Sixth Graders Test Survival Skills

The Grade Six two-day trip to Greenkill YMCA Camp, in Hugenot, N.Y., engaged our boys in a rich environmental education program that supports their work at Browning. The boys were accompanied by Science Department Chair Emilie Wolf, history teacher Mary Bosworth, and interim Head of Middle School Sam Keany. Mr. Keany provides the following report:

"The knowledgeable Greenkill naturalists led the boys on hikes, taught them how to make survival shelters, schooled them in the use of camouflage, and gave them opportunities to cross rope bridges and climb a rock wall. The boys learned how to start a campfire and (just as important!) how to put it out. A night hike gave them the experience of appreciating their natural night vision. Wildlife educator Brian Robinson treated the boys to rare close-ups of birds of prey, including a kestrel, an owl, a hawk and a vulture. The boys marveled at the talons and wingspans as these great birds took flight in the auditorium. In the lodge in the evening, we built a raging fire, and Ms. Wolf told a scary story that had the boys checking that their noses had not turned to cheese!"