ARCHBOLD BIOLOGICAL STATION’S 2017 Ecology Summer … · Art Projects Volunteers from the Lake...
Transcript of ARCHBOLD BIOLOGICAL STATION’S 2017 Ecology Summer … · Art Projects Volunteers from the Lake...
ARCHBOLD BIOLOGICAL STATION’S
2017 Ecology Summer Camp ReportProduced by the Education Department
Updated 8/10/2017
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
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2017 Summer Camp Report
This report presents an overview of the 2017 Ecology Summer Camp at Archbold Biological
Station. The intention is for readers to gain a sense of how our 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 knowing how environmental education
is implemented at a biological field station. This report is intended to show the variety of camp
activities, as well as how different types of activities are intermixed throughout the camp.
Appendices, which include registration lists, volunteer hours, and the camp schedules of
activities are available from the Education Department for appropriate Archbold staff, but is not
made available to the public.
Photographs were taken by Archbold’s Education Coordinator Dustin Angell and the
Environmental Education Summer Intern Claudette Conigliaro.
Ecology Summer Camp
This season marked our 25th year running the Archbold Ecology Summer Camp. Our ninety-five
campers, aged 7-12, learned about local ecology, visited habitats at the Station and Ranch, and
met Archbold researchers. The Education Coordinator, Dustin Angell, along with an
undergraduate intern and 36 volunteers, ran five week-long day camps for the public, with an
addition two custom two-day camps for the families of Costa Farms employees. Each year the
camp is organized around a theme. Recent themes include: “Moths” 2009, “Finding Your Way”
2010, “Birds” 2011, “Mini Beasties” 2012, “Animal Senses” 2013, “Animal Defenses” 2014,
“Prescribed Fire” 2015, “Birds” 2016, and now “Citizen Science” in 2017.
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 mission of Archbold
is to build and share the scientific knowledge needed to protect the life, lands, and waters of the
heart of Florida and beyond. For more information, please visit our website at www.archbold-
station.org.
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Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
Content Page
Microscopes 44-46
Live Snake Time 47-50
Catching Antlions 51-52
Bioblitz/iNaturalist 53-55
Seasonal Pond Exploration 56-59
Ranch Buggy Tour 60-63
Family Science Night 64
Games 65-66
Avian Ecology Program Visit 67-69
Plant & Restoration Ecology
Programs Visit
70-72
Invertebrate Ecology Visit 73-75
Lake Annie 76-79
Morning Talks 80
Letter Writing 81
Camp Shirts 82
New Features and Surveys 83-93
Table of Contents
Content Page
Cover 1
Report Overview 2
Table of Contents 3
Camp Flyer 4
Education Coordinator 5-7
Camp Intern 8-11
Interns 12
Volunteers 13-14
Team Leaders 15-18
Campers 19-23
Sponsorships 24
Costa Farms 25
Camp Teams 26
Art Activity 27-29
Movie Time 30
Exploring Nature 31-34
The UnNature Trail 35-36
Guba the Gopher Tortoise 37
Science Notebooks 38-39
Bark Beetle Traps 40-43
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Camp flyer
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Education Coordinator – Dustin AngellThis was Dustin’s fifth time running Archbold’s Ecology Summer Camp. Dustin
organized and led the summer camp. His responsibilities included: promotion,
registration, overseeing an internship, volunteer training, program design,
collaborating with research programs, purchasing supplies, transportation, first aid,
t-shirt design, and photography.
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Summer Camp Intern – Claudette ConigliaroAssisting the Education Coordinator in running camp was Claudette Conigliaro,
the 2017 Environmental Education Summer Intern. Claudette, a student at SUNY
Cobleskill, a state university in New York, would begin her senior year in the fall as
a major in Wildlife Management. As part of her internship, Claudette also created
evaluation questions for the campers, a survey for the team leaders, and delivered
a seminar for Archbold staff.
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Research Staff & InternsOne of the most important aspects of summer camp was the involvement of
Archbold’s research programs. Research interns and some research staff visited
our campers with presentations, lab tours, and science games. Each participating
research program, with light guidance from the Education Coordinator, developed
their own activities. Campers were also able to interview the scientists about
college and science careers.
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Camp Volunteers and Art VolunteersAdult volunteers were an essential part of our summer camp. Our volunteers
helped with most aspects of camp, especially helping with camper safety,
transportation, and camp morale. For the sixth year in a row, we welcomed
volunteers from the Lake Placid Art League to help with Wednesday art activities.
This summer our 8 art volunteers and 6 adult camp volunteers donated a total of
381 hours toward camp.
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Team LeadersTeenagers, looking for leadership and volunteer experience, each donated a week
of their summer vacations to become Archbold’s Team Leaders. These teens acted
as positive role models for campers and helped lead camper teams during
activities. Team Leaders arrived early each day to greet campers and set up
activities, and stayed late to help clean up. This summer we had 22 Team Leaders
with a total of 868 teen volunteer hours. Together, adult and teen
volunteers contributed 1,249 hours toward camp.
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CampersThis summer we ran six camp sessions; five week-long day camps for the public
and two two-day private camp for Costa Farms. Overall, we had 95 campers and a
total of 406 user camper user days. Session sizes ranged from 11-18 campers.
2017 Camper Stats Actual Percent
Campers 95 100%
Sponsorships 29 31%
Male 58 61%
Female 37 39%
Returnees 54 57%
Recurring Returnees 32 34%
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Session 2 (10-12 year olds)
Session 1 (7-9 year olds)
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Session 4 (10-12 year olds)
Session 3 (7-9 year olds)
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Session 6: Costa (7-12 year olds)
Session 5 (10-12 year olds)
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Session 7: Costa (7-12 year olds)
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Sponsorships & DonationsEach 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 offered sponsorships to all who applied. We sponsored 29 campers (6
general public/23 Costa campers). In past years, sponsored campers have gone on
to become camp’s future Team Leaders, science majors in college, and even
Archbold interns.
Thank you!
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Costa Farms (formerly Delray Plants)This summer Archbold partnered for the third year with a local business to create a
camp for the children of their workers. When we started this custom program in
2015, it represented a new model for our programming, which we have since tried
to institutionalize. Costa Farms is a local nursery employing almost 300 Hispanic
workers. Their staff helped us recruit campers from among the families of their
workers. They even translated parent letters and liability forms into Spanish. This
camp is different from out public camps in several ways. 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 Costa Farms, we were
able to provide this program at no cost to the families. The Education Department
hopes to continue this partnership next summer.
Screenshot from costafarms.com
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Camp Teams and Ice BreakersOn the first day of each camp session, the kids were grouped into self-selected
teams of 3-5 campers. Each team chose their own team name and had a Team
Leader to help them. Campers also played ice breaker games. This year our ice
breakers included The Wind Blows Over and The Skittles Game.
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Art ProjectsVolunteers from the Lake Placid Art League visited sessions 1-5 to assist the
Education Coordinator in running an hour long art project. This summer the
campers worked in groups to create mixed-media collages based on the work of
Everglades photographer Mac Stone. Dustin got the idea from a SEEA conference.
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Video Time The Florida summer heat and humidity can be hard on staff, volunteers, and
campers. We tried to schedule most of our outdoor activities during the cooler
mornings, and utilized shade and air conditioning in the afternoons. The last part
of the day was sometimes spent relaxing and watching videos. This summer we
watched the films Moana and Zootopia.
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Exploring Nature Exploring Archbold’s nature trails was an important part of camp. While all camp
activities are structured, campers were 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 stop for interesting animal and plant
sightings.
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The UnNature TrailThe UnNature Trail scavenger hunt is an Archbold camp tradition. 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 UnNature Trail was used on the first day of camp to
introduce the campers to the Florida scrub habitat and motivate them to practice
observation skills. Top winners could choose a prize from our prize containers.
Campers were excited about the choice of edible crickets as one of the prizes.
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Guba the Gopher TortoiseGuba the Gopher Tortoise was used to encourage the campers’ observation skills.
On certain days the stuffed animal puppet was hidden along our path and campers
tried to find him as we hiked. Some campers were very motivated to find Guba
and others just wanted to carry him around with them for the week. One camper
liked Guba so much last year, that he found the same puppet online and ordered it.
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Science NotebooksEach 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, while others weren’t as interested. At the end of the session,
campers could bring their notebooks home.
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Bark Beetle TrapsCampers participated in a beetle trapping activity as part of a citizen science
project from the University of Florida called Backyard Bark Beetles. In order to
catch bark and ambrosia beetles to help UF map species distribution, campers
setup simple traps made out of 2-liter bottles, string, and hand sanitizer. The
project’s website provided instructions and a PowerPoint presentation to show the
campers. This was a popular activity with the campers. All the campers caught
beetles and were able to look at them with microscopes.
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MicroscopesAfter campers collected insects from their bark beetle traps, they were able to use
dissecting microscopes to observe them. With volunteer and staff supervision,
campers were able to learn how to use the microscope as well as attempt to
identify and differentiate the different kinds of insects they caught.
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Meeting a Live SnakeThe Education Department’s live snakes have long been summer camp favorites.
While meeting and handling Poser, a Florida Pine Snake, 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.
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Catching AntlionsEach team caught antlion larvae to keep for the week in 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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BioBlitz/iNaturalistiNaturalist is a mobile app, online platform, and citizen science project where users
can share nature observations. Campers used the app to add observations to a
project setup by Dustin, called “Archbold Camp Bioblitz 2017.” Campers, volunteers,
and camp staff used Education Department tablets as well as personal mobile
devices to add to the project throughout the summer. When the bioblitz ended,
campers had made a total of 194 observations in which 62 species were identified.
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Seasonal Pond ExplorationArchbold Biological Station has over 350 seasonal ponds. Campers learned about
seasonal ponds from a Bill Nye video and then hiked to one of Archbold’s ponds.
Campers explored the pond using plastic containers and their hands, and were
able to catch tadpoles, spiders, fish, and insect larvae. Some of their finds were
brought back to the Learning Center for observing during the rest of the session.
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Ranch Buggy TourEvery Thursday, our campers were treated to a 3 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.
This summer, campers were able to help pull up fish traps set in ditches and observe
previously caught fish in an aquarium back up by the office. Unfortunately, we were
caught in two rainstorms and had our buggy break down during two sessions.
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Family Science NightEvery Thursday evening the campers and their families were invited to an evening
program. The program included a photo slideshow and, depending on weather,
either a night hike or Archbold trivia game. Usually, thunder storms keep us from
doing night hikes during some of the sessions, but this summer we were able to do
night hikes during all five public sessions. The Costa Camp schedule does not have
a Family Science Night.
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
Image source: NASA
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Just For Fun GamesSometimes 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
or cool off from the summer heat. The campers loved the games and asked to play
them every day. This summer we played Nest Robbers, The Tail Game, and Bird on a
Perch.
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Avian Ecology Research Program VisitInterns from the Avian Ecology Research Program visited the campers and taught
them about Florida Scrub-Jay acorn caching, foraging, and cooperation. Campers
played a foraging game where they competed as family groups to collect food for
themselves and a nestling. During the second round they had to forage with a
sentinel on watch, while an intern pretended to be a predator. The campers also
practiced their memory in a caching game involving hiding Starburst candies under
plastic cups. After the games, the campers asked the interns questions and
discussed what they had just learned.
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Plant & Restoration Ecology Research Program VisitInterns from the Plant and Restoration Ecology Research Programs visited the
campers at the Learning Center to teach them about xylem, phloem and
photosynthesis. Campers played team games where they competed in passing
water (ping-pong balls) from their roots, through their xylem, and to their leaves. In
another round they brought sugar from the leaves, down through the phloem, and
to the roots. After the game, campers were able to discuss the activity and ask the
interns personal questions about their careers.
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Invertebrate Ecology Research Program VisitInterns and staff from the Invertebrate Ecology Research Program gave campers a
look at Archbold’s insect collection and organized a pollination ecology relay race.
During some sessions, campers even met Dr. Mark Deyrup. After seeing the
collection, campers played a pollination game where they were the honey bees,
running around to fill up their hives. The relay race, which involved water balloons,
was a big hit with the campers.
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Lake AnnieFriday 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 hands and strainers, and taking
group photos were all part of the lake excursion.
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Morning TalksEach morning, camp started with 15-30 minutes of introductions for the day.
Claudette led campers in a discussion of the previous days activities, while Dustin
prepared them for what to expect that day, sometimes with a video. It was also
during this time that Claudette asked the campers survey questions.
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Letter WritingOn the last day of camp, we reviewed the week’s activities and then the campers
wrote letters to themselves. This activity offered campers some quiet time to
reflect on what they learned, enjoyed, and wanted to remember.
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Camp ShirtsEach 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 shirts and wear different ones throughout the
week. This summer, the shirts featured a Florida Panther drawn by Education
Coordinator Dustin Angell.
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New Camp Features and SurveysThis summer was notable for adding some new features to camp and improving
our camp evaluation methods. These new features included: signing up for Highland
County’s free summer lunch program, using electronic tablets and mobile apps,
participating in two citizen science projects, and partnering with the Florida Youth
Conservation Centers Network. Evaluation shifted from pre and post camp
surveys, which focused on content knowledge, attitude, and behavior, to a mix of
other methods. These methods included: asking the campers daily questions about
activity participation and pre-camp science exposure, surveying the teenage
volunteers to learn about their perspective on camp, and analyzing the camp
schedule to measure time spent on metrics like being indoors/outdoors,
active/inactive, or exposure to Archbold researchers.
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New Features
Food Program: This was our first time participating in the free summer meal program
offered by the Highlands County School District. For Archbold to become eligible,
Dustin attended training from the District and was responsible for making sure the
Station met the program’s requirements. Dustin picked up the meals every morning
from Fred Wild Elementary and handled all related paperwork. The District supplied
camp with lunch and an afternoon snack every day. The meals met with mixed reviews
from the campers, but were overall received unfavorably. Only about half the campers
ate the school meals, which created a lot of food waste, as it was required that extra
meals were disposed of. As the season progressed, Dustin became better at predicting
how many meals to order, but there was still waste. The Department will consider
whether to participate again next year.
Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network: The Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission runs a free resource lending program for nature centers
called the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network (FYCCN). Archbold joined in
order to borrow supplies for summer camp. The Southwest Regional Contact, Jake
RitzRoy worked with Dustin to find the appropriate resources. During camp we used
FYCCN’s pond field guides and gave away fish posters and animal bookmarks. Dustin
learned about FYCCN from a LEEF conference.
Costa Farms: The Costa Farms camp is not a new feature, in that it is a continuation
of our partnership started with Delray Farms in 2013, but it is a new relationship. When
Costa Farms purchased Delray Farms earlier in the year, we weren’t certain that the
camp would continue. Archbold wanted to institutionalize the program into our yearly
schedule, and though we had steady funding and two successful summers, we weren’t
sure what the new ownership would mean. Fortunately, Costa Farms decided to
continue with the camp, contribute to its funding, and work to improve attendance. With
their support, we served 23 children during two camp sessions, a significant increase
over the 13 campers and one session from the previous year.
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New Features
Citizen Science and Mobile Apps
Backyard Bark Beetle Project (http://backyardbarkbeetles.org/): Campers
participated in a beetle trapping activity as part of a citizen science project from the
University of Florida called Backyard Bark Beetles. In order to catch bark and ambrosia
beetles to help UF map species distribution, campers setup simple traps made out of 2-
liter bottles, string, and hand sanitizer. The project’s website provided instructions and a
PowerPoint presentation to show the campers. This was a popular activity with the
campers. All the campers caught beetles and were able to look at them with
microscopes. This activity also tied into the zylem and phloem activity run by research
interns from the Plant Ecology Program. Dustin learned about the beetle project from a
LEEF conference.
iNaturalist: iNaturalist is a mobile app and online platform where users can share
nature observations. It is a citizen science project similar to ebird. The website has
several major features, including user-generated field guides, projects, and distribution
maps. Users also help each other identify the species they are observing. Campers used
the app to add observations to a project setup by Dustin, called “Archbold Camp
Bioblitz 2017.” Campers, volunteers, and camp staff used Education Department tablets
as well as personal mobile devices to add to the project throughout the summer. Though
volunteers and staff were sometimes operating the devices, the campers were expected
to direct them as to what to photograph. When the bioblitz ended, campers had made a
total of 194 observations of which 62 species were identified.
Merlin: Merlin is a mobile app for bird identification from the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology. Merlin was installed on the Archbold tablets and used at the Ranch during
the campers’ buggy tour. The app was popular among the campers, who enjoyed looking
up the birds we were seeing and listening to their calls and songs. The campers obviously
preferred the Merlin app to the traditional field guides we’ve used during previous camp
seasons.
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Citizen Science and Mobile Apps
Tablets and Mobile Apps: The proper role of technology in environmental and
outdoor education, specifically the use of mobile devices, is an open debate among
educators. Archbold is interested in better integrating technology into our outreach
programs and in following national educational trends like including aspects of
gamification and supporting students as content creators. We considered the possibilities
that the technology could become a barrier to authentic nature experiences and a
distraction from camp. We also recognized the potential for parents to feel pressure
about needing to have mobile devices for their children and for campers to be
embarrassed or jealous if they didn’t have their own. To address these issues, we were
considerate in how we discussed technology and how we used the apps. We purchased
four electronic tables for the campers and allowed campers, volunteers, and staff to use
their own devices. Throughout the camp season, the staff tried different ways of
introducing and running the app activities, responding to the needs of the campers and
what methods were working.
Based on experience from this first year using mobile devices, we recommend only using
Station owned tablets in future years. Here is some additional feedback and
recommendations for future use:
Problems with using personal devices:
• Too distracting. Some campers tried to play games with them.
• Less oversight by staff, so campers mistakenly used iNaturalist incorrectly.
• Noncompliance with rules for minors. iNaturalist requires users to be adults or use
an adult’s user profile. At least one camper made her own username, before being
corrected by Dustin.
• Varying expectations about sharing personal property. Campers didn’t seem jealous
or upset about other campers having personal devices, but they expected to use
them.
• Confusion due to operating system. Campers had slightly different versions of the
iNaturalist app depending on whether they had Apple or android devices.
Advantage of using Tablets
• Standard operating system on all devices.
• Archbold owns the devices, so there is no potential for personal property damage
• All the campers can have a turn using them.
• Durable and brightly colored easy to find cases can be used.
• Easy for staff to monitor and update.
• Larger screen makes apps easier to use.
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Citizen Science and Mobile Apps
iNaturalist Application
• Worked best when tablets were handed out before camp started, instead of waiting
for the specific iNaturalist activity.
• Similar to collection jars and terrariums, tablets could be another resource campers
can have access to throughout the camp.
• iNaturalist requires supervision for misuse and mistakes.
• Campers loved using the app, but weren’t very interested in the bioblitz aspect.
• If used again, perhaps the bioblitz should be left out, or responsibility for adding
observations to project should be with camp staff after camp hours.
• Bioblitz would maybe work better if done as a competition.
• Tablets should be permanently labeled to keep better track of them during camp.
• To prevent unequal time with the tablets, campers should be encouraged to pass the
tablet after making two iNaturalist observations
• An iNaturalist practice session should be added to the camp volunteer training
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Camper Surveys
Camper Surveys: For the first time, we tried integrating evaluation questions into the
daily camp schedule. Instead of a pre and post survey asking questions about knowledge
content, attitude, and behavior, we focused on experience. The questions were designed
to either give feedback on activities or to get an idea of what the campers’ previous
involvements with science and nature had been. With this information, we could gauge
how their participation in camp added to their experience. It is important to note that,
due to our high percentage of returning campers (57%), they students already came with
more exposure to science than most children in Florida.
Camper Experience Before Camp At Camp Difference
Met an avian ecologist 85% 100% +15%
Met a plant ecologist 75% 100% +25%
Met an entomologist 85% 100% +15%
Touched a snake 95% 95% =
Held a snake 92% 88% -4%
Been in a seasonal pond 80% 91% +2%
Been to a cattle ranch 80% 100% +20%
Heard about citizen science 9% 100% +91%
Participated in a citizen science
project
3% 100% +97%
Used a dissecting microscope 50% 100% +50%
Used the iNaturalist app 0% 89% +89%
Caught an antlion NA 89% NA
Saw an antlion up close NA 100% NA
Percent of campers who found at
least 5/10 items on the UnNature
Trail
NA 98% NA
Data for analysis came from 59 campers who participated surveys. While sitting in groups,
campers answered questions posed by Claudette by raising their hands.
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Team Leader Surveys
Team Leader Surveys: This summer we surveyed our teenage volunteers, called Team
Leaders, to learn their thoughts on topics like volunteer training, their biggest challenges,
and their feelings on the activities. To survey them, we emailed an optional and
anonymous online survey. Of 22 teen volunteers, only 11 responded, but their answers
provided a new perspective on how camp is designed and run.
Team Leader Statements %
Were campers before becoming volunteers 64%
Wasn’t their first time volunteering at camp 55%
Would volunteer again 100%
Came to volunteer training 55%
Agree iNaturalist should be used next year 82%
Agree that campers should not be allowed to use their personal electronic
devices
73%
Considering a career in STEM 73%
Agree training should be in person instead of online* 82%
*When asked about the optimal length of training time, the average time was 1 ¾ hours.
Other Responses from Team Leaders
Teens favored:
• Socializing and meeting new people
• Seasonal pond
Teens learned the most about science from:
• Meeting and talking with the scientists
Teens most important lesson learned at camp:
• Patience
• Other Notable Responses
• Nature shouldn’t be interfered with
• Be helpful
• All kids are different with different levels of attention
• Being able to act as a role model
According to the teens, campers seemed to favor:
• Lake Annie
• Seasonal Pond
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
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Teens most challenging part of being a Team Leader:
• Classroom Management
• Some other notable answers
• Some kids just would not mix with each other yet they would always
hang around one another and cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
• The most challenging part of being a Team Leader was being actively
involved in any games or activities while still watching over the kids.
Teens advice to future Team Leaders:
• Lead by example (2 responses)
• Make it as fun and as laid back for the campers as possible, and let kids do what they
want until it becomes unsafe
• Don’t act childish in front of the kids
• Sunscreen
• Treat the campers as friends and Mr. Dustin is always available for advice
• Bring a towel to the seasonal pond
• Be prepared and be nice
• Be excited about activities the kids do and get involved with them, because they look
up to you and will often mirror your reactions to things
• It’s ok to have fun, you just need to make sure you are still doing your job as a
counselor
• Be patient
Teens advice on what they would change about camp:
• Aside from two respondents that said they wouldn’t change anything, the other
responses were all different and didn’t fall into any categories.
• Some notable answers:
• Have some more interesting things on Monday.
• Spend more time outside.
• Make camp two weeks per session.
• Change the food at mealtime.
Teens rated their own performance as Team Leaders. They ranked themselves highest in
their demonstration of respect for camp staff and support for Archbold’s mission. They
ranked themselves lowest in their demonstration of interest in camp and science.
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
Camp Schedule Analytics
Time Spent Indoors and Outdoors: Perhaps the most important part of camp is
fostering authentic outdoor experiences. Due to heat, humidity, rain, and lightning, it
would be unsafe for our campers to be outside all the time, but we were able to spend
over half our time outside. Partly this was due to the Learning Center’s Prairie Porch,
an outdoor space with shade and a roof. Our campers spend almost 14 hours each
session outdoors, much longer than during their average school weeks.
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
Indoors
43%Outdoors
57%
Percent of Time Spent Indoors and Outdoors
13.75 Hours Indoors
18.25 Hours Outdoors
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Camp Schedule Analytics
Time Spent Active and Inactive: Physical movement is beneficial for children’s health
and ability to learn. Our campers spent almost 14 hours a session being active, much
longer than during their average school week.
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
13.75 Hours Active
18.25 Hours Inactive
Active
43%
Inactive
57%
Percent of Time Spent Active and Inactive
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Camp Schedule Analytics
Activities: Once categorized, the camp’s activities reveal the general pattern of how
the program is designed. The largest amount of time is spent exploring nature through
hikes, science activities, and meeting a live snake. The other large block of time is spent
at meals, including two snacks and a lunch.
Archbold Biological Station Ecology Summer Camp 2017
32%
16%12%
8%
9%
8%
7%
5% 3%
Percent of Time Spent in Different Activity Types
Exploring Nature Meals
Presentation Meeting Scientists
Other Swimming
Cooldown Games
Art
Activity TypeTotal
Minutes% of Total
Time
Exploring Nature 615 32%
Meals 315 16%
Presentation 225 12%
Meeting Scientist 165 9%
Other 165 9%
Swimming 150 8%
Cooldown 135 7%
Games 90 5%
Art 60 3%
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123 Main Drive
Venus, FL 33960
(863)465-2571
www.archbold-station.org
www.facebook.com/ArchboldBiologicalStation
www.facebook.com/scrubedu
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