Nature Day at Port Blakely

Once a month the Orca Class (4-5's) have Nature Day. We spend this day in a different natural environment somewhere on the Island. It could be woodland, wetland, or beach. We enjoy hands-on learning about this envoironment, as well as opportunities to let our imaginations run free, inspired by our natural surroundings.

Port Blakely is the site of what was once one of the largest saw mills in the world. It provided lumber for the Halls Brother's ship yard just down the harbor. The mill burned down twice, once in the late 1800's, and for the last time in the early part of the last century. This makes it a very interesting natural and historic place to explore. This is the building that housed the power plant for the mill.

This is a popular place for local youth to hang out. We gathered lots of trash to carry away, something we try to do on every outing we take. The paintings inside the building are fantastic!

Here is a peephole through the wall. It looks out to sea and is perfect for spying on invaders rowing ashore, or maybe spotting whales.

There is always an element of risk and challenge on our Nature Days. Here we are climbing on the jetty that creates the log pond for the mill. The rocks were quite large.

Wow! Look at the view! It was interesting to watch the tide rushing out through the jetty opening. It was a windy day, and the waves were washing in and meeting the tide going out.

What's this big log? Why, a pirate ship, of course!

More risk and adventure. These look like big rocks, but they aren't. They are actually slag piles of metal where the saw blades were filed and the filings dropped through the floor of the mill to the beach below. Through the years the pile have rusted together and been covered with sea life. They were very high and fun to climb.

Science happens anywhere. In preparation for our ferry field trip we had explored the idea of sinking and floating. The children naturally tried their own sink and float experiments with things they found on the beach. We also collected a big, heavy bag full of treasures that included driftwood shaped like animals, marine worm shells in wood, the sole of a very old shoe, and lots of unusual pieces of iron left from the mill.