ARCHBOLD BIOLOGICAL STATION S 2015 Ecology Summer Camp Report by Dustin Angell, 2015
2015 Summer Camp Report This report presents an overview of the 2015 Ecology Summer Camp at Archbold Biological Station. The intention is for readers to gain a sense of how the camp was run and what it looked like. Environmental Educators planning or comparing their own ecology themed camps may find this helpful, as well as any readers interested in how environmental education is implemented at a biological field station. Appendices, which includes registration lists, volunteer hours, and finances is available from the Education Department for appropriate Archbold staff, but is not made available to the public. Most of the photographs were taken by Archbold s Education Coordinator Dustin Angell. A few were taken by camp interns and volunteers. Ecology Summer Camp Young scientists are welcomed at Archbold Biological Station every summer during week-long day camp sessions focused on ecology and conservation. Campers explore our nature preserve, visit a working cattle ranch, meet scientists, and participate in a variety of educational activities. Our campers are between the ages of 7-12 and are mostly local children from Highlands County, FL. The camp is fee based, but sponsorships covering the full cost of tuition are available for families who demonstrate financial need. These sponsorships are made possible through donations. Camp is run by the Education Coordinator with help from interns, adult volunteers, and teen volunteers. Each year the activities are tailored to a theme. Recent themes include: Moths 2009, Finding Your Way 2010, Birds 2011, Minnie Beasties 2012, Animal Senses 2013, Animal Defenses 2014, and now Prescribed Fire. Archbold Biological Station Archbold Biological Station in Venus, FL is an independent non-profit biological research facility founded in 1941 by Richard Archbold. The Station conducts and promotes long-term ecological research and conservation, and has a strong commitment to education. The work at the Station emphasizes the unique biological communities of the Lake Wales Ridge, part of the headwaters of the Florida Everglades, and one of the most distinctive and endangered biotic regions of Florida. For more information, please visit our website at www.archbold-station.org.
Table of Contents Content Page Content Page Cover 1 Purpose of Report 2 Table of Content 3 Camp Flyer 4 The Campers 5-8 Sponsorships & Donations 9 Team Leaders 11 Adult Volunteers 12-13 Research Interns 14 Summer Camp Intern 15-16 Education Coordinator 17 Team Building 18-20 The UnNature Trail 21-22 Fire Demonstration 23 Fire in a Bucket 24-25 Florida Scrub-Jay Intern Visit 26-28 Science Notebook 29-32 Butterflies and Milkweed 33-37 Nature Films 38-39 Storytelling 40 Meeting a Live Snake 41-43 Tortoise Burrow Explorers 44-45 Camera Traps 46-47 Catching Antlions 48-49 Just for Fun Games 50 Scrub Hunt 51-52 Plant Ecology Intern Visit 53-55 Hiking and Discovery 56-58 Seasonal Pond 59-61 Observing Organisms 62-63 Herp Collection 64-66 Art Project 67-69 Ranch Tour 70-73 Florida Panther Talk 74 Family Science Night 75 Lake Annie 76-80 Letter Writing 81-85 Camp Shirts 86 Camp Surveys 87-88 3
The Campers This summer we ran five session of summer camp during June and July. Three were for 7-9 year olds and two were for 10-12 year olds. Overall we had XX campers. Many of our campers are returnees, and may end up participating all the way through high school. Most campers were from Lake Placid and Sebring, but some came from other parts of Florida and other parts of the county. 4 Camp flyer
Session 1 (7-9 year olds) The Campers This summer we ran seven sessions of summer camp during June and July, including five week-long sessions for the public, and two private two-day camps done in partnership with Delray Plants. Overall we had 96 campers, of which 31 were sponsored. Many of our campers were returnees, and some will probably return to camp all the way through high school. Most campers were from Lake Placid and Sebring, but some came from other parts of Florida and beyond.
Session 2 (10-12 year olds) Session 3 (7-9 year olds) 6
Session 4 (10-12 year olds) Session 5 (7-9 year olds) 7
Session 6 / Delray Camp (7-12 year olds) Session 7 / Delray Camp (7-12 year olds) 8
Screenshot for www.delrayplants.com Delray Plants Co. This summer Archbold partnered for the first time with a local business to create a custom camp for the children of their workers. This partnership not only represented a new model for our programming, but success at expanding camp participation to the local Hispanic community. Previous efforts, including free camp sponsorships advertised in school and newspapers, hadn t worked. Fortunately, we found a partner in Delray Plants, a local nursery employing almost 300 Hispanic workers. They helped us recruit campers from the families of their workers, translate parent letters and liability forms into Spanish, and lent a staff person to help with camp each day. In order to tailor the program to the needs of the families, we made several changes. These included: shifting to two-day camps with extended hours for easier pickup; providing breakfast, lunch, and heathier snacks; keeping seven to twelve year olds together instead of separating them; eliminating the night program due to transportation issues; providing a Spanish translator during camp pickup; and adding a family pizza party. Thanks to the generous donations of Robert and Donna Lloyd George and others, we were able to provide this program at no cost to the families. In addition, Delray Plants provided money for Archbold to produce a video highlighting the Delray sessions. The short video, titled Jumping into Science, is available on our YouTube pages. The Education Department hopes to continue this partnership next summer.
Sponsorships & Donations Each year donations from individuals and groups throughout Highlands County and beyond make it possible for children from low-income families to attend camp. Families qualifying for sponsorships have their entire registration fee waived. This summer we were able to offer sponsorships to all who applied. We sponsored 31 campers (including 20 Delray campers), a new record for Archbold. In past years, sponsored campers have gone on to become camp s future Team Leaders, science majors in college, and even Archbold interns.
Team Leaders Team Leaders were teenage volunteers who donated a week of time to help with camp. On the first day of each session, the campers divided into teams. Each team had at least one Team Leader. These volunteers acted as positive role models for campers and helped lead their teams during camp activities. Team Leaders arrived early each day to greet campers and setup activities, and stayed late to help cleanup. This summer we had 24 Team Leaders with a total of 866 hours.
Camp Volunteers and Art Volunteers Adult volunteers are an essential part of a successful summer camp. Our Camp Volunteers helped with most aspects of camp. For the forth year in a row, we welcomed volunteers from the Lake Placid Art League to help with Wednesday art activities. Together, these adult volunteers donated 292.25 hours toward camp. Combined, adult and teen volunteers contributed 1,158.25 hours.
Research Staff & Interns An important aspect of camp was when Archbold s research staff and interns visited our campers with science games and presentations. Each Research Program s interns, with the help of the Education Coordinator, developed new activities, giving our campers excellent opportunities to learn about science and science careers from enthusiastic young professionals.
Summer Camp Intern Lexi Seigle The Ecology Summer Camp is usually run by a team of two the Education Coordinator and the Environmental Education Summer Intern. Lexi Siegle started attending at age 7 as a sponsored camper, then became a teen volunteer, and was even a part-time camp intern in 2014. This summer, after completing her first year as a Marine Biology student at Gulf Coast University, she became our fulltime camp intern. Her deep appreciation and enthusiasm for camp and Archbold made her an effective and inspiring leader for the campers and volunteers.
Education Coordinator, Dustin Angell This was Dustin s third time running Archbold s Ecology Summer Camp. His responsibilities included: promotion, registration, overseeing an intern, staff and volunteer training, scheduling, program design, gathering supplies, transportation, first aid, t-shirt, design, photography, and running each session.
Forming Teams Most activities allowed all the campers to mix with each other, but the campers also belong to teams. At the beginning of each session, the campers divide into mostly self-selected teams of 3-5 kids with 1-2 teen volunteers assigned to each team. The campers then name their teams after Florida s wildlife. Using a team structure is a helpful classroom management tool, and it also builds cooperation and leadership skills for the campers and teen volunteers.
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The UnNature Trail The UnNature Trail scavenger hunt is an Archbold camp tradition. Our campers walked quietly along a short nature trail while searching for artificial objects placed on the trail beforehand. After finishing the hunt, campers shared and compared how many objects they spotted. The UnNaure Trail was used on the first day of camp, as it helped introduced the campers to the Florida scrub and motivated them to practice their observation skills.
Fire Demonstration Fire ecology was an important theme during our 2015 camp. Archbold s Land Manager Kevin Main visited our campers the first day of each session. He talked about the practice of using prescribed fires in Florida, showed the campers a real brush truck, demonstrated how to use a drip torch, and allowed the campers to use the truck s fire hose.
Fire in a Bucket Fire in a Bucket gave campers the chance to learn firsthand how prescribed fires work on a landscape. The activity, modified from the Florida Forest Service s Fire in Southern Ecosystems curriculum, had students try to burn different kinds of fuel, and observe the differences between how green leaves, pinecones, leaf litter, and other plant fuels ignite and burn. Students made predictions and recorded the results of their experiments.
Florida Scrub-Jay Nest Defenders Interns from the Avian Ecology Research Program talked with the campers about Florida Scrub-Jays and then played a game with them. In Florida Scrub-Jay Nest Defenders, teams of campers tried to defend their nests from predators (played by other campers) while also finding food for themselves and their nestlings. The game taught the campers about cooperative breeding, animal defenses, and the difficulty of survival in the wild.
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Science Notebooks Each camper received their own science notebook. Some pages contained worksheets needed for camp activities, but most pages were blank and could be used as the campers wanted. Some campers quickly invested time and care into their notebooks, and had soon made leaf rubbings, drawings, and even taped leaf litter and other finds onto the pages. At the end of the session, campers could bring their notebooks home.
Butterflies and Milkweed Butterflies were a recurring theme this summer. Campers learned about monarch butterflies and their dependence on milkweed plants. Campers helped raise monarch caterpillars in a butterfly enclosure, and during some sessions the campers were able to release adult butterflies. Campers decorated and personalized their milkweed pots, planted milkweed (mostly Asclepius incarnata), and brought their plants home at the end of camp.
Video Time The Florida summer heat and humidity can be hard on staff, volunteers, and campers. During camp we tried to schedule most of our outdoor activities for the cooler mornings, and spent most of our afternoon time indoors. The last part of the day was sometimes spent relaxing and watching science videos. This summer we watched parts of films from the Disney Nature collection as well as Archbold s Florida Scrub-Jay film, At Home in the Florida Scrub.
Screenshot from Archbold s At Home in the Florida Scrub Screenshot from Disney s Wings of Life
Storytelling Telling old stories is a way for us to learn lessons from our ancestors and others that came before us. Stories also allow children a chance to see the world in different ways and consider the actions and decisions of characters. Many old stories often have strong natural elements, and many demonstrate relationships between humans and the rest of nature. This summer Education Coordinator Dustin Angell told a Cherokee legend about strawberries. Campers saw a live strawberry plant, and were invited to snack on strawberries when the story was finished.
Meeting a Live Snake The Education Department s live snakes have long been summer camp favorites. While handling live snakes and observing them eat, campers learned about Florida snake species and the problems facing them. Campers were also encouraged to appreciate snakes and understand their roles in Florida ecosystems.
Gopher Tortoise Burrow Scoping Research Interns from the Herpetology Research Program visited our campers for a program on Gopher Tortoises. Campers followed them on a tortoise tracking hike and observed how to scope a tortoise burrow. Campers also competed in Gopher Games, like burrow racing, to learn more about Gopher Tortoises.
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Camera Traps Animal trapping has a long tradition at Archbold s Ecology Summer Camp. Small mammal trapping was the standard for many years, but Education Coordinator Dustin Angell established the tradition of introducing campers to different kinds of traps each year. This summer the campers set up wildlife cameras along a fire lane overnight. These camera traps were checked for two days, and usually captured images of deer and other common mammals. 46
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Catching Antlions Each team caught antlion larvae to keep for the week in a plastic cages. The campers observed the antlions build funnel traps and even capture prey. Campers were responsible for gathering ants each day to feed their antlions.
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Just For Fun Games Sometimes the campers needed a chance to let loose. Our daily schedule was always fluid and playing games was a great way to fill extra time between activities and cool off from the summer heat. The campers loved the games and asked to play them every day. Nest Robbers challenged players to use their hearing to spot predators and to move quietly to remain undetected. The Tail Game is a physical exercise game about paying attention to rules, working in groups, and practicing moving like different animals.
Scrub Hunt A nature themed scavenger hunt is an effective way to focus children while also allowing them to make their own discoveries. Before hiking, each camper was given a Scrub Hunt card with a list of items to find on the trail. During the hike, campers were very motivated to find all their items.
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Plants and Fire Interns from the Plant Ecology Research Program visited the campers at the Learning Center to teach them about how different plant species in the Florida scrub survive with fire. The interns demonstrated a variety of ways plants survive or respond to fire by having campers act them out in the classroom, and then search for fire related plant features in the scrub.
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Hiking and Discovery Exploring Archbold s nature trails and fire lanes was an important part of camp. While all camp activities are structured, campers are sometimes given minimally structured exploration time. These times allowed students to go at their own pace, make their own discoveries, and be surprised by what they found. Even when outdoors for a specific activity, campers were encouraged to break for interesting animal and plant sightings.
Seasonal Pond Exploration Archbold Biological Station has over 350 seasonal ponds. Campers learned about the role of seasonal ponds as breeding grounds for many organisms. Campers explored a pond using dip nets, plastic containers, and their hands. They caught frogs, lizards, spiders, beetles, insect larvae, and more.
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Observing Organisms While finding macro-invertebrates during seasonal pond exploration, campers could choose to bring specimens back to the Learning Center for observation. Camp intern Lexi Siegle led the campers in observing the specimens over the next day and a half. Campers were particularly interested in watching fish eating spiders. 62
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Herp Collection Viewing parts of Archbold s natural history collection has become an important part of camp in recent years. This summer, campers toured Archbold s wet collection and then had a lesson on some of the reptiles in the collection. The lesson focused on the importance of natural history collections and the basics of taxonomy. Campers were challenged to translate the Latin names of common reptiles into English.
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Art Projects Volunteers from the Lake Placid Art League visited each session to assist the Education Coordinator in running an hour long art class. The campers made artworks they could display during Thursday s Family Science Night and take home with them on Friday. Campers made 3-D butterfly art, creating new imaginative species with scientific names.
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Ranch Buggy Tour Every Thursday, our campers were treated to a 2 ½ hour buggy tour at the MacArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center., also known as Buck Island Ranch. Campers learned about conservation on private ranchlands, saw wildlife, and met Ranch ecologists. They also disembarked from the buggy to explore an oak hammock on foot.
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Florida Panther Talk On Thursdays, the campers participated in a presentation from a visiting scientist. Dr. Jennifer Korn, a wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission gave a presentation on Florida panthers. After giving a talk using PowerPoint, Dr. Korn shared animal skulls and skins the campers could feel.
Family Science Night Every Thursday evening the campers and their families were invited to an evening event. There was a display with the campers art and the antlions they caught, a viewing of a photo slideshow, and (weather permitting) a night hike. This year we had two successful night hikes, one canceled evening, and two shortened evenings without hikes caused by lightning and thunder. Image source: NASA
Lake Annie Friday morning at Lake Annie was by far the campers favorite part of camp. This lake visit was a chance for the campers, volunteers, and staff to relax and have fun together. Watermelon polo, catching fish with nets, and taking group photos were all part of the lake excursion.
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Letter Writing On the last day of camp, we reviewed the week s activities and then the campers wrote letters to their future selves. This activity gave them a quiet time to reflect on what they learned, enjoyed, and wanted to remember. Sometime during the next year, the Education Coordinator will mail the letters back to the campers, giving them a reminder of camp they can keep for years.
Kendal, age 9 82
Payton, age 9 83
Kira, age 10 84
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Camp Shirts Each year a new t-shirt is designed for camp. All the campers, volunteers, and staff involved with camp receive a shirt. Some campers and volunteers take pride in their collection of summer camp t-shirts and wear different ones throughout the week. This summer, the shirts featured a drawing of the word ECOLOGY by Education Coordinator, Dustin Angell.
77% 70% 79% 71% 84% 85% 77% 73% 77% 75% 30% 40% 57% 82% 71% 78% Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2015 Camp Surveys As one way to measure the effectiveness of camp we conducted pre and post surveys with our campers. The first half of the questions were knowledge based and the last half were measured attitudes toward nature and science. The survey can be seen on the next slide. The data are available to Archbold staff on request. Results: Overall, our campers showed significant gains in content knowledge. The younger campers achieved higher gains, but they also started with lower scores. Attitudes toward nature and science were mostly stable, but did show a slight declines in some groups. It is difficult to know if this negative result is measuring a real decline in attitude, or is the result of confusion with the survey questions, an affect of our small sample size, or some other fault of the evaluation methods. We recognize that the assistance of a specialist is environmental education program evaluation would be helpful in future years. KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS Pre Test Post Test A GE 7-9 A GE 10-12 A LL CAMPERS NATURE AND SCIENCE RECEPTIVITY SCORE PreTest PostTest A GE 7-9 A GE10-12 GIRLS BOYS A LL CA MPERS
Camp Survey
123 Main Drive Venus, FL 33960 (863)465-2571 www.archbold-station.org www.facebook.com/archboldbiologicalstation www.facebook.com/scrubedu