Smugglers' Notch Resort presents the Gateway to Nature

A program promoting experiential learning about the natural world.

September 2010

Although no day involving an outdoor work project can be typical, we offer the following information on Gateway to Nature activities as guidance to interested participants.

On Tuesdays We Make A Walking Stick
With program director Peter Ingvoldstad's guidance, Mom and/or Dad can assist younger family members in the safe use of draw and carving knives to make a wooden walking stick and decorate it with carvings and things found on walks in the woods.
1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Limited to 5 children per session.
Draw and carving knives provided.
Suggested donation $50 per person to the Gateway to Nature program.

On Wednesdays We Work and Play
The morning work session's objective is building a treehouse that will be used as a nature center/observation post and bunk house.

The Wednesday afternoon enrichment/fun session is a kayak trip to Metcalf Pond, or if you sign up first you could request another activity that all will participate in. (See the Enrichment and Play List below for options.)
9:00 am to 3:30 pm.
Limit of 8 adults and/or children who like to work with parents.
Carpooling may be necessary for the kayak trip.
Please bring something to share for lunch.
Suggested donation of $50 per person to the Gateway to Nature program.

On Thursdays We Work and on Fridays We Play
The Thursday work session will involve building a treehouse that will be used as a nature center/observation post and bunk house.

Fridays are for fun! We'll enjoy a kayak trip on the Green River Reservoir, or if you are the first to sign up you could change the focus by choosing another enriching/fun activity. (Please see the Enrichment and Play List below for options.)
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Limit of 8 adults and/or children who like to work with parents.
Carpooling may be necessary for the kayak trip.
Bring something to share for lunch.
Suggested $100 donation per person for both days to the Gateway to Nature program.

Other Enrichment & Play Options

Feel free to pick and choose! Peter Ingvoldstad or the staff at the Resort's Guest Service Desk are good resources if you need directions to off-site activities.


			•	Visit to a Vermont round barn
			•	Visit a Vermont round church
			•	Read a good book under a tree
			•	Write poetry / creative writing with local writer Kathy Johnson
			•	Visit Perennial Pleasures Nursery and Garden in East Hardwick, Vermont and have tea with the English owner of the nursery
			•	Walk and discuss invasive plant species in the Vermont habitat
			•	Canoe or kayak on the Lamoille River
			•	Find a new friend and fish .. fly, spinner, or bobbing with a worm
			•	Sail on Lake Champlain
			•	Mountain bike to Jeff Falls
			•	Nature walk with Professor John Wrazen from Johnson State College
			•	Dowsing with the managing director and owner of Smugglers', Bill Stritzler
			•	Read Water Witches by Vermont author Chris Bohjalian
			•	Have a discussion about the history of the town of Cambridge with Roberta Marsh, historian
			•	Visit and talk about the Village of South Cambridge
			•	Enjoy the Morse's Mill Walk and have a drink where loggers lived 100 years ago
			•	Play Disc Golf along our cross country trails
			•	Hike to a swimming hole
			•	Hiking, marking and mapping of trails and natural sites in the Smugglers' Notch/town of Cambridge area using GPS
			•	Bike or walk on the Cambridge Rail Trail
			•	Hike the Old Road to Dead Horse Hill
			•	Hike to Daniel's Notch to the town of Sterling
			•	Visit the Vermont designated Natural Area below Sterling Ridge and near Daniel's Notch
			•	Search for animal and other creatures in cloud formations while laying on your back in the grass on top of Sterling Ridge
			•	Pan for gold on the Brewster River
			•	Visit Shelburne Museum
			•	Visit the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center on Burlington's waterfront
			•	Visit Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
			•	Visit Bill Sander's antique cars and take a ride on his railroad in South Cambridge
			•	Take a nap in a hammock under the trees by a babbling brook

Please sign up early for scheduled activities to avoid disappointment. Schedule may change due to inclement weather.

"The hardest thing for me to get my students to do is to learn to slow down and stop when observing nature."
-John Wrazen, Professor of Nature Studies, Johnson State College

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adults

kids 3-17 yrs

kids 0-2 yrs

talk to a vacation specialist 1-800-419-4615

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