HCT and Monomoy High School partner to create SAIL SHORE to SHORE

Reflections by HCT walk leader, naturalist, and Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide Andrea Higgins.

Photos courtesy of SAIL and SHORE staff and parents.

I was joined by Monomoy High School’s SAIL and SHORE Summer Program on this steamy summer morning at Sylvan Gardens in Chatham. Staff and students met under bright blue skies with abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 80s. Sylvan Gardens hosts close to ten acres with an ADA-Accessible Trail, welcoming all to explore and discover the beauty of this very special Preserve.

To begin our morning, we gathered in a circle and practiced deep breathing exercises, inhaling the fresh air and audibly exhaling to release the busy morning rush, allowing us to settle our minds and fully arrive at this lovely sanctuary. Taking a moment of stillness to observe the sounds around us, students enjoyed listening to the rustle of the wind through the summer vegetation, a symphony of bird song, and the buzzing of bees as they drifted between flowers. Continuing on, the trail guided us through a tunnel of flowering privet. We paused to breathe in the fragrant white blossoms, accompanied by other scents of salty, fresh air.

Gathering around an area with several benches, students and staff discussed the unique characteristics of birds, including their eggs, feathers, beaks, feet, songs, nests, and flight. I passed around real bird nests from chickadees, catbirds, robins, grackles, sparrows, wrens, orioles, and more for our group to examine. Students discovered that they were made from a variety of materials including grasses, sticks, mosses, animal fur, and mud. Next up, we inspected a variety of feathers and eggshells from a bluebird, shorebird, chickadee, barred owl, and a Canada goose.

Students practiced making their own nests to appreciate the effort, care, and artistry that our feathered friends use to create their homes. The materials used were found on the forest floor and consisted of leaves, pine needles, lichen, mosses, feathers, and sticks. Next, our group learned several bird songs and our voices filled the sanctuary as we mimicked the calls of great horned owls, saw-whet owls, barred owls, chickadees, red-winged blackbirds, crows, and mourning doves.

Bright blue bunches of flowering hydrangeas, flitting butterflies, buzzing bees, and hovering dragonflies were admired as we continued along the trail. Towering trees provided shade and refreshing breezes traveling across the ponds below offered a welcome reprieve from the increasing temperatures. After traversing all the trails, we gathered for snacks and hydration, repeated our newly learned bird songs once more, and had a question-and-answer session.

Such a wonderful adventure!

I’m so looking forward to discovering another preserve with our SAIL SHORE to SHORE group next Wednesday.

Happy Exploring!

Smiles,

Ms. Andrea