Catherine Boston

• June 06, 2020
• Written by director

I was walking early Friday morning on the school trail and had the luck to find a family of deer who didn't mind me being nearby.  And one who was quite willing to pose for me.

The school trail is the one trail (other than portions of the paved trail) where we have labelled plants along the way for you.  This trail has over 30 trees that are identified along the walk which makes it an ideal walk if you want to learn about trees, test your current knowledge and/or engage children along the way.  You can find a downloadable list of the trees on our website with some information about each one.   You can let children watch for the labels or look for the individual tree and try to notice the different bark, leaves, flowers or nuts that might be evident.  You can also make your own scavenger hunts for along the walk.  Ivy Creek used to be a farm and there are several places along the school trail where evidence of this is obvious.  How many can you find?

The school trail, like most of our trails, winds in and out of several habitats that you can talk about with children.  You pass through the south field on the way to the trailhead then head into the woods.  There are portions of the trail that take you past and over a stream.  And you end up near the barn where there is edge habitat.

It is also, as I found yesterday morning, pleasant just to walk with no intention but to see what you will find on or near the trail.