Fire and roast marshmallows.

What a fantastic kick off for the summer! The girls are looking forward to many more out door moments. Who know where the summer will lead.

Wagner Bog Adventure May 5, 2013

Wagner Natural Area, originally known as “Wagner Bog”, is a rich calcareous peatland. Located about 6 miles west of Edmonton's city limits, it is 216 hectacres, rich in diversity of flora and fauna. The Marl Pond Trail is a 1.2 kilometre self-guiding trail and boadwalk through grassland meadows, willow swamps, woods, and along marl ponds and lowland fens. A series of posts along the trail guide describe points of interest along the way. An easy nature hike that varies in every season.



Laura's Red something dog something



Grace with Mom and Dad after our picnic lunch

Though still extremely wet, Grace and Laura were not discouraged. The did some great identifying, had a great walk, and a wonderful picnic. We laughed at Laura's initial identification of the "Red Something Dog Something" bush or rather a Red Osier Dogwood. She took her ribbing well and I don't think she'll every forget what a Red Osier Dogwood is.

Grace was very pleased with herself and her ability to identify the difference between white and black spruce. Her first and easiest sign is when "Shaking hands" with the trees the needles of the black spruce are blunted and not pointed and the white spruce needles are pointed and hurts when you "Shake hands". Her other differece she found is Black Spruce like to have "Wet Feet" and White Spruce like "Dry Feet".

Labrador Tea







Ministik Lake Bird Santuary nature hike and geochacing day

For the past 100 years, the Ministik Lake Bird Sanctuary has been a safe haven for numerous bird species. It has provided local nature enthusiasts a chance to explore more than 20,000 acres of preserved Crown land, with about 6,000 of that land located within Leduc County boundaries. On May 4th 2013 Laura and Grace challenged 13 kilometers of the rugged preserve on a day of geocaching, Bird, tree, and Scat identification. Here are some of there findings.

We had not even made it to the park and the girls were already working on there identification!

BIRD IDENTIFICATION

Mallard Duck Identification                                                            

Blue Jay Identification

Video to come on this Ring Billed Gull, much to the girl's aggravation the camera man dropped the ball.

Once we were in the park the Laura and Grace wasted no time in exploring the sanctuary. With several identifications, and signs of wildlife.

TREE IDENTIFICATION

Pussy Willow Identification

Balsam Poplar Identification

Paper Birch Identification

As members of the Young Naturalist Society and active Cub Scouts, Laura and Grace are always on the look out for sings of wildlife around them. Here's a look at the sanctuary form their eyes.

A double nest supported between two trees

Taken  near an active beaver colony

Animal Scat. The girls Identified later.

Deer Track Identification

Of course a day of identification would not be complete without Scat! that's right a day in the bush is not complete without running into, avoiding, stepping in and identifying poop.

Rabbit Scat

Deer Scat

 Weasel family Scat

Finally to wrap up our day we found a total of 13 geocaches, discovered 3 trackables and brought home. this little guy. and of course a wrap up treat!

Time for this bu to Ramble on

Thanks so much for the great Day Liette!