Explorers Club

TROY, OH — The explorers and their families met at Brukner Nature Center in Troy, Ohio early Saturday morning, 11 October 2008 for an early autumn hike.

The club visited a number of habitats at the nature center, including a couple of ponds, a meadow, deciduous and coniferous forests, a steep ravine, and a stream. The members observed and discussed the differences in each of these areas, especially the differing amounts of water and the corresponding variety of life as they traveled from one habitat to the next.

They also observed the effects of weathering (the wearing down of rock by natural forces like wind, rain, ice, and plant roots) and erosion (the movement of those weathered materials to a new location by water, wind, and ice). During the hike the members sketched the wide scenes and small details that they saw.

The hike ended at the nature center's wildlife rehabilitation area, where a number of animals and birds can be observed. These animals are either temporary residents who are recovering from some sort of injury or permanent residents that for some reason (such as severe injury or becoming habituated to humans) cannot be released back into the wild. The club also had a chance to explore a 200 year old cabin on the center's property.

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