Unravel the Mystery – Earth Adventures

From the entrance of the Shirley-Anne trail, walk 80 m to a large pile of rocks on the right, which are at the base of an old pine tree.

The Lake Thomas Detective Agency is searching for a mystery creature living nearby who is eating up a large number of local residents. Your mission is to discover the creature’s identity. You must demonstrate your detective skills while tracking down informants who have come in contact with this creature. They will give you vital clues to help you identify the culprit. You may want to copy the clues in your journal as you go to keep track of them. Good luck.

Put on your detective badge and provide a fingerprint for the Agency’s files in your Adventure Journal. Step onto the bank next to the large stump and:

Clear away a small area on the ground.
Rub your thumb in the dark dirt.
Draw a small box in your Adventure Journal and press your thumb in it.
Re-cover the ground so that it looks like no one was there.

Do You Know… Lady Slippers

In June you can see the beautiful lady’s-slipper orchid in flower in the park. There are four species in Nova Scotia, two of which are listed as species at risk provincially. It takes a lady’s-slipper seven to ten years to reach maturity before it starts producing seeds. The seeds are very small and depend on special soil fungi to help them grow. Handling lady’s-slippers can sometimes produce poison ivy-like symptoms in sensitive individuals. Please, these beautiful flowers are very fragile, do not touch them. Here are images at various stages:

Images from Ontario Parks & UQUAM