Welcome to the Carmine Environmental Center or as most of our campers call it the E.C. I’m Ellie, the director, and I have a great assistant, Austin. The E.C. was built next to marshlands that border our bay in 1995, and it was named after the former property manager Terry and his wife Betty Lee Carmine. It was created so campers could learn about all the wonderful ecosystems and animals found here at Camp Arrowhead.
This year we have some super cool activities! As session 2 comes to a close, our solar oven is getting a work out as units bake cookies and zucchini bread. On Sunday, P7 even made some tasty brownies that they then enjoyed at lunch!
We are lucky to have a garden at camp. On Monday H1 came to the garden to pick cucumbers to make pickles for their lunch! Not only do we have cucumbers growing but we also have zucchini, squash, tomatoes, kale, and peppers. Units use these vegetables for their cookouts and sometimes make salsa with us at the E.C. This week P1 and P7 are using our vegetables to cook for the pioneer potluck!
As fun as cooking is, nature education is best learned outside, so we have plenty of opportunities for campers to explore. One of my favorite games is decomposer bingo. Campers walk around picking up stumps and turning over logs to find camp’s best decomposers that include earth worms, lady bugs and beetles. This week, when our taste of campers were searching for decomposers, they stopped and snacked on some blueberries. We have blueberry trees all around camp! We also have activities in the bay like seining, beach nature walks, and bay safaris that allow campers to get a closer look at the creatures living in and around the Rehoboth bay. Last week P1 took a walk out to Santa Claus to grab fiddler crabs to feed our E.C. turtles, Lewes and Dewey. They all got a little muddy but everyone had a smile, especially the turtles!
Campers can also feed, hold, and interact with our chickens, a guinea pig named Mo, the leopard gecko Sugar, and the newest addition to the E.C., our chinchilla Mocha Latte! H9 was able to spend time with Mocha and learn about her while they made fresh tea from the herb garden outside the E.C. H7 got to hang out with our chickens and try some fresh eggs for a morning snack on Thursday.
While we use our chicken eggs for farm to table nutrition, sometimes we use store bought eggs that are close to expiration for egg drops. Tuesday afternoon P5 worked to get their “most dope” egg protection devices for their egg to jump off the E.C. tower. Unfortunately, one egg saw its final drop but, at least it went out looking at a beautiful view of the marsh and the bay.
Never fear, our oldest campers, the pathfinders also visited us in the E.C. APF made some sturdy lean to survival shelters and SPF learned how to make sassafras tea by collecting sassafras saplings around camp.
We are excited for what our final week of the session has in store.
Adventure is out there!!!
Ellie (Camp Naturalist)
This year we have some super cool activities! As session 2 comes to a close, our solar oven is getting a work out as units bake cookies and zucchini bread. On Sunday, P7 even made some tasty brownies that they then enjoyed at lunch!
We are lucky to have a garden at camp. On Monday H1 came to the garden to pick cucumbers to make pickles for their lunch! Not only do we have cucumbers growing but we also have zucchini, squash, tomatoes, kale, and peppers. Units use these vegetables for their cookouts and sometimes make salsa with us at the E.C. This week P1 and P7 are using our vegetables to cook for the pioneer potluck!
As fun as cooking is, nature education is best learned outside, so we have plenty of opportunities for campers to explore. One of my favorite games is decomposer bingo. Campers walk around picking up stumps and turning over logs to find camp’s best decomposers that include earth worms, lady bugs and beetles. This week, when our taste of campers were searching for decomposers, they stopped and snacked on some blueberries. We have blueberry trees all around camp! We also have activities in the bay like seining, beach nature walks, and bay safaris that allow campers to get a closer look at the creatures living in and around the Rehoboth bay. Last week P1 took a walk out to Santa Claus to grab fiddler crabs to feed our E.C. turtles, Lewes and Dewey. They all got a little muddy but everyone had a smile, especially the turtles!
Campers can also feed, hold, and interact with our chickens, a guinea pig named Mo, the leopard gecko Sugar, and the newest addition to the E.C., our chinchilla Mocha Latte! H9 was able to spend time with Mocha and learn about her while they made fresh tea from the herb garden outside the E.C. H7 got to hang out with our chickens and try some fresh eggs for a morning snack on Thursday.
While we use our chicken eggs for farm to table nutrition, sometimes we use store bought eggs that are close to expiration for egg drops. Tuesday afternoon P5 worked to get their “most dope” egg protection devices for their egg to jump off the E.C. tower. Unfortunately, one egg saw its final drop but, at least it went out looking at a beautiful view of the marsh and the bay.
Never fear, our oldest campers, the pathfinders also visited us in the E.C. APF made some sturdy lean to survival shelters and SPF learned how to make sassafras tea by collecting sassafras saplings around camp.
We are excited for what our final week of the session has in store.
Adventure is out there!!!
Ellie (Camp Naturalist)
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