Nature Connection News: January 2026
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Follow along to stay connected with Nature Connection around campus! Here you’ll find updates, stories, and photos that highlight our students’ daily interactions with the natural world. For your convenience, the most recent posts will always appear at the top of the page.
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Skunk Cabbage: A Winter Wonder
Check out this short reel on one of our Native wildflowers! You can also read more about it in this article from the Virginia Native Plant Society. If the kids get bored of being inside the house, dress them in proper gear and send them out on a hunt to see this fascinating flower in action.
Saturday, January 24th
Calm Before the Storm
This week, students spent time outside, reveling in Friday’s “warm” weather before hunkering down for this weekend’s impending snowstorm. Throughout the month of January, they have even enjoyed practicing yoga outdoors in the crisp winter air. While we have experienced a few bitterly cold days, our students—properly dressed and well prepared—continue to find joy in all kinds of weather and in the ever-changing winter landscape.
Hawk Identification: Quick Tip
Red Shouldered Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Truth-telling time—I struggle with hawk identification! I’ve been seeing a lot of beautiful raptors lately, but they can look so similar that it’s easy to get frustrated. Yesterday, I reached out to BCS graduate Nevin Hopp, who, despite his young age, is a Master Naturalist with extensive experience and a keen eye.
I was trying to distinguish between a Red-shouldered Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk, particularly juveniles, which can be tricky. Nevin shared photos from the Merlin app and explained that the “belly band” is one of the key field markings. Notice how the brown feathers on a Red-tailed Hawk are almost lined up across the body, while the Red-shouldered Hawk’s brown feathers are scattered across the chest—reminding me of a Jackson Pollock painting.
Thanks for the tip, Nev! I hope these details help you during your own hawk watching adventures.
Nature Connection Calendar Updates Worth Noting
Late January weather has prompted us to take a second look at our Second Semester Nature Connection Calendar. Be sure to check the calendar below for all details. Here are a few important adjustments to note:
Student Leadership Officer’s Meeting: Our next meeting will be March 5th. We may gather informally during school hours before that date, but there will be no after-school meetings.
School-wide Action Team Meeting: April 10th—mark your calendars! Families, community members, and classes are encouraged to volunteer anytime from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. We will offer a variety of activities, including native tree planting with FOR, garden bed building, seed planting, trail clearing, mulch spreading, and topsoil spreading, just to name a few. Details, a sign-up sheet, and a list of needed resources (recycled materials are welcome!) will be sent next week.
Nature Intensive Classes: Plans have shifted. Please check the calendar for updated information regarding class schedules and activities.
Friday, January 23rd
In between lessons, students explored the land. Today, they were fascinated by the cattails and their remarkable texture, and they had the opportunity to examine a gadwall and both male and female mergansers, noting distinct differences in anatomy and coloration.
While I am not a hunter myself, students respectfully studied the ducks that were harvested from the farm and frozen in recent weeks. The concept of the Honorable Harvest is integral to our visits to Flintshire Farms. Students are encouraged to think about food chains in ways that are real and personal—to study animals closely while doing so with respect and gratitude. In this space, students are free to wrestle with their own understanding of the role of death within the cycle of life, or simply to engage with the land in ways that feel comfortable to them—whether that means quiet observation, playing alongside the farm dogs, or a little of both.
Nature Intensive Class: A Study of Indigenous Perspectives
This week, our Nature Intensive students traveled off campus to explore winter habitats along the Rappahannock River and begin a study of Indigenous perspectives. Our initial focus was an introduction to the Seven Grandfather Teachings, as presented in James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw’s book The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Vukelich Kaagegaabaw is an Anishinaabe/Ojibwe linguist and teacher whose audiobook weaves traditional language alongside English. By exploring the etymology and deeper meanings of each teaching, he presents the Grandfather Teachings in a way that is both accessible to non-Indigenous learners and grounded in cultural integrity. Hearing the teachings directly from an Indigenous teacher allows the language—and its meaning—to come alive for students (HERE is a link to the audiobook if you'd like to take a listen).
Because many of our students come from settler backgrounds, it is important that this learning be approached with curiosity, humility, and respect. Vukelich Kaagegaabaw describes the principle of Seven Generations as a form of perennial wisdom—one that echoes teachings found across many belief systems, including Jain, Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist traditions, as well as the cause-and-effect relationships studied in Western science (such as Newton’s Third Law of Motion). At its core, the teaching invites learners to consider how present-day choices ripple forward in time, shaping the lives of those who come after us.
Earlier this year, students were introduced to the concept of the Honorable Harvest through Monique Gray Smith’s adaptation of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults. Building on that foundation, the teaching of Seven Generations offers students a broader context for understanding why Traditional Ecological Knowledge is not only relevant, but essential. It frames care for the land as a responsibility carried across time—rooted in relationship, reciprocity, and long-term thinking.
There is significant depth to this book, and during a single afternoon of study, we were only beginning to unpack the ideas presented. Our initial learning was guided by three essential questions.
What is Truth and Reconciliation?
It is critical that Indigenous teachings are framed within their historical context. We began a thoughtful discussion about colonization and its impact on local Indigenous communities, including how the Patowomeck tribe was nearly wiped out of the Fredericksburg area, with land taken and culture nearly eradicated. Reconciliation—the process of acknowledging the past and moving forward in ways that honor it—begins with education.
What are the Seven Grandfather Teachings?
The virtues presented in the book are familiar to many and align with a philosophy of care for the land: Truth, Humility, Respect, Love, Bravery (Courage), Honesty, and Wisdom (Intelligence).
What is the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe perspective on Seven Generations?
James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw explains, “According to Iroquois tradition, the peacemaker Deganawidah told the Iroquois people, In every deliberation, in every decision, think seven generations into the future” (p. 13).
Ms. Mimi and I are grateful for the opportunity to learn alongside our students as we broaden our perspectives, deepen our understanding of Indigenous values, and strive to put our learning into practice. What a different world it might be if decisions were made with compassion and foresight—thinking ahead seven generations. This concept is both convicting and motivating, and we look forward to the future lessons and thoughtful conversations it will continue to inspire.
Please visit this website to learn more about our local Patawomeck Tribe. I have also included a YouTube video highlighting the Patawomeck Tribe’s involvement in the stewardship of the Potomac River, as well as an excellent video featuring Traditional Knowledge Keeper Brad Hatch, who speaks about the importance of passing down cultural practices to the next generation of Patawomeck youth.
Thursday, January 22nd
Fourth Grade Bird Feeder Study
Our fourth graders have been diving into the study of local birds and were recently challenged to design a feeder to support some of our feathered friends. Ms. Sarah and Ms. Sacia guided students through the design process while encouraging them to consider the needs of different birds, including varied diets and feeding habits.
The challenge required students to use simple materials found at home or school—materials that would not harm birds or the environment. Most of the supplies were recycled or recyclable, and the feeders did not need to be complex to meet the learning goals.
Ms. Sarah and Ms. Sacia supported students in integrating their growing knowledge of backyard birds through the hands-on process of building. It’s inspiring to see how creativity helps knowledge take root and fosters enthusiasm for learning that truly lasts.
The ability to articulate thinking and clearly describe the design process is a valuable skill. I love how naturally this student outlines her plan. What a wonderful example of integrated learning and the implementation of NGSS standards in a way that aligns so well with the BCS mission.
Last month, Ms. Sarah's class planted milkweed seeds, gathered locally by the students, so that they could go through the stratification process.
Stratification is when seeds need a period of cold (often combined with moisture) before they will germinate. This mimics natural winter conditions, ensuring that seeds don’t sprout in the fall when seedlings wouldn’t survive the winter.
Natural stratification: Seeds spend the winter in the soil and germinate in spring.
Artificial stratification: Gardeners can simulate this by placing seeds in a damp medium (like sand or paper towel) in the fridge for a set number of weeks
Many of our regionally native wildflowers use this strategy to break dormancy. We have sown Black-Eyed Susans, Brown-Eyed Susans, Purple Coneflower, and Butterfly Weed seeds in addition to the Milkweed. We hope to see some tiny green leaves in a month or so! Help us keep watch!
Friday, January 14th
Creating Meaningful Experiences
Ms. Alyssa and Ms. Cat do a wonderful job shepherding our kindergarteners and modeling the goals of our Nature Connection program. This week, they intentionally taught the importance of maintaining a scrap paper bin, picking up litter around campus, and using recycled paper to practice math concepts and create beautiful artwork.
Additionally, students have been working toward earning their Earth Carer badges and joyfully celebrating one another’s successes. What a beautiful example of weaving meaningful connections into core classwork!
Earlier this month, the class revisited their study of decomposition by traveling into the woods and closely examining fungi, moss, and lichen growing on nurse logs in the Brompton Forest. The study wrapped up with an outdoor reading of When a Tree Falls by Kirsten Pendreigh.
Fourth- and fifth-grade classes also engaged in an in-depth study of nurse logs and the decomposition cycle this fall. I love how learning spirals through the grade levels, deepening understanding as students grow. I’m proud to say that BCS teachers work intentionally to saturate our students with nature-based learning throughout their education.
Friday, January 14th
The Circle of Life
As part of their science curriculum, our second grade class has been raising and tending a small flock of ducks. Students share in both the daily responsibilities and the joy of caring for these sweet-natured animals. Through feeding, cleaning, observing, and spending time with the ducks, children learn that relationships in nature are built on care, attention, and mutual impact—when we give to other living beings, something meaningful is given back to us as well.
As the days have grown longer, the flock began laying eggs. Students and second grade teachers work together to keep the coop clean and tidy and to carefully collect the eggs. In doing so, students are learning that caring for animals is not a one-way relationship. The ducks depend on humans for safety and shelter, and in return, they offer eggs, companionship, and opportunities for learning. Several students have even begun building small wattle-and-daub shelters using grass and sticks in the pen, creating outdoor spaces where the ducks can nest and hide beyond the coop. These acts of creativity reflect a growing understanding that living alongside animals means responding to their needs.
Last week, our community experienced a difficult moment when one of our ducks was taken by a hawk that entered the coop. While this possibility had been anticipated, the loss was still deeply felt. With care and intention, teachers helped students talk about what it means to live in a world where all beings are connected and depend on one another in different ways.
The duck, in feeding the hawk, becomes part of a larger cycle that allows life to continue. The hawk, a top predator, also calls this forest home. She is focused on survival—finding food and shelter during the cold winter months—and her presence helps keep the ecosystem in balance. In this way, nature practices its own form of reciprocity: each being takes what it needs and, in turn, plays a role in supporting the whole system
Although we are grateful for the role the hawk plays in the web of life on our campus, we also mourn the loss of a sweet little friend. Students are learning that it is possible to hold both gratitude and grief at the same time. By caring for the ducks, honoring the hawk, and tending the land, our students are practicing reciprocity—learning how to live respectfully within the natural world, giving care where they can and receiving lessons in return.
Unbelievably, the duck cam captured this moment. The hawk flew away unharmed, though understandably frustrated by an interrupted meal.
Wednesday, January 12th
Sixth Grade: Nature Connection Class
Mimi Dempsey, Master Naturalist, took our sixth graders into the woods on Wednesday to practice firebuilding skills. Mimi loves teaching firebuilding to pre-teens because patience and persistence are essential to the process—especially when using a striker and natural materials to coax a flame to life. This hands-on experience strongly supports sixth-grade social-emotional learning and leadership skills, as students practiced perseverance, self-management, and responsible decision-making in a real-world context.
Anyone developing a growth mindset will (sometimes reluctantly) discover that failure can be our best teacher when time is taken to reflect and adjust. Firebuilding requires a genuine can-do attitude; if you were relying on that fire to cook food or stay warm, giving up would not be an option. From a science perspective, students applied observational skills and cause-and-effect reasoning while experimenting with materials, airflow, and energy transfer—key components of scientific inquiry and engineering practices at the middle school level.
Concentration and cooperation were equally important. Students had to communicate clearly, divide tasks thoughtfully, and support one another—reinforcing leadership behaviors such as collaboration, empathy, and shared responsibility. These moments in the woods offered authentic practice in how individual actions impact group success.
Through experiences like firebuilding, our Nature Connection mission comes to life: students are not only learning in nature, but learning with nature—building resilience, confidence, and a sense of responsibility that connects them more deeply to the natural world and to one another.
Friday, January 9th
Nature Intensive Class: Field Studies
This Friday, our Nature Intensive students began their study of birds. Morning classes focused on learning how to use a field guide. While this may sound like a simple skill, field guides are truly a gold mine of information when students know how to navigate them effectively.
We are grateful to Riverby Books of downtown Fredericksburg (if you haven’t been, you should go!) for donating a set of Peterson’s First Field Guides to our Nature program. These pocket-sized books may be easy to overlook, but they are thoughtfully designed for beginning naturalists. New birders can quickly become overwhelmed by too much information, and these guides provide just the right balance of clarity and detail.
Using our field guides, Ms. Mimi—our resident Master Naturalist—introduced students to the fundamentals of bird identification by teaching eight main visual categories and encouraging them to ask thoughtful observation questions: Does it swim? Does it wade? What is its flight pattern? What is the shape of its wings, body, tail, and bill? Does it climb trees? Are there visible wing patterns such as bars, rump patches, crests, or eye stripes and rings? Whew. Birding is not for the faint of heart.
After an hour of focused study, students headed out into the field, where Mimi introduced them to the practice of conducting a bird count. Brompton is known for its wide variety of bird species, making it an ideal outdoor classroom. Students also learned how to use the Merlin app as a tool for identifying birds by sound.
As observations began, students asked important scientific questions: How do we classify what we see and hear? How should observations be tallied? Where and when should we look? These early questions laid the foundation for careful observation, data collection, and thoughtful inquiry—key skills of both beginning birders and young scientists. Just as importantly, some students discovered that talking makes the birds go away! Learning to slow down, shift focus to the environment, and observe quietly is a skill we actively practice and develop.
As a group, students identified more than 25 bird species last Friday—not a bad day’s work.
Developing Positive Community Relationships
As you may know, our school participates in the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools program, which supports schools in cultivating positive relationships with the community, with wildlife, and with one another. A central focus of the Eco-Schools framework is reciprocity—asking how we can give back in ways that create balance and mutual benefit.
Located within an industrial park, the BCS neighborhood is relatively small. Even so, in keeping with our mission, we actively seek opportunities to make a positive impact on the businesses and people who share the land we inhabit.
Recently, we had the opportunity to collaborate with our neighbor, Braehead Farm, in a way that benefited both parties. Braehead Farm thrives during the fall, spring, and summer seasons, while the winter months naturally bring fewer visitors. Coincidentally, winter can also be challenging for our Friday Nature Intensive class—a weekly program for nature-minded seventh- and eighth-grade students.
Nature Intensive students spend most Fridays outdoors conducting field studies. During colder months, however, they need access to a warm, climate-controlled space where they can reflect, write, and read between outdoor sessions. Brompton does not currently have sufficient indoor space to accommodate the full group. Graciously, Braehead Farm was open to an experiment. For a minimal fee, Roxanna Snead welcomed our Nature Intensive students and allowed them to create a temporary classroom within the Braehead market. In turn, students regularly purchased snacks and drinks, contributing additional revenue to the business.
Not our typical snack fare, but somehow they managed to eat lunch shortly thereafter. Running around makes teens HANGRY.
Importantly, Braehead allowed our students to play on the farm during recess. Anyone who spends time around teenagers understands the value of unplugged, cooperative play. These moments build social skills, strengthen relationships, and create positive shared memories. Opportunities like this—watching a group of teenagers run freely, play tag, or gather around a game of tetherball—are increasingly rare. Witnessing our students move, laugh, and connect in this way was a gift to both students and teachers.
I am deeply grateful for this partnership and hopeful that opportunities like this will continue in the future. Maybe with a little less sugar involved.....but maybe not :).
Thursday, January 8th
Wintertime Classrooms
Wintertime is one of our favorite seasons for Outdoor Classroom experiences. So far, the weather has been cold—but not bitter—creating ideal conditions for sustained learning and imaginative play. This setting offers a wonderful example of how our lower elementary students bring Literacy Centers into the woods.
Teachers packed phonics materials, sentence strips, and whiteboards, along with pencils, paper, and blankets, and traveled to an outdoor classroom beneath the canopy of three ancient tulip poplars. Students rotated through three stations—Reading, Writing, and Outdoor Play—maintaining a high level of focus while engaging in meaningful small-group instruction with their teachers.
The winter woodland setting offers additional instructional benefits. Natural spacing between groups reduces distractions and encourages independence, while clear sightlines allow teachers to easily monitor students. This environment supports both academic learning and safe, developmentally appropriate play, demonstrating the effectiveness of outdoor spaces as functional learning environments year-round.
Eco Schools Student Leadership Team
Students in grades 3-8 are invited to participate in our weekly Student Leadership meetings. These meetings are designed to focus on the Eco Schools Certification tasks we have chosen for our school. Each Eco Schools Task has an extensive checklist for our Student Leaders to complete. Firstly, the Student Leadership team needs to "engage the community by developing communication materials and resources."
Our group decided that it would be wise to create a bulletin board in the main hallway, to inform the BCS community about Nature Connection activities. Our officers were given tasks for our next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, January, 15th. If you or your student (in grade 3-8 ) would like to help out with these tasks please email our Student Leadership President, Nathan Cox at bcsnathanc@gmail.com. We'd love to have you join us!
Agenda for upcoming January 15th Meeting
Nathan/ Max: Create computer graphics, QR codes, Google Forms for sign ups (with Ms. Kathy)
Josie: Create title for board and develop February newsletter post (with Ms. Kathy)
Sebastioin: Develop information for school-wide, March 6th Action Team Day (Ms. Sarah)
Olive; Evie, and Maya: Artwork/ Design elements (Ms. Karen/ Ms. Sacia)
Want to join the team? Let us know!!!!
Monday, January 5th
First grade Woods Walk
Our first-grade class took a walk with Ms. Karolyn, searching for animal signs in the woods. Even our youngest learners are beginning to identify clues that remind us that many animals call this forest home.
In this photo, one of our students noticed that an animal likely lived inside this hole at the base of a fallen tree—he spotted scat near the entrance and used that evidence to support his thinking. Nice work!
Later on, two of our young naturalists spotted evidence of wildlife at the base of a different tree. This time, the evidence was almost imperceptible. Do you see the tuft of hair on the leaf inside the hole? Ms. Karolyn and I were impressed by their willingness to stay curious and carefully search for clues.
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