Leaders Group at UMaine "Learn to Skate" Event

Our Leaders group took to the ice on this hot and humid day! While we sweated in the humidity at OTRec, the leaders were on ice at the Alfond Arena. What a cool treat! Many thanks to the University of Maine for the invitation to their "Learn to Skate" event today!

Beach Day

Nature cooperated with our beach day. We couldn't have ordered better weather! It was warm and sunny with a cool breeze. The water was refreshing and our campers loved the beach. They even found a stream filled with frogs to entertain them.

Here's our Morgan's Beach Top 10:

10. Getting Food from the Snack Bar

9. Eating Lunch

8. The Playground

7. Um...?

6. Lake Football

5. Sandcastles

4. Making a Beach Hot Tub

3. The Bus Ride!

2. Swimming!

1. More Swimming!

Survival Skills Training

This week our Leaders' Group visited Sewell Park to learn how to build shelters out of natural materials. 

 The survival skills class is every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon through the end of July.

A Message from Jason Baker, our survival skills instructor:  

Humans today are insulated from the natural world.  Our interactions are as a tourist.  Even when we camp, we insulate ourselves behind tent walls, sleeping pads, and bags.  When we hike, we speed from destination to destination, often missing the rich environment we pass through.  What most of us have failed to discover is the rich belonging and connection to all things that can be gained through the immersion in our natural world.  Our Survival Skills Class with Jason Baker teaches:

• The Sacred Order of Survival - Shelter, Fire, Water, Food
• How to build an effective shelter quickly that will keep a person dry and warm even in extreme winter weather
• How to make fire from friction
• How to find clean water and purify it for human consumption.
• How to forage and find food in Nature

In the process of learning these basic wilderness survival techniques many other areas will be learned and taught such as:

• Track location and identification
• Plant and animal identification
• Habitat exploration and understanding the web of life
• How heat moves and natural things with insulating properties
• Awareness of what is around us in the woods as well as awareness of how we affect the wilderness and each other
• How to safely make a fire
• How to safely use a knife
• Movement through a wilderness environment
• Individual and team work

Animal Orphanage Service Project

Our Leaders Group went on a trip to the Animal Orphanage this week. They delivered donations from our generous Rec family. As you can see in the pictures, they also spent time with the animals and volunteered their labor for the Animal Orphanage. 

Challenger Learning Center

The Adventurers group traveled to the Challenger Learning Center in Bangor today for "The Wet World of Science." This grant-funded opportunity included fun activities investigating how water supports life, the watershed, water-borne diseases, and how rivers and tributaries move water.   

The Adventurers get an update about the activities.

Water in and water out - make sure you stay hydrated  

Sweat releases water from your body.  

How much water does your body need to stay hydrated?  

Which tube is full of water?  

Will salt dissolve in it?  

Does it have a chemical reaction with baking soda?  

Will a toothpick sink or float?

How much of the Earth is covered in water?  

Where do water molecules go?  

What disease do you have?  

Can you create a path for your river?  

Where do the fertilizers and pesticides go when it rains?

Thanks Challenger Center!

Field Trip to Leonard's Mills

Our field trip this week was to Leonard's Mills. We've been celebrating Maine all week long and explored parts of Maine's history thanks to the amazing volunteers of Leonard's Mills Living History Museum in Bradley. It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy Maine!