AfterZone at Roger Williams Has Begun!

It was a GREAT start to our official Urban Naturalist AfterZone program today! We are excited to welcome some new students to our program as well as one past Urban Naturalist and 5 current Urban Naturalist students taking part in the school-day program as well!

We began our day discussing the ins and outs of the program, including a discussion what it means to be an Urban Naturalist. We came to the conclusion that, as Urban Naturalists, we will be scientists who study nature found within a city! We even talked about how we have the FASTEST animal on the planet living right here in Providence, Rhode Island!

Curious about which animal this is? Click on the photo to be taken to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site with information about the FASTEST animal on the PLANET!

We then came up with a set of group rules that ALL Urban Naturalists will follow - including Instructors Emily and April! Our group decided on the following:

- Stay in a Group

- Watch your step on hikes

- Don't be too loud when in the classroom or on a hike

- Respect all people, animals and property around you

- Don't touch people, animals or other people's property without permission 

- HAVE FUN!!!! 

We then took a fun hike outside around the schoolyard! We found some ants, flies, 2 bird feathers, a bunch of beautiful leaves that have already started to change color, a squirrel and even some crazy mushrooms! Many of our Urban Naturalists took diligent notes on the things we found. 

Very interesting mushrooms!

Look at all the different kinds we found!

After our hike and a fun game called "The Big Wind Blows", we met an Animal Ambassador named Corny! He is a Cornsnake that lives at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. We even had an opportunity to touch him!

Meeting Corny!

Some Urban Naturalists were already snake experts!

To learn more about Eastern Cornsnakes, click here to be directed to the National Zoo site about Cornsnakes!