The Hands in the Dirt Club at Decas Elementary School turned an eye to the sky on Wednesday afternoon with the help of some special guests from the Wareham Land Trust and the Buzzards Bay Coalition. 

TerraCorps service members Julie Burkhard and Emily Boardman visited the nature focused club for a lesson on Wareham’s feathery friends. Together, the two taught the group of aspiring scientists how to use a pair binoculars and identify different species.

Students also learned how to make their own bird feeder using a pinecone, Crisco, seed and little bit of patience.

“These guys are our future land stewards,” Burkhard said. “So it’s important for us to get them excited about what’s in their own backyard.”

The Hands in the Dirt Club is led by science teacher Giovanna Tuell and is dedicated to exploring the outdoors with students in kindergarten through the 2nd grade.

The club functions as part of the Wareham CARE program. CARE offers a variety of learning opportunities for students with strong focuses on community, academics, recreation and enrichment. A variety of CARE programs take place both after school and during the summer.

“A lot of the things we do with our students in CARE they don’t get to do at home,” Tuell explained. “For a lot of them, this is the first time anyone has handed them a pair of binoculars.”

For many students, however, the highlight of Burkhard and Boardman’s lesson was a sound machine that matched bird calls to pictures. Chloe Desrosiers was particularly found of the Tufted Titmouse’s song.

“It’s so cute,” she said. “It sounds like a baby.”