Last Tuesday, Local Brownie Troop 702, from Portsmouth's Elmhurst Elementary School, visited Raytheon. "Ranger" Bill with the help of Harry and Winnie showed them a REWHC welcome. The scouts, 2nd graders some 17 strong, were led by employee Suzanne Donovan who had her hands full. After a pitstop in the Nimitz lobby, it was off to Winnie in the meadows for some wildflower garden planting. The girls took turns spreading the seed/sand mixture over the prepared flower beds in the lower meadow.

After planting, we headed down the Thomas C. Ligon Trail around the back of Nimitz where Harry and Winnie had another treat in store! Packets of wildflower seeds were distributed to all the girls to bring home. We continued down the tower trail then down the Woodland Wander and up through the Poor Farm Ramble. Harry and I took turns describing the trees and history of the place, taking time to touch the Pheasant's wing and examine the skulls of deer and skunk? A light drizzle set in, but we were not bothered in the woods.

On exiting the woods and heading to the cars, we distributed the create-a-bird activity book to the girls to bring home. A great time had by all.

Bird Behavior, Nesting, and Scavenger Hunt
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Join the Brownies and I on a visit to our meadow fields, checking out the action at our nestboxes, and discussing the birds, their behavior, and nestbuilding techniques. After our nesting experience, we'll head down the trails on a scavenger hunt.

Date: Tuesday, 13 May 2003
Time: 4:00PM
Place: Picnic table in front of Nimitz Building
Duration: 1-2 Hours
What to bring: Sturdy shoes, binoculars
Other Preparation: You may wish to visit our nestbox monitoring page here

Non-employees are requested to RSVP webmaster@rewhc.org before the end of the day, Monday, 12 May

Bird Behavior, Nesting, and Scavenger Hunt Postponed!

Due to planned inclement weather, the visit by Brownie Troop 758 has been postponed until next week. The new scheduled time:

Date: Tuesday, 20 May 2003
Time: 4:00PM
Place: Picnic table in front of Nimitz Building
Duration: 1-2 Hours
What to bring: Sturdy shoes, binoculars
Other Preparation: You may wish to visit our nestbox monitoring page here

Non-employees are requested to RSVP webmaster@rewhc.org before the end of the day, Monday, 19 May

Brownies Blast The REWHC Trails!
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Tiverton Troop 758 was hosted by Diana Ukleja and I for an afternoon of outdoor fun. About 14 brownie first graders and 5 sibling boys (not Girl Scouts, they insisted) met in front of the Nimitz building yesterday afternoon. Tom Morris joined us to photograph our activities.

We journeyed to the Meadow Field and, after looking through some pictures of birds, nestlings, and nests, got in line to look into a tree swallow nest. Four shiny white eggs sitting in a feathery cup were visible on a grassy nest. I explained the different birds we see in our nestboxes and how we check them every week. Mama tree swallow wasn't so wild with the attention we showed, returning promptly to the box as we left.

Diana led a treasure hunt, providing the scouts with little booklets showing where they can find stickers to complete it. The race was on . . . We restrained the eager treasure seekers as much as possible, so they wouldn't dash themselves on rush hour cars or buses, and guided them onto the trails. They ran a few times around the water tower before discovering the clue was down the Tower trail. A bucket with stickers was discovered near the Woodland Wander to add to their book. Another pail with stickers found at the stone wall on the Woodland Wander then back up the Woodland Wander to the Poor Farm Ramble well. I tried to convince the scouts that a dead bunny floating in the well was just a piece of wood. The smell gave it away. They were not convinced. After they poked it with sticks a bit, I convinced them to continue on to the next clue. I then removed the bunny from the water using a nearby stick.

Other stickers were found on the Poor Farm Ramble at the old bed frame and pitchfork with the last clue at the speed bump.

We then met at the picnic table in front of Nimitz, distributed some goodies including biodegradeable golf tees, pencils made from denim, seeds, and snacks. Thanks to Brenda for getting that stuff together. Everyone also got a create-a-bird activity book to bring home.

Everybody had a great time!
Photos should be on the website soon.