Message from your Captain

Ahoy Schooner campers and parents,

Welcome to Week 4 of Schooner's summer activity guide newsletter. Scroll through this email to see an overview of this week's activities or check out our website, linked here, for past weeks' content!

This week, we'll focus on seaweed and wind and wave science. Come aboard, and learn with us! 

Trash Cleanup Announcement

Come join us to celebrate International Coastal Cleanup day a little early!

At Schooner Camp, part of learning how to be an environmental steward is to leave no trace  and to be kind to yourself, others, and the environment. Now it's time for us to give back! Here is your opportunity to gather in small groups with your family to help us care for Schooner Camp's home and keep it beautiful for both people and animals to use. Gather Corps will be helping to lead this event!

This event is still in the works, but we would like to gauge your interest in it -- date and time may change, if needed. Please fill out the interest form so we can get a better idea of how many people are interested and if more time slots are needed.

We would like to offer a socially-distanced knot-tying workshop and Long Wharf scavenger hunt while the clean-up is happening.
 
Bags and gloves would be provided, and we also will have about a dozen trash pickers that will be sanitized each time they are used. Masks will be required at this event. Sign up for an hour, but stay after or before to do the scavenger hunt and knot-tying workshop.

This event will also collect trash data using the CleanSwell app which is mentioned later in this email and in this week's activity guide. We will hand out paper versions for you to fill out during this event and turn in, and we will do the rest! 

Creature of the Week

Each week, we will feature a local New Haven creature to discuss and learn more about together. This week we discuss jellies!

Check out the Creature of the week tab on our webpage to learn about oysters' habitat, diet, and behaviors, and MORE.

DID YOU KNOW? Most seaweed actually aren't plants, but are considered a form of macroalgae. 

Community Science Project: Seaweed is very sensitive to changes in their aquatic environment, especially those linked to human pollution. 

To combat this issue of human pollution, this week's community science project is to organize a trash pickup with family or friends. Use this google form, linked here, to let us know the details of your trash pick-up. 

Alternatively, you can download CleanSwell to your phone and contribute data to a worldwide source tracking pollution and cleanup efforts! (Clicking the CleanSwell app logo below links to the more info about the app). 

 

Activity Draw a picture of the LIS Creature of the Week and upload it to our Padlet, you may even see your drawing featured in the Summer Guide! 

More Activities

Do you want more Schooner-created, nature-related content? Pasted below are direct links to MORE of this week's activities!

 Printable Activities

??Nature Mystery ??

Who is this cute little creature?
 

Hint: The adult of this creature can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh up to 4,400lbs!
 

Submit your guesses to the community padlet. Label your guess-"Nature Mystery"

Long Wharf Nature Preserve Observations

More Gather Corps Video Content

                                                                                                                                                       This Week's Social Media Campaign: 

In honor of this week's creature of the week-let's look for other photosynthetic creatures, search for plants in your neighborhood and what/who may be visiting them and share using #plantsonmyblock hashtags. Make sure you list the town you are reporting from! 

Visit our Green spaces:

While Schooner is unable to take place in person this year, we wanted to include a list of Gather New Havens' (Schooner's Mothership) green spaces that, you and your family could visit for a socially-distanced nature outing.


Click here for a list of the available green spaces. 

Announcements / Sign-ups
 

• Did you miss the Peter Solomon talk? If so we have you covered! We recorded it. Here is the link to the presentation on our youtube channel here .
  
  
  
  
   
• In-Person Trash Clean-up August 8th @Long Wharf Nature Preserve.

• If you can't participate in-person we will be offering a "Virtual" New Haven Youth-led Trash Clean-up Challenge from August 3-21st. The crew that picks up the most trash has a chance to win prizes!

• Our last activity guide will be released the week of August 10th

• Would you be interested in Exploring the Mudflats with us on Mudflat Mondays, held in-person August 17th and August 24th @ 4:00pm-5:30pm (Free, pre-registration required)

• Get MORE involved with Schooner this summer by sharing your own nature observations and completed activities on our community Padlet page.

• Spanish translations of the activities will be made available on the website a day or two after the emailed newsletter goes out on Monday.

• If you can donate to our efforts this summer to support this summer guide and getting food and activities to those in need in New Haven this summer please click the button below

Additional Links

newsletter archive / glossary / padlet/ website