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The First Blade of Sweetgrass – StoryWalk® Event
May 20, 2022 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Free
Join CREA’s Camp Director Jenny Mueller for a morning of exploring our Spring StoryWalk and the Preserve’s forest wonderland with your little(s)! We’ll gather at 9:30am at the Ecology Center, then head out on the Barnes Leap Trail to experience CREA’s Spring StoryWalk® as a group.
We’ll read our new StoryWalk® book “The First Blade of Sweetgrass” by Suzanne Greenlaw & Gabriel Frey as we walk the trail together. Adults and young readers are welcome to read with the story pages as we go. After the walk, the group will explore the River Trail while creating our own nature weavings to take home.
The road to the CREA Ecology Center and the Barnes Leap Trail have loose gravel and may be muddy. Sturdy footwear is recommended for this adventure. Families are welcome to bring their own snacks, and everyone is encouraged to bring a full refillable water bottle. The CREA Ecology Center is an off-grid facility. We do provide drinking water to refill bottles and a pit toilet is available.
Max 10 families | FREE Event | Recommended for ages 2-8 | 1mile looping hike – TRAIL MAP
About “The First Blade of Sweetgrass”: In this Own Voices Native American picture book story, a modern Wabanaki girl is excited to accompany her grandmother for the first time to harvest sweetgrass for basket making. Musquon must overcome her impatience while learning to distinguish sweetgrass from other salt marsh grasses, but slowly the spirit and peace of her surroundings speak to her, and she gathers sweetgrass as her ancestors have done for centuries, leaving the first blade she sees to grow for future generations. This sweet, authentic story from a Maliseet mother and her Passamaquoddy husband includes backmatter about traditional basket making and a Wabanaki glossary.