They arrived just before lunch on Tuesday and departed just after lunch on Thursday. Some of the programs they participated in included:

Forestry – The students took a look at forest succession on a hike around camp. They journeyed from a recent clear-cut all the way up to a mature stand of timber. They were able to better understand the life cycle of trees and timber harvesting.

Map & GPS – The students get to learn map reading and compass skills. Then they learn about the GPS and have to use one to find their way to different hidden cashes around camp.

Living Streams – The kids learn different words associated with streams and the different kinds of “bugs” they will find in different levels of water pollution. Then they get to get in the water and hunt some bugs. The students absolutely love this activity!

Canoing – The kids learn about Lake Martin and the history of the area. They get to learn correct canoing skills and then get out on the lake and put those newly acquired skills to work.

Step Outside and Fish – The students learn some great fishing skills and techniques in a fun and exciting program and then get to do a little fishing of their own.

Zip Tower – The kids strap into harnesses and hoist themselves up 30 feet in the air and go flying off the other side down a zip line. This is always a group favorite!!

Group Elements – These are games and puzzles intended for the group of students to work together to improve leadership skills, group dynamics and communication.

Dunn Center – The students get to explore our world class nature center and try to remember as many facts as possible. They then are split into groups to play an exciting game of Nature Jeopardy to see how much info they retained.

The students had a great time this week doing all the daytime activities as well as the ball field games, campfire, and night hike during the evening hours. We were so excited about having St. James here again this year and we look forward to their return in the future.

After speaking with a representative from the Alabama Fisheries Division my concerns about the potential long term effects on aquatic wildlife and plants due to the water going so low this past year has ebbed. The only long term effect he predicts is we’ll have to find new places to fish until the water covers the fish’s old haunts.

But for now things are starting to look up on the northern-most part of the Lake. We are still below winter pool, but hopefully the rains will continue to fall throughout the spring and we will be able to return to full pool this summer. That is something I will be truly excited to see!

That evening after registration there was a frogless frog pond. It wasn’t a great time of the year for frog calling and there was a large storm blowing in and several Tornado Warnings. Our guide said that the frogs were there, but the impending storms were keeping them quiet. Undaunted, our froggy guide led us back inside just as the rain was starting to come down and let us see photos of the LA (Lower Alabama) Frogs and played us some taped recordings of their calls. Not quite as good as the real thing, but we had lots of laughs anyway.

Friday morning we all met downstairs in our lodge to head out on our field trips. I chose to go to Turtle Point Environmental Science Center in Flomaton. We spent the morning hanging out with the staff, touring the beautiful facility, and meeting some of the resident snakes, turtles, and other wildlife that call Turtle Point their home. The facility was top notch and the staff was very helpful and best of all I got some great ideas to bring back to the Dunn Center!

That afternoon there were several learning sessions available for me to attend. Then we met our Keynote Speaker Mr. Roger Reid who is a writer, director, and producer of Discovering Alabama. After Roger was finished, we all headed over to the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center (my old stomping ground) for dinner, awards, and the live auction. Dinner was great and I took home a beautiful wildlife quilt from the auction.

Saturday was the final day of the conference. After breakfast, the rest of the learning sessions were held, lunch, and then I headed home. It was a great meeting this year jam-packed with a ton of great ideas. If you are an environmental educator or a science teacher you need to be a member of this organization. And the meetings are great and not to be missed!

We have certainly seen the effects of the drought here at Easter Seals Camp ASCCA and Lake Martin. With the lake level currently over 15 feet below full pool and 5 feet below minimum winter pool, our floating dock has pretty much been rendered unusable.

Although the end of the dock still has about 4 feet of water, the steepness of the ramp is a bit unsafe. Our boat ramp, which is normally usable all winter, is completely in the dry.

Our summer and fall programs continued full blast, but we did have to make special accommodations. The canoeing program moved to the other side of camp with deeper water and the tubing/ski programs had to carry wheelchair users out to the edge of the water to access the tube and boat.

We are also concerned about the levels of our 2 on site streams and the fish pond. Both streams had been reduced to almost no flow but recent rains have now produced a small trickle. This is very important since we will start offering environmental camps in the spring and utilize the streams for our Living Streams program.

The pond is down but has survived remarkably well and groups continue to use it. The long term effects of the drought remain to be seen.

There are many environmental concerns such as the types of vegetation growing in the lake bed, effect on muscles (many whom have perished in the dry lake bed) and the food chain, and water quality. Just encouraged by reports that Alabama Power has received permission to allow more water having adequate amounts of water for towns and cities is also a concern.

We have been than normal to accumulate over the winter, but we’ll need some good rains to achieve that goal. It is mere speculation when things will return to normal.

We also wanted to locate the center in a beautiful natural setting on the shores of Lake Martin whereby we could emphasize the variety of trees and plant life that attract wildlife indigenous to our area.

On both counts I believe we have greatly exceeded expectations!

One area of great pride is our bird and butterfly viewing area, located directly below the Dunn Center and bordering the lake. It is accessible to our visitors through the large viewing windows of the Dunn Center as well as along the deck on both sides of the center.

This separate project was made possible by a donation from Judge and Mrs. Olivia Byrd or Daphne and the Master Gardeners of Alexander City, who helped design and plant the bushes, shrubs, and flowers that attract our flying friends.

Another unique feature of the birding area is two bird houses with built-in cameras that allow viewers on the inside of the Dunn Center to see birds build their nests, lay and hatch eggs, and feed their young. So far campers and students have been able to follow the progress of bluebirds and Carolina chickadees.

The garden area with water pool has also been very successful attracting a variety of butterflies and birds, including the ruby throated hummingbird and eastern bluebird you see in the pictures.

The Dunn Center is open for viewing and use by all our summer campers and by appointment for outside groups or individuals. Environmental Science Camps are also available for school groups this fall and spring.

Did you know that Camp ASCCA is in Facebook? If you are too, please go on over and “Friend” Camp ASCCA and join the Camp ASCCA Facebook group, too.

This event was sponsored, in part, by the Tallapoosa Watershed Project.

Since Radney has started participating in environmental programs, both at camp and through the local Extension Service, administrators report an increase in Science SAT scores. They believe this directly correlates to the outside programs and relating it to the students Course of Study.

Each student that came was able to do water testing on the lake, including use of an Aquascope to assist in determining water clarity. Students learned about birds indigenous to our area and were able to build blue bird houses as well. Tree identification, learning about the hydrologic water cycle and earth layers related to water, were also part of the program. Everyone learned about our land, water, and sky at the Dunn Environmental Center and learned team building dynamics at the pavilion.

We look forward to having top Science Scholar Bowl students back in August and hope to have a program to serve all 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in the 2007-2008 school year.

Did you know that Camp ASCCA is in Facebook? If you are too, please go on over and “Friend” Camp ASCCA. This way you may keep up with what we’re doing all the time. Join the Camp ASCCA Facebook group, too.

…The Tallapoosa County Water Festival was a huge success…

The students had a great time as they split into 4 groups and began their schedule of activities. The objective of the day was for the children to receive some “hands on” education related to water and its importance to all life. One activity, Edible Aquifers, utilized ice cream, ice, sprite, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup to simulate our soil levels and how water travels and is purified. Needless to say, it was a popular activity! This activity went hand in hand with the material the instructors covered on the hydro-logic cycle.

Students also took a nature hike along camp’s raised boardwalk that runs adjacent to the shoreline of Lake Martin. As they walked and enjoyed the scenery they were also learning about wetlands. Water testing on the lake, via pontoon boat, and programs in the Oscar C. Dunn Environmental Center completed a comprehensive day of learning and fun.

Did you know that Camp ASCCA is in Facebook? If you are too, please go on over and “Friend” Camp ASCCA. This way you may keep up with what we’re doing all the time. Join the Camp ASCCA Facebook group, too.

…Camp ASCCA was pleased to host Council Middle School’s 5th grade class…

Activities included the award winning Project Learning Tree, which is a program developed by the American Forest Foundation, and hands on learning at our Dunn Environmental Center. The student campers were also able to get out on the waters of Lake Martin and learn about water testing. They tested water clarity, ph levels, temperature, and dissolved oxygen levels. Lastly, all students were able to try their hand climbing the cargo net, one of camp’s high adventure activities.

Everyone had a super time and learned a great deal about our environment and issues related to the environment. When the grant is completed in October we hope to have served all 5th grade students in Tallapoosa County.

Did you know that Camp ASCCA is in Facebook? If you are too, please go on over and “Friend” Camp ASCCA. This way you may keep up with what we’re doing all the time. Join the Camp ASCCA Facebook group, too.