The Beauty and Biodiversity of Belchertown exhibition

Hope you enjoyed the artwork, poetry and photography in the school lobby/office and library.  Be sure to stop by the Clapp Memorial Library, the Belchertown Senior Center, Town Hall and Easthampton Savings Bank.
Look for the displays at other locations through the summer.

Thanks to Lori StPierre (BHS Art), Cathy Kenneally(SRE Art), Linda Fuhrmann(CSS Art), Louise Butler(CSS grade K), Devyn Hebert(class of '13), and Cienna Lyon(class of '13) for all your help putting the displays together!!

Lake Wallace cleanup and Trail Maintenance Saturday, June 2

8:30 am June 1 ... Yikes!  Foiled again!     The cleanup has been cancelled due to dihydrogen oxide                              traveling at terminal velocity.
         Thanks to those of you who considered coming by to help.
                                  Stay tuned - if MsLevy has the energy, we'll reschedule for another (sunny) day.

Lake Wallace

Trail Maintenance and Clean-up, Take 2

June 2^nd   10am-1pm

Mr Clark and Ms Levy tackle the invasives on the trail

We got rained out of our first attempt in October …
We got rained out again in June!

Find out more about the Connecticut River Watershed Council at  http://www.ctriver.org/

Find out more about National Trails Day at  http://www.americanhiking.org/ntd.aspx

Kid-to-Teen Ecomentors wraps up its first, fantastic year with a splash

Thanks to everyone who helped make this first year of Kid-to-Teen excursions a great success.  (Heads up:  we've been designated as a club for next year.  Stay tuned for information about registering to become a member)  Special thanks to Mr. Clark, Ms. Butler, and Ms. Brunelle, who have been our regular chaperones this whole year through.  Your energy and enthusiasm is a gift to your students!!


The last excursion on Thursday, May 24 might have been rained out, but the weather cooperated and the energy was high enough to have powered a small city for several hours!  The group of regulars - with two new participants who just joined right in without hesitation - enjoyed our snack while imagining our favorite pond critters.

Then it was off to our adventure.  Nets, buckets, basins, and boots, we headed to the waters edge to scoop and swish our way to discovering the best that Lake Wallace has to offer.  The duckweed and goose droppings didn't dampen the spirits, but the sneakers got a bit wet.

The dogged explorers fanned out along the waters edge, carefully examining every net-full and sharing equipment and stories as they went.  Both near the spill way (in duck-weed-land) and over by the backstop, the kids challenged themselves to finding the best new thing to see, whether it was the 6inch long leeches, Ms.Butlers' crayfish, or the biggest dragonfly larva in the lake.

Back at the picnic tables, we spent time scooping, sorting, admiring, sketching, describing, identifying and counting what we'd found.  We even had a precious few minutes of watching a caddisfly emerge from its larval molt.  There was lots ... and every member of the crew learned a little more about how important our waterways are, and how much the health of the ecosystem depends on how well we care for our open spaces.  But, mostly we had fun.

The last Kid-to-Teen excursion of the year was a great success!!

As you can tell from the pix, we had fun!

April 26, 2012

Another great session out at the lake!  The weather cleared up and the rain held off long

 enough for a great group of explorers to enjoy all that Lake Wallace has to offer. 

 Special thanks go to Mrs. O'Rourke and Mrs. Butler for helping the 

Daisy troop get the most out of the afternoon!!

Ready, set, explore!

Kids with their teens

So much to discover, so little time

A Dragonfly larva ...On its' way to becoming our best mosquito-eating friend!

A Water Scorpion ... a great find, Mrs.O'Rourke!!

That is one cool leech

Explorers, Scientists, Artists, Future Policy-makers

Thank You!

Thank you one and all to all of the poets, photographers, and artists who contributed to The Beauty and Biodiversity of Belchertown!

Check back again for updates about the locations and opening date of the exhibition celebrating the nature of this beautiful town!!