Have you seen any monarchs this summer? They are the big orange butterflies that we see flying along the ditches and visiting flowers. They lay their eggs on milkweed and the caterpillars eat the leaves. This month, come listen to Gail Gibbon’s Monarch Butterfly book and then examine some specimens before we go looking for the different stages of monarchs around Kesling Wetland.
Use your taste buds to sample different plant-produced compounds like glucose, menthol, carotenoids, and others. Use cabbage to experiment with pH, and concoct (& taste!) your very own farm fizzy using farm fresh ingredients from the Merry Lea Teaching Farm.
Have you noticed how noisy it is getting outside?! Many insects - including grasshoppers and crickets - are old enough now to start singing! This month for Tales and Trails, we will be reading Are You a Grasshopper by Judy Allen & Tudor Humphries. After that, we will search for grasshoppers, crickets and other insects active in the late summer meadows. We might even try moving like grasshoppers and try imitating their sounds to make our own insect chorus.
Interested in connecting with fellow educators? The Early Childhood Hoosiers Outdoors (ECHO) Network is designed to support education practitioners wanting to get students into outdoor learning settings. We meet on the second Monday of odd months at 4 pm by zoom.
You are in for a tree-at! Explore tree anatomy and examine leaves, branches, and seeds up close. Compare and contrast different types of trees, and investigate how organisms use trees for their food, shelter, and other needs.
What animals can we find at the farm? What does a juicy tomato taste like fresh from the vine? This month for Tales and Trails, we will be reading Before We Eat: From Farm to Table written by Pat Brisson & illustrated by Mary Azarian. After that, we will search the gardens for delicious fruits and vegetables and learn about what farm animals call Merry Lea home.
Ever wanted to learn how to make your own cheese or dairy free cheese? Work with Merry Lea’s animal husbandry expert, Ruth Mischler, and sustainability undergraduate students in this adult program to make and learn about different types of cheese and dairy free cheese! Transform local, raw cow milk and homemade cashew milk into cheese that you can take home! Then you will finally be able to answer the question…Who did it better, the cow or the cashew?
Get mucky and immersive with this family program to explore what a wetland is and why we should care about them! Put on waders to dip for aquatic macroinvertebrates and use your investigative skills to identify these critters and more!
Ever wanted to learn how to make your own cheese or dairy free cheese? Work with Merry Lea’s animal husbandry expert, Ruth Mischler, and sustainability undergraduate students in this adult program to make and learn about different types of cheese and dairy free cheese! Transform local, raw cow milk and homemade cashew milk into cheese that you can take home! Then you will finally be able to answer the question…Who did it better, the cow or the cashew?
Join us for an exploration of the Merry Lea Teaching Farm orchard, a unique edible ecosystem you can taste! See how humans and nature help apples grow by companion planting, encouraging pollination, and protecting the trees. Then we’ll press apples into cider and enjoy a cup!
