Letterboxing Fun

On May 12th, NKOA had fun searching for a Letterbox filled with trinkets that their leaders placed in Pettengill Woods in Auburn. Each child brought along a trinket to exchange. Our members and their parents had to find our treasure by using a clue filled poem (Thank you Tamra for your creative use of words!).

After our first Letterboxing experience we have since learned from more experienced Letterboxers that we made a few gaffes. First, we used a coffee can instead of a waterproof container. So we will need to exchange that metal can for a tight-sealing Tupperwear. Second, we did not leave a stamp in our Letterbox. A Letterbox should contain a stamp that represents us. Since we are a nature-based group we should have a stamp that reflects that. I believe that someone took pity on us and left a stamp for people to use. But we need to get to work either designing our own or will need to purchase one that reflects what we are about. We should also have a stamp pad in our Letterbox too. But since it was our first time we didn't do too bad if more experienced Letterboxers found it, right?

After scouring online to find a tutorial to show the process here is the best one that YouTube has about Letterboxing:



Also, if you want to design your own stamp here is a tutorial about that:


If you are looking for something fun to do this summer, please check out NKOA's Letterbox!

Barker Mill Trail Cleanup

On May 5th several of our families got together to clean up the Barker Mill Trail in Auburn. The children and their parents clipped prickly bramble, picked up trash, raked, and had fun discovering the bulky waste on the hill beside the trail. Two unusual finds were a reclining chair and a boxing bag!

This was NKOA's second time cleaning up this very underused and undermaintained trail. We were able to get a little further down the trail this time, however we did discover it gets pretty murky in some areas. Eventually we hope to discover where this ellusive trail leads to, as we have yet been able to get very far down due to the overgrowth. But for now we are pretty proud of our efforts!

Despite the trash and brambles we all enjoyed the way the sun sparkled on the Little Androscoggin and the sounds of both the birds and the falls. It was a good day!

If you are looking for a community service project contact the L/A Trails System and tell them you would like to help clean up the Barker Mill Trail.

Barker Mill Trail Cleanup 11/11/09

On November 11th, NKOA enjoyed a beautiful fall day along the banks of the Androscoggin River cleaning up the Barker Mill Trail in Auburn. The Barker Mill Trail is located off of Mill Street in Auburn and is a trail that is in need of a lot of TLC. Right at the trail head there was an old abandoned mattress and lots of trash and debris. Although we didn't have a way to remove the mattress we quickly go to work picking up trash and bottles along our way. Once we got past the trash we discovered that we had a tremendous challenge on our hands...prickly growth and fallen trees and limbs! Luckily we came prepared with various hand tools which the children showed great maturity in using.

During our two hours at the Barker Mill Trail we got a lot of clean up done. Parents and children raked and cut prickly growth. Ehric's dad came with his chain saw and cut down a lot of the trees that were blocking the trail. We were very proud of the work we got done that day, but there is still so much more to be done on the 2 mile trail. We are hoping to do another group clean up in the late Spring, however, if any of you would like to work on this trail with your families we encourage this! Thank you to all the families who were able to attend that day!

If you would like to locate other trails in the Lewiston-Auburn area please visit L/A Trails website.

Click here to see photos of the Barker Mill Cleanup on 11/11/09.

Thorncrag Hike

Yesterday NKOA had a great hike at Thorncrag! We collected items for next week's nature craft via a scavenger hunt. The children loaded paper grocery bags full of plantain, leaves, pinecones, grass and even rocks. We also worked on following a trail by following color blazes on a tree and using a map.


Our halfway point was the Anthony Fireplace. The kids had fun walking up and down the stone benches and posing for numerous group photos! It was a welcome rest for parents too!

One of our tasks during the hike was to collect lots of plantain. Here is a photo:

The grounds at the Anthony Fireplace proved to be a treasure trove of this wild growing weed. The children collected lots of plantain for an activity following the hike.

Once we got back to the parking lot we got to work on a project. In about six weeks or so we are going to be making a healing salve with the plantain we collected. Yesterday we prepared the plantain by ripping up the plantain leaves and setting them in mason jars. We then added olive oil and pine needles. Later essential oils were added. We are all excited to get to work on making the salve...but I guess we will have to wait for now.

We all had a great time on our first field day as NKOA 4-H members!