But they are now back here at Rocky Point, in their man made neighbourhood of bird boxes just off the pier at Rocky Point.  Kiyoshi Takahashi, a member of the Burke Mountain Naturalists, who constructed and installed many of the boxes, led our field trip.  ​

The students got a short botany lesson, and took some time to photograph plants.  

Devil's Club, also known as Devil's Walking Stick takes many years before they produce seeds.  It is very sensitive to the impact of humans.  Seen by first nations groups as a link to the spirit world, charcoal from the stalk is still used to make ceremonial as well as protective masks.  The berries are POISONOUS to humans, but bears like them!

First Nations groups have used this plant as medicine for adult onset diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.  38 groups of people use it for 34 different types of illnesses!

VanCity gives a thumbs up to the business plan, as the kids convince them their idea is a winner.  

​What do Earthworms do?  As they move, earthworms eat the soil (or compost material).  ​As it goes through them and out the other end, they add extra nutrients to the soil.  

Decked out in their 'lab uniforms' which are designed to withstand the ultimate in west coast rain, scientists checked out how friction was reduced by their plastic bag lab coats, as they tobogganed down the nearby slope.  Not that there was anything planned to look at gravity and friction ... this was a brief stop on the way to find sticks and stones for their all natural tic tac toe board - on a day that fluctuated between pouring rain and sunny breaks

Below is the link to the charts for the VanCity presentation on Thursday.  The kids will use the chart pages as prompts only, and will fill in the answers to the questions verbally.  They will be expert presenters at the end of this!  

With this exercise, they are learning that it takes money and planning to set up a business.  In order to get their start up capital (i.e. the money to buy the lemonade, snacks, and other supplies), they have to make a plan.  Then, they need to convince someone else (someone who has enough money!) that the plan is a good one, and that they are a safe risk to lend the money to.  The students need to be able to show that there is a market for their product, and convince the lender that the business will be successful.  

Finally, the students will see that the start up capital must be paid back, and that you make a profit only after the expenses are all covered.  

Students of different ages will learn different things from this activity.  Some will be able to describe cost of goods sold and profit margin, and some will just become familiar with the words, and get an inkling that there is something more to it than just profit.  ​

They will all get exposure to presentations and understand that they needed money to set up the stand.

​I distinctly remember a lemonade stand that we had at our home, where we lost money with each lemonade our kids sold.  The kids were ecstatic about all the money they were 'making'.  They had set their own prices, and then had so many neighbours visit that they ran out of lemonade.  They were having such a great time that they didn't want to stop.  So they went into the basement fridge, and started selling our San Pellegrino's at the original price.  

They were young and very cute and happy, and we knew we were running out of neighbours who hadn't already been sold to, so we let it go.  We tried at one point to explain that there were costs associated with selling the products, and that they should give us some of the 'profits'  to compensate for them.  But they refused to let go of any of their money.  Our lesson was lost on them.