February/March Recap: What we've been up to at Elevate Youth!

We have had a busy and fun-filled past few weeks at Elevate Youth!  The end of February consisted of back to back weeks of trips.  We got to spend a few days of the first week cross country skiing with Harlem Lacrosse and Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, and ice skating with West End House and Boston Center for Youth and Families.  The next week, we took each of our school groups cross country skiing.  Some of our students found this activity especially challenging as they noted the differences between cross country skiing and downhill skiing which they tried in January.  Nonetheless, they persevered and gave it their all!  Our students pushed through some slushy and icy conditions towards the end, especially our sixth graders from Thomas J. Kenny school.  The day they went it was so windy, they were being blown down the hill!  Luckily, our students made the most of the windy day and had a blast anyway.  We also got some days that gave us a glimpse of spring, with many students shedding their winter coats and cross country skiing in sweatshirts while the warm sun shined down on us!  

We got even more sunny days heading into the beginning of March as we headed to Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farms where our students got to learn all about how Maple Syrup is made.  Each day was sunnier and warmer than the last, which made for perfect conditions to observe the Maple trees with our lovely tour guide, Ken.  One fact that the students, volunteers, and teachers alike found the most astounding is that on average, it takes 40 gallons of sap from a tree to produce only 1 gallon of syrup!  Many of our students had never tried pure maple syrup before and found it hard to believe that to create it you don’t need to add anything.  As our guide Ken told us, all you need to do to make syrup is take water out of the sap (by boiling and evaporating the water).  We were also lucky enough to see five baby lambs at the farm, one group even got to see one that was born that morning!  This week during after school, our students continued their maple syrup journey, as our activity was outdoor cooking!  We made bacon, chocolate chip pancakes, and fruit salad all outside on a camp stove, and many of our students taste tested the difference between a bottle of pure maple syrup, and fake maple syrup.

This past weekend we held two wonderful events.  On Friday evening, some of our Outdoor Mentors and staff got together for bowling at Lucky Strike. It was a great opportunity to hang out, meet new friends, and connect with other volunteers.  Everyone brought their A game, especially Mike Connolly who took first place!  It was a great way for us to be able to say Thank You to our wonderful volunteers who generously give their time to support our program and youth.  We appreciate everything they do and hope to hold more events like this during summer!

We also held our very first in-person EAT cooking class at Daily Table in Dorchester.  Five of our families attended on Saturday morning and were able to learn how to cook a delicious veggie stir fry from a chef at Daily Table.  Our families were excited to build on the cooking skills they have been learning through our virtual EAT cooking classes, as well as share the wonderful meal they cooked with other families and students.  We would like to say Thank You to Gay Crowley for organizing our EAT classes, as well as Daily Table for hosting us!  We hope to cook more with you soon!

We have many exciting events coming up, including our mountain biking trips in April and our Earth Day Festival!  We hope you will join us on Sunday April 21st from 11 AM - 3 PM for a fun filled Earth Day Celebration at Valley Gates Picnic Area in Franklin Park.  There will be vendors, free food, games, sustainability activities, and a park clean up!  We hope you will join us to celebrate and give back to our planet and learn more about how to protect it!

Overall, we have had a fun filled winter and beginning of spring, and are excited to be preparing for our programming as we head into the end of the school year as well as summer!