Garden Visitors

Last week, there were some visitors in the garden when Ellen arrived at work in the morning!

Stef managed to snap a quick picture before she chased them out!

Work has also been progressing on the Hoophouse.

One partially finished end.
Can't wait for all of the fresh veggies this will bring us next spring!

Hoop House

On Tuesday, HDT and HUG joined forces to put the plastic on the hoop house that was started on 10/10/10.










Next, we need the ends!

10-10-10

Yesterday, for 10-10-10, Dave and company started construction on another hoop house here on campus. Not only are we looking forward to extending the growing season, but it was also great to be part of a global awareness event. To find out more about 10-10-10, visit www.350.org.

Turkey Time!

Yesterday, as we were working away in our office, we thought it sounded like one of the campus turkeys was right outside our door. Of course, we had to investigate, and this is the sight that greeted us!







Anyone else hungry for Thanksgiving dinner?!

Time to Catch Up!

A lot has happened around here the past two months; so much that we haven't had time to do any regular blogging! So, it's time for a brief overview of our activities!

This year, HDT decided to scale back at the Cass County Fair and just have a booth with our spinner game and info., rather than a whole building like we have in the past. We also branched out and had a booth at the Crow Wing County Fair, which seemed to go over well.







Our booth at the Crow Wing County Fair


Dave and Derek testing local Royalty's
eco-awareness.

We also had two more eco-camps. August 16th-20th was for grades 2-4 and was called "What on Earth?" The kids had lots of fun:


Making rain sticks


Going to the "Wiley West Stunt Show" for
Terrific Tuesday


Crafting bracelets from plastic bags


Experimenting with sun prints


And recycling crayons.


Group photo!

Our last session of camp, "Act Natural", for 5th-8th graders ran August 23rd-27th. Some of our favorite activities included:


Back-to-back drawings


Touring RREAL


Making newspaper journals


Paper making


Hunger Banquet


Making suet bird feeders


Orienteering


Gardening


Preparing french fries with potatoes we dug
out of the garden


Our last group of campers for the year!

As summer came to a close, we also said good-bye to our summer workers, who are now back at school, either teaching or attending. We'll miss them and hope to see them next year!

New Children's Toy: Mister Tomato Head?

This giant tomato was found in the garden. It had grown so fast that our local scientists suspected that it was also developing a brain! Of course, they have already disproved that theory. It just tasted too good!

here are some pictures of this giant abnormality:

Eco Camp Session 2: Day 5

Tina from RREAL demonstrated how different colors are affected by the sun.















Osa created a solar cooker out of an old pizza box.















The kids used compasses and clues to find their way around campus.




















Teaching the kids how to save our planet, Eco Camp Session 2, was another success.

Dalton

A few posts ago I promised I'd introduce Dalton when I was able to capture a photo. It was no easy task but I finally caught up with him. Dalton has been working with Cody, Derek, Sarah, Jim and the rest of the garden crew on various projects around campus this spring and summer.

Weeding, Mulching and More

Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time outside with the garden crew. Being out in the sunshine was a welcome change. Sarah and I spent the morning pulling weeds, laying cardboard and adding mulch to the artichoke berm. The afternoon brought more of the same in the raspberries. We also mulched the path between the raspberry rows.


Before...
After...

Sarah celebrates a job well done!

Eco Camp Session 2: Day 4

Michelle lead the kids in a game of Tree Jeopardy















The kids learned how to reuse paper by making it back into new paper.

























Our snack was Watermelon Pop Stars.











The Eco Campers colored
their own reusable totes made
mostly of recycled
plastic bottles.
















Our visit to the transfer station was fun and educational!


















Our campers this week weighed 1340 lbs.