2020 Venture Vermont: wrapping it up

 there are still a couple of things in the can, but the deadline is here, and i have enough points, so i'm just going to report what i have.

it was a successful season, COVID and all- more difficult to get out when i could be away from people, but the activities are always fun and i get to learn and practice skills and have a pretty medallion at the end.

i wish the challenge started earlier in the year, because i do outdoor things in january and february but i guess seven months is still a good long time to do all the necessary activities, even if i do wish the challenge ran ALL YEAR. because i love this thing. it give shape to my year and brings joy to my heart, and those are things i NEEDED this year.

i've made my documentations in blog posts, which i will link here and group by category on the scoresheet.

get moving:

 Go for a walk around your home or community while staying at least six feet away from anyone else. What neat things did you see? 

 Find a tree with leaves you can reach. Give the tree a high five! 

Roll down a grassy hill 

Do a handstand underwater in a lake or pond

Catch a butterfly or dragonfly with a net 

Take a human powered boat on a lake or pond

 Go to Trailfinder.info and find a hike you’ve never done before. Go hike it!

 Play a game outside 

investigate:

 Start a nature journal. Keep track of all the seasonal changes you observe 

Write Haiku or other nature poetry based on things you observe in nature around you

 Sit in a quiet area and observe nature. Write down or draw a picture of what you see

 Photograph and identify five species of wild growing native Vermont plants 

Build an animal habitat for your favorite animal in your home or backyard

Identify a constellation that is new to you. Draw a picture of it and send it to us

Photograph two kinds of mammals in the wild. Identify the full species name and describe its behavior 

make a difference:

Collect rainwater and use it to water your garden - i used this free water all summer for my tomatoes.

Hang your laundry outdoors to dry instead of using a drying machine - since doing this for the challenge i have only used my dryer once!

Cut your own energy use 

outdoor skills:

 Learn to set up a tarp or hammock

Learn to tie 3 new knots besides the ones in this entry, i also learned a marlinspike hitch and a double footrope knot.

Build a fire only using one match

Make a map of your favorite natural area 

Go on an overnight backpacking trip with everything you need in your backpack 

 Learn a new technique to purify water 

create:

Weave a basket using natural materials

Create art out of rocks 

Create a meal cooked on a campfire 

Use recycled materials to create a game 

just for fun:

 Learn a tongue twister and say it as fast as you can. 

Build a solar cooker or oven

Create a scavenger hunt for you and your friends and find everything

Tell your best campfire story! 

explore our parks:

Go to a VT state park you’ve never been to

Camp in a tent or lean-to at a VT state park

Have a picnic in a VT state park

Find a historical fact or story about a Vermont StatePark 

so that wraps it up for me. i also wrote a song about sedges, but i have no recording of it that i can embed, so i'm not claiming points for it. sometime if you ask me, i'll teach it to you.