MSU Extension Tollgate Farm and Education Center

Thursday brought sunshine, fun, learning and new experiences! Take a look at the adventures the campers had today.

Yesterday, a Bee Keeper shared about the important things that bees do for us and for animals. Today, we decided to work on making Bee Hotels! Pepper groups used things like cardboard and bamboo sticks to try and create environments that bees might want to stop in and visit. The Purple Peppers were showing such creativity and innovation on their hotels. It ended up being so much fun that they requested to have more time to work on them!

Campers were really looking forward to canoeing today! When I made my way to the pond, I found the Green Peppers getting ready for their rides. Before they could take their turn, they had to make sure they knew all about canoe safety. Lifeguard Madeline helped everyone get equipped with their lifejackets and showed them how to paddle. While waiting for their turn, campers took part in a few rounds of camp games.

Miss Emma had two really tasty recipes today! In the morning, campers made Spider Oat Balls...don't worry though, there weren't actual spiders in the mix! In the afternoon, they had Garden Pesto on pasta. Pictures and recipes are listed below.

Spider Oat Balls

• 1 cup oats
• 2/3 cup coconut flakes
• ½ cup nut butter/sun butter
• ½ cup ground flaxseed
• ½ cup chocolate chips or cacao nibs
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Stir all ingredients in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed and let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls, and either enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Garden Pesto

• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1 cup spinach
• ½ cup parmesan (or if vegan, try 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Place basil and spinach into processor and pulse several times. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula and add garlic, lemon juice and parmesan (or “nooch”) and pulse again several times. Scrape down sides. While blending continuously, slowly drizzle in olive oil and blend until smooth. Serve with crackers, veggies, noodles or spiralized vegetables.

While visiting the garden, Pepper groups painted signs to identify the different vegetables and herbs they planted earlier in the week. Campers showed respect by cleaning their brushes and preparing the work space for the groups that would follow them throughout the day.

Miss Alex took the Yellow Peppers on their Forest Hike. They practiced walking like foxes and trying to see like owls. They practiced their best safety by staying on the path unless the groups was stepping off to observe something they noticed along the way. Whenever the group would hear a noise, they would stop to look and listen and use their senses to guess where the sound was coming from.

During Pond Study time, Red Peppers made their way to the waterfall to collect water samples. They examined their water samples in hopes of finding and identifying different species. These peppers showed safety and empathy during their work time! I overheard a few campers discussing the importance of returning their snails close to where they found them so they could find their way back home. Great job caring for other creatures! Working around water and rocks can be risky but these peppers were sure to follow Miss Izzy's directions and ask where they could and couldn't go in order to remain safe.

During our Friday Celebration, campers will share skits that they've been working on throughout the week. I got a sneak peek of the work the Red Peppers have been doing. I can't wait to see all of it put together on Friday afternoon!

REMINDER: On Friday, there will be a Camp Closing Celebration! Parents and families are invited to join us at 3:15pm. We hope to see you there!

P.S. We still have openings in a few of our camps! There is availability in  Eco Super Heroes, Outdoor Adventure Challenge, and Eco-Challenge Camps. Follow the link for dates and ages for each of the camps. We would love to see you back for more camp sessions!  https://events.anr.msu.edu/event.cfm?eventID=224FB0A4BA185CF9361AE323034266B52AA6F2602C34D774BBEDB1ED35AB025C