New Nature Knowledge at the Ninjas Festival

We spent the holidays curled up in front of the fire with a hot cup of cider. But it wasn’t just any fire – it was the Ninjas in Nature Festival fire!  

Families and kids came to Chamberlin Woods for an afternoon of nature skills activities. Ken Clarkson led a charcoal pencil activity in the field. Each participant prepped grape vine to turn into charcoal over the fire and then carved elderberry branches with intricate designs. After splitting one end of the elderberry branch, Ken inserted a piece of charcoal for participants to draw with.  

On the other end of the Chamberlin Woods, expert tree climber Andrew Joslin lead a wild walk through the forest and pointed to new and exciting discoveries in the winter landscape. What lichen and fungi, burrows and nests do we walk past every day without noticing? Participants came away with a new appreciation for the hidden treasures in our environment.  

Back along the border of the forest, Rob Riman brought his expertise at identifying plant and animal species. Kids and families went on a scavenger hunt to find and identify some of the species most notable during the winter months. Even though we believe that Mother Nature goes to sleep in winter, there is still lots of life to find in our environment.  

Together, families sipped hot cider around the fire and celebrated winter fun before leaving the festival with charcoal pencils and new nature knowledge! 

Stay tuned for more new on future Ninjas in Nature Festivals. We hope to offer more outdoor, in-person festivals like this one during the winter. 

Photographs by Marian Stanton