We started our exploration by hiking the Mountain Laurel trail up the hillside. We discussed erosion and the cause. It had rained extremely hard a few days prior to our visit. We noted the stream that flowed along the trail. The banks had been cut away by large amounts of water. We talked about what could be done to help prevent these things.
At the top of the Mountain Laurel trail, we found it connected to the paved Wildwood trail. This trail is handicap friendly and has several placards identifying various types of vegetation along the trail. We walked the loop of the Wildwood trail and took in the beauty of wild azaleas in bloom with other small wildflowers popping up.
We traversed back down the Mountain Laurel trail and continued to the Pinewoods trail. This area is repetitively flat and easy to navigate. It connected to the Hardwoods trail which begins to wind up the hillside. With the rain we have had, footing on the Hardwoods trail was muddy. The boys enjoyed the jaunt up the hillside and the descent back down to reconnect with the Pinewoods trail.
Finally, we made it to the pond area. There is just something about water that the kids gravitate towards! At the pond, we discussed the wetland area and the purpose of the pond in this setting. There is a boardwalk trail that is over the bog area. We learned about plant and animal life in the area and why wetlands are important to the overall ecosystem.
The kids gained a better understanding of wetlands and we had a wonderful time enjoying nature.
