Our second day of Garden Camp was a blast!
Today campers continued learning about the weekly theme of Amazing Adaptations. While yesterday they had a chance to focus on Seeking Sun, today's theme was all about Water and Nutrients!
Throughout the day I noticed the groups doing a whole bunch of different activities. One group I caught in the middle of morning yoga, another group I watched play tag games in the field. Whatever it was they were doing they were moving, stretching, and working their bodies.
Today with AJ, the campers were able to build on the knowledge they learned about succulents yesterday. They dissected reeds, comparing them to the succulent stems that they looked at yesterday. The succulent stems are solid green because they're full of water, but the reeds that they looked at today were more spongey. Does your camper know why? Reeds are spongey because this allows for more oxygen to keep them from decomposing due to high moisture!
With Spencer, our campers took what they learned yesterday during Art and Wellness and created cyanotypes, or as we call them, sun prints! Does your camper remember anything about the process? To make a sun print, Spencer had campers collect various leaves and flowers that they found nearby (all which were collected with garden permission). From there Spencer used a special fabric that was brought in, trapping the nature between the fabric and some plexiglass, to create beautiful designs. Also with Spencer, campers made plant, animal, and garden stickers to decorate their water bottles with. Here at camp we do everything we can to make hydration fun!
Some of the main points we wanted our campers to take away from today was that plants fave found ways to thrive in both the wettest and the driest climates. Also that plants, just like us, need water to survive.
It wasn't quite as hot as yesterday, but as today's theme was central to water we thought it would be fun to have some sprinkler time on Confier Lawn! We asked all campers to take their shoes and socks off before darting through to cool off. If your camper came home a little damp - we're sorry! For campers who were too wet or uncomfortable we had them change into the dry clothes they brought along.
We kept cool in some other ways too, sticking to some of our favorite shaded gardens like the Redwood Grove or the Bamboo Forest. Does your camper have a favorite garden other than the Children's Garden? There are still so many gardens for us to explore!
Tomorrow morning we'll be handing out our camp shirts to your campers before we head out on Adventure Day. This means there will either be some layering that occurs if your camper wants to slip the new shirt over their shirt, or we can have them take off their under layer. It's supposed to be a little cooler tomorrow but our staff will remain vigilant in regards to water breaks, sunscreen, and keeping your campers safe and cared for! We are handing out shirts the morning of Adventure Day so we can make sure everyone in the group is uniform and easier to find as we leave the Garden. Staff will also be wearing their Garden Camp shirts and we will take group pictures!
If possible, we would love for your campers to wear their Garden Camp shirt again on Friday. If this is not possible for whatever reason, that's alright too.
Question For My Camper:
-Did you get a chance to explore the pond in the Children's Garden today? What is the type of frog that lives there?
-Do you have a favorite memory from today? Is there anything that you wish you could have spent more time on?
-What sort of plants did you choose for the sun print? Could you tell me more about how sun printing works?
Tomorrow for Adventure Day, our campers will be heading to the Conservatory of Flowers as well as doing some nearby exploring at Stow Lake. Both are just short walks away from the Botanical Garden here in the Golden Gate Park. We're excited to venture out and see some of the other incredible opportunities we have just next door.
We'll see you then!
Jenn Tapler
she/her
Garden Camp Director
Office: 415-661-1316 x404
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