Tuesday Afternoon: A Colorful Feast Many children think that nature is just for nerds. What we need is a “hook” to catch them and reel them in. Two great hooks are wild foods and natural dyes. On this afternoon we do both, collecting plants to eat and collecting plants to dye wool that can then be used for weaving or other nature crafts. These can also be powerful tools to introduce children to where their food and clothing come from. For wild foods, we try to show our participants sure-fire and safe plants to use. We also try to show them how to deliver a message about how hard the Native Americans had to work to keep themselves fed. These activities could be combined with gardening or raising animals (which is done at some camps). This year, at the clinic, we had deep-fried black locust flowers, milkweed shoots, and unopened flowers (yes, you can eat milkweed if you change the water frequently while cooking it), wintergreen tea, yellow wood-sorrel, and Indian cucumber root (these last two are trailside nibbles). Wednesday Afternoon: All Together in the Field This is the “capstone” of the first half (the natural history half) of the clinic. We spend the entire afternoon walking the trail around Quincy Bog in Rumney, New Hampshire. The bog is formed by beavers. Their dams and lodges are clearly visible, as is their recent (the night before?) work. It is a fantastic ecosystem, and the trail moves up and down through hardwood forest and bog. There are even rock outcrops. It is a perfect summation of all we have done before; a chance to review what we’ve seen; a chance to discuss some of the teaching techniques that we have been demonstrating. Wednesday Evening and Thursday: Putting It Together, Getting Ready, Trying It Out Wednesday evening marks the start of the teaching part of the clinic. We introduce the participants to the concept of a lesson plan, explain why it is needed, and do a simple exercise that shows how one is written and executed. The next day (Thursday), we break the participants into four groups and ask them to plan a new lesson. The “rules” are that it must last fifty minutes; it must deal with a natural subject; it must be taught mostly outdoors; and it has to stand alone (i.e., not be part of a multiday continued on page 30 Camping Magazine 2014 Staff Training Issue THE PERFECT STAFF ORIENTATION RESOURCE Camping Magazine’s popular May/June issue has brand new staff training content from the experts. You can have the best staff trainers at your camp! • Scott Arizala • Kim Aycock • Jennifer Bender • Greg Cronin • Bob Ditter • Joel Haber • Joy James • Stephen Maguire • Gwynn Powell • Chris Thurber • Stephen Wallace • and more! Available at a low bulk rate. Order a copy for each member of your staff! Don’t miss out! This special issue sold out last year, so order early! www.ACAcamps.org/ campmag/mayjune Estimated time of shipment: April 17, 2014 Order by March 31, 2014 to guarantee your order. QuESTIOnS? Call 800.428.2267 or 765.342.8456, ext. 506 $1 per copy in multiples of 10. (This price does not include shipping and handling.) 10 copies — $10 20 copies — $20 30 copies — $30 40 copies — $40 50 copies — $50
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