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by Virginia D. Bourdeau
The question, "What do I need to teach nature programs at camp?"
is generally followed by a statement like (panic rising), "I can't
afford to buy a whole bunch of stuff!" As an extension 4-H specialist
for natural science programs, I get this type of inquiry from new nature
program counselors and colleagues in the camp community at least once
a year. For some reason, their first vision of a camp nature program is
a lab filled with microscopes and equipment. Is that the nature program
you remember from your first camp experience? Was the focus inside in
a "lab" or outside in nature?
Here are some steps to consider for creating or revitalizing a nature
program.
STEP 1 Review Your
Camp's Mission Statement
Your executive director, board of directors, staff, and other stakeholders
spent a great deal of time developing your organization's mission
statement. Here is a chance to put it into action. The broad goals of
the nature experience may include teaching stewardship of resources, respect
for nature, and respect for the camp family or our human place in nature.
For some camps, it could include a religious message. For others, that
isn't appropriate. How can your organization's mission statement
assist you in selecting camper outcomes for your nature program?
STEP 2 Know Your
Campers
During pre-camp staff training, you receive information about the demographics
of the audience the camp serves. Directors also provide specific information
about individual campers with special needs. In planning and leading a
camp nature program, additional information will be helpful and it can
come directly from your campers. On the first day of the nature program,
ask your groups the following questions:
- Have you been camping (or to this camp) before?
- What do know about nature (or a specific topic)?
- What do you want to know?
- What don't you like or fear?
- What have you seen so far that is interesting?
A flexible nature program will take the answers to these questions into
consideration to make the experience successful and meaningful for all
campers.
STEP 3 Inventory
Your Resources
If your camp scored a "Yes" on ACA Standards PD-2 Outdoor
Opportunities and PD-3 Environmental Practices, you have the basic resources
you need for a nature program. It is not necessary for nature program
leaders to know the name of every plant, bird, and animal at camp. You
can increase the sense of discovery with campers by showing them you are
learning and building a relationship with nature as well.
Focus programs on the variety of natural areas available. If your camp
is in a forested area, it may seem that you should teach forestry. Classic
forestry programs have included measuring a tree's height with a
forester's stick and then calculating the number of boards which
can be cut from the harvested tree. This is certainly an option if it
fits with your mission.
Forests are diverse places. Different species of trees and plants may
grow on slopes which face different directions. Meadows and marshes are
found near lakes. Visit the possible program areas at your camp, and inventory
the natural resources each provides. Be aware of the sights, smells, sounds,
and temperature and humidity differences in each area. How are the areas
different at different times of the day? Are there plants and trees that
were or are used by Native Americans? Does the osprey look for fish over
the lake before breakfast? Is there a place on the rocky slope where lizards
bask at midday? Do bats swoop for insects in the evening twilight? Are
animal tracks left in the mud by the stream? How might these opportunities
contribute to a camper's nature experience?
Urban camps have opportunities, too. A site with garden areas can include
worm bins for composting meal wastes and the study of insects and birds.
Pollinators like bees and butterflies are at work, lady bugs or praying
mantids are on patrol, and water features draw in birds to view. A whole
ecosystem is available for discovery!
In addition to the natural resources of the site, it is helpful to have
some equipment. Your camp may have a well-stocked nature shack full of
field guides, nets, binoculars, and hand lenses. You may have a budget
to purchase some equipment. Or you may have none of these.
Using equipment can be fun. It can also get in the way of a quality
nature experience. An example is aquatic nets. In the hands of campers
they become frog catchers. If the campers' focus at the pond session
becomes the number of frogs they can catch, it is unlikely other outcomes
will be achieved. Choose equipment that will enhance the experience, and
be clear about the rules for use before arriving at the activity site.
STEP 4 Be Intentional
About Your Program Themes and Outcomes
Nature program time should change campers, not just fill up time on
the daily schedule.
You must begin with what the campers already know or have experienced
to design a meaningful learning experience. You will need to use the information
from Step 2 to answer the question, "What are campers like today?"
Now ask yourself, "How do I want campers to be different after
they have participated in the nature program?" and "How will
I help campers have a personal experience with nature?" You will
identify specific outcomes you want your campers to achieve in your nature
program by answering these questions.
It is helpful to focus the nature program by choosing a few specific
themes. But what is a theme? A theme is not a topic. A topic is forests
or birds. A theme about forests could be, "Forests are diverse places,"
or "Birds' bodies reflect their habitat." This theme begins
the story you will tell campers. What message or moral will your story
teach about forest diversity?
Planned outcomes for a forest diversity lesson could include campers'
abilities to:
- recognize the diverse plant communities at camp;
- explain the different survival needs of some plants and animals;
and
- understand how diversity makes both the forest and human community
stronger.
STEP 5 Create Teachable
Moments
Teachable moments are generally defined as unplanned happenings that
provide a teacher the opportunity to make a personal connection between
learners and the experience. Learners are more receptive to learning because
of the experience. Teachable moments in nature foster a relationship with
nature. It is the "Oh!" you hear from chilly campers when
the osprey dives, then rises from the lake with a fish in its talons.
Use your knowledge of your campers and your inventory of the camp's
natural resources to place your campers where the action is, where teachable
moments happen.
STEP 6 Live Your
Message
The nature experience doesn't need to begin and end with the nature
program. The whole camp experience can contribute to campers developing
a relationship with nature. If the themes and outcomes of the nature program
are based on the camp's mission, these can easily be taken up in
other program areas. Arts and crafts programs can incorporate a respect
for nature in the projects and materials chosen. Recreation programs at
the waterfront can protect frogs and other wildlife from splashing canoe
paddles and thrown rocks. Horse programs can clean stalls and store manure
properly to avoid contaminating surface water. Food service and maintenance
departments can ensure that waste is minimized and recyclable materials
are recycled. Office managers can contribute to recycling too.
Nature Treasure Bottles
Developing a respect for nature requires building a relationship with
nature. This is best done outside, experiencing nature. While specialized
equipment and books can enrich program delivery it is not essential to
learning about nature. A tool I particularly like is to have campers create
Nature Treasure Bottles. These are "baby soda bottles" campers
wear on a yarn string around their necks. Baby soda bottles are 2-liter
soda bottles which have not been inflated. They resemble test tubes with
screw-on lids, but their walls are thick enough to withstand being dropped
a time or two. Campers write their names on the lid with a permanent marker.
Variously colored pony beads are added to the string each day of nature
study to indicate the sessions campers have completed. For example, they
add a blue bead after the water study activity and a green bead after
the forest activity.
During the camp program, campers collect and preserve memories of their
experiences with nature in their Nature Treasure Bottles. These may be
drawings of leaves or bark rubbings from a nature session. They may be
items found at other times such as an acorn, an empty snail shell, or
a feather. Live plant or animal materials are not to be collected. Each
Nature Treasure Bottle is a personal expression of a camper's experience.
When you see the Treasure Bottles being created and worn by your campers
you will know they have achieved the outcomes of your nature program.
Nature is the program.
Originally published in the 2005 May/June issue
of Camping Magazine. |
