{Day 8} Nature Walk and Squirrel Study at Anderson University

Today we visited Anderson University for another nature walk.

The children wore their scientist lab coats and brought along their clipboards. Their mission was to count squirrels on the campus and observe their natural habitat for Project Squirrel.

It was a gorgeous fall day and the squirrels were plentiful!

We walked around the campus and observed a new squirrel every few minutes.

The children found plenty of evidence of the squirrel activity. The mulch around all the trees contained little holes where the squirrels dug little pockets. Some of the holes contained nuts that were covered up and some were empty.

 

Everywhere we looked, we could see busy little squirrels. One squirrel even let us observe him up close! The kids noted it was was a fox squirrel so they could report their findings to Project Squirrel.

The children tallied 11 different squirrels on the campus lawn.

The children collected nature items for our science center in our home. They found hickory nuts, acorns, black walnuts, and pine cones to add to their collection. Our science center consists of vintage blue Mason Jars in our dining room that hold their treasures.

We ended our nature walk with a visit to the Helios Fountain.

If you are local to the Anderson area, Anderson University is a lovely place for a nature walk! The staff and students are warm and welcoming and several people greeted us to inquire about our project.

Where are your favorite places to take nature walks?

This post is part of a series: 31 Days of Nature Study for Young Naturalists. You can find all of the daily posts linked on the introductory page. I hope you will continue to join us for this journey through October!