Moose Mountains Regional Greenways and Branch Hill Farm are teaming up to present a new self-guided outdoor activity program for families called the Woods, Water & Wildlife Explorers Club. With a “passport” for families to track their progress and earn prizes, these free self-scheduled activities will provide an opportunity for kids and their families to have fun outside together this summer while learning about the natural world. The WWW Explorers Club is offered as an alternative to the annual Woods, Water & Wildlife Festival that MMRG and BHF have reluctantly canceled this year out of concern for public health and safety.
Woods, Water & Wildlife sums up the themes of the interactive Explorers Club events. The “woods” category offers Learn Your Leaves, with leaf photos of local tree species to help you identify trees at Casey Road Conservation Land or in your own backyard.
Two club activities feature water themes. “Family Fishing Fun” invites families to try fishing at a local farm pond, while “Waterside Exploration” suggests ideas for getting wet and exploring a stream or pond close to home.
The“wildlife” category includes “Rainy Day Adventures” with virtual presentations by Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and “Birds, Blooms and Bugs,” which encourages children to write a poem, paint a picture, or take a photograph with a nature theme.
Several activities promote fun while learning about all three W’s, such as seasons of change at Branch Hill Farm, which takes families on a self-guided walk through BHF’s fields and forest and down to the river.
MMRG Educational Outreach Coordinator Kari Lygren is organizing the Seasons of Change walk. She said, “Families will receive a map to follow with 18 different stops. Each stop corresponds to a post installed at the farm with a sign showing fun questions to answer or suggestions of what to look for. When I tried out the whole activity, the pond stop was my favorite. It was fun to see so much life there: birds were active, there was an animal track leading down to the water, fish were jumping and bullfrogs croaking! I really like the wild apple trees too; we saw a flock of turkeys near the trees at the back of the field.”
Joining the WWW Explorers Club is free and simple. Families can download the Passport and find out more details about the program online at mmrg.info/mmrg-in-action/explorers-club. Supplemental materials will be available online for some club activities, but pre-registration is required for others. Seasons of Change at Branch Hill Farm requires advance registration so families can schedule their farm visit and get the map. To register or to learn more about any of the activities, call Kari Lygren at 978-7125 or email her at wwwexplorersclub@gmail.com.