Jr. Rangers Writers Circle

As an extension of our Jr Ranger programming we've added a school year writers circle.  A workshop format designed to listen to other writers work and to discuss the writing process.   

Spider Time - Written by Anjali D.

I sit among them 

Their ever graceful bodies move around me.  

I am not one of them 

But I am one with them.  

They are elegant creatures and have adopted me as their own. 

Much superior are their species to mine, 

So light and fast, 

Whereas mine are bulky and clumsy. 

They are merciless, but also small and fragile, like a delicate flower. 

And now, here I am 

Sitting here with them. 

Yuck. 

Why must such a species thrive and exist?  

They are sly, vile creatures, 

Moving sickly across surfaces with their long legs. 

They are so small and useless, yet they cause terror to young and old alike. 

They are monstrous and hide in the dark like cowards, 

And scurry when the light is set upon them. 

Grotesque beings they are, and their eerie voices echo in the darkness. 

I am the only one to know. 

I am the only one to see the truth. 

See? 

There are two sides to the story. 

Very different they are, and many change through time, 

And there are vast amount of opinions that float between the two. 

However, they both share a common subject. 

One to love or one to hate, 

Or one to simply pass by. 

Yet they are not to blame. 

Or are they? That is an opinion entirely up to you. 

But just to think all this must come to these small, tiny Araneae... 

Spiders, I mean. 

Meat Eaters, Full Moon, Howl - Back To School!

This Is Not The End - by Clyde K

The trees are reddening,

The Deer Flies disappearing,

Lenny is about the same,

But this is not the end.

School is starting,

Walks are getting smaller,

People are leaving,

But this is not the end.

It will soon be chilly,

The vernal pool will get smaller,

Summer’s almost over,

But this is not the end.

This year was great,

And next year will come soon.

This is not the end,

But just a break.

Thank you, everyone, for an awesome year!

Elizabeth takes charge

On Friday 8/28 and after just 2 weeks of training Elizabeth led a group of visitors on a nature walk of the field station.  She's from Maryland and has been visiting Nantucket and the field station for several years. Great job Elizabeth!  

End of Summer - PARTY!

David and Elizabeth assist Elway with the harvest of this years sumac crop.  Time to make the tea.

Rourke is first to the party, he heard their would be pizza.

Bob is next, he was privy to the same information.

Ono, Beck, and Sunny.

Stella

The party can begin the cool kids have arrived.

David's first reaction to Sophie T's pizza.

We even had popcorn.

It was at this moment when something shifted in our gravitation field 

Order restored

We honored Avacado as our Jr. Ranger of the Year - F

Clyde (absent due to sickness) won the whacking stick - B

The tea came out awesome.

That desert was the bomb, everybody wants the recipe Sunny.

My favorite pic of the day.

We want to mention Molly, Eliza, Thomas and Gigi, Nick, and Nicholas, and Clyde unable to attend and missed.  We want to thank the parents, everyone who visited us this year.  Thank you Dr. O for letting us work for you and a better world to live in.

A good day for a paddle

Beck, Raymond, Elizabeth, and David went on a voyage of exploration in Folgers Marsh this morning.

The water was like glass

Beck and Raymond demonstrate backing up, Elizabeth and David catch on quick.

Len tells the rangers to take their time and keep their eyes open

Raymond brought this back from his walk with his group of field station visitors.

We'll try and ID this later today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apios_americana

Id by Dina Warren.  Thank you Dina!

Illusions By Elizabeth L.

It was a bright sunny day at the UMAS Nantucket Field Station.   We were with Lenny.  He told the boys and the girls to split up.  We were going to write stories and we girls were walking to a beautiful hill.  As I started writing about falcons and Godzilla fighting I looked up from my notebook and saw what I was writing was actually happening!!!   We girls started running down the hill, we ran to where the boys were and told them to run!  We ran as fast as we possibly could.  When we reached the shop I got scooped up by Godzilla and he started throwing me in the air.  He didn’t catch me so I started falling to the ground.  The Junior Rangers caught me!   

I will never forget this moment..

The end. 

Field Station Acrostic Poem - Clyde K.

From the pond to the beach

I think it’s a very hot day

Everyone wishes there was AC here

Lenny has Popsicles though

Darn it, there’s none left!

Swegen is ever barking

Trying to catch our attention

Also, the Deer Flies are terrible

To regular human snacks

I don’t think I can bear this day

Oh no, it’s only 9:15

Never will this end!

The 4th Day By David L.

August 19, 2015

The 4^th day was the busiest day in Junior Ranger history.  There were 7 junior rangers helping with the job!   Some talked, some didn’t, some helped, some helped a lot, but chatted with their friends.  Some were afraid to talk to the public and more joyful to converse with their friends.  It was a sunny day at the field station and we had lost of fun!   We split up by gender and the boys went to the vernal pond and the girls wend to the top of the hill.  We (the boys) were picked up by for the nature walk and led it and then went back to the shop for some ice cream and then we went to the ocean and had some fun!   Our dad picked us up.   What a GREAT day it was at the UMass field station!

Nicholas up a tree.  The Red Maple at the vernal pond.

Beck wonders about gravity and how it might affect Nicholas.

Ben in one of his quieter moments.

Anjali, Elizabeth, and Sonia explore the back 40.

A nature walk with friends from Beck's family.

Acrostic poem By Clyde K

Just A great group of friends

Raymond, Orion, and me

Running around at the Field Station

A new mission every day

Never without popsicles

Getting eaten by Deer Flies

Everyone is having fun

Ready to defend against the dog

Swegen is his name

Swegen

Anjali and Sonia teach David and Elizabeth, Jr Ranger field research methods.

1st step Plant ID, write down the name of the plant and google it later, at home.

Bayberry is a favorite, smells good and it has some interesting qualities.

Teaching visitors and new Rangers how to use a seining net to study some of the creatures in the marsh.

My First Junior Ranger Day by Elizabeth L.

It was a bright sunny day. My dad, brother and I were driving to the UMass field station. When we got to the office nobody was there. Then we headed down to the beach. That’s where Lenny was. We were having a talk about how being a Junior Ranger was going to be a job, when we heard something. We turned around there was nothing. So we finished our talk and went to get the 10:00 walk. As we were walking along the beach we heard the same sound we heard earlier. But we kept walking. We got to the Bathtub (the marsh) and just as we were about to go catch crabs we heard the sound again. And again. We kept hearing it. Then we saw something in the water. Then when the group got into the water something started rising from the water. We finally got a clear view of it. It was The Loch Ness Monster! We were all so scared. He started coming up on land and we ran out of the marsh and onto to the beach and we took a break from running and then we saw him running towards us. We kept running and running. He was too fast for us and he scooped us up. He had a very tight grip. We felt like choke cherries and his arms wrapped around us like Virginia creeper. We tried to wiggle out but it didn’t work. We saw Lenny around the corner coming to save us. He had a golden rod and freed us. It got us free. Then we started running again. We all turned around and saw that he was getting hit by a bunch of little boys. Even though he had strangled us it wasn’t right for those boys to be hitting him. We went over and told the boys to stop. They did and they ran away. We helped the Loch Ness Monster up and he said “Thank you”. He told us his name. It was Foggy. He told us he was chasing us because he wanted to be friends. We offered him a bowl of black berries and a glass of Milk Weed. And I will never forget this day as long as I live.

The End

The First Day on the Job by David L.

The First Day on the Job

By: David  L.

  My sister Elizabeth and I were going to meet Lenny at the field station but had a little trouble because we haven’t even been on the island for 24 hours yet.  Our hearts were pumping in a hard way and we were late so we had a quick talk and left for the nature walk.  We started off slow and eventually got fast, our brains felt that they were struck by a bolt of knowledge.  I picked up the nets and we slowly walked to the bathtub.  We brought out the seining net and then it happened, clone Godzilla’s rose from the salt water marsh and came to the net , we all ran to shop and hid in Lenny’s closet.   We got out 3 hours later and went home and everything was all right.  It was the best first day on the job.

The End…