This week we discovered the wonderful world around us from the perspective of a plant and explored how different plants support our South Platte River ecosystem. We learned how plants, grasses, leaves, and algae are the base of the food web that sustains life.
Monday was a hot start to the week and we embraced it just as plants need sun to grow. We started laying roots down by learning the different parts of a plant and how they work together. We even started growing some seeds to see how they sprout over the week. Then we went to cool down by the river and identify some of the special plants that can grow under water. We even found lots of animals that rely on those plants like ducks, crawdads, clams, and many more.
On Tuesday we were visited by our special guest from Denver Parks and Rec! They taught us how to make seed balls to plant native plants. We played a guessing game to learn which plants and animals are pollinators, and measured how big the biggest tree is compared to the size of our campers. Then later we checked in on our growing beans and got back in the river to see which critters we could find.
This Wednesday was all about insect and plant relationships. These pollinators and their plant counterparts taught us lots about the special animals we have here in our park and our river. We used our eyes like bees to see secret messages hidden in flowers, and searched for more pollinators down by the river during critter crawl.
Thursday was field day! We hiked all the way to Vanderbilt Park just upstream from us. We explored a new pond, learned many new tree types, and moved like all the parts of a tree. Even after a little storm we made it back safely to enjoy the cool air in the afternoon.
On Friday, we dissected some of the prettier parts of the plants in our park, the flowers. We learned all the important parts of the flowers, and their job in plant reproduction. After we basked in the beauty, we checked in on our bean sprouts and made some other seed balls to plant on our weekends.
Week 5: Extreme Animals in Denver