Welcome back to Day 3 of Red Planet Survival Camp! Campers learned about safe exploration, working together and navigating difficult situations.
Campers successfully navigated their way to their food source, Garden Kitchen! During their morning visit, Pepper Groups made Gluten-Free Pancakes topped with strawberries and Tollgate Maple Syrup. This recipe was sent home at pick-up. When they returned in the afternoon, they made Tzatziki Sauce and dipped pita bread in it. Many campers commented on the fact that they usually have sweet yogurts. Miss Emma showed them that it can be used in savory recipes as well. We’re always making connections to what we already know about food and the new things we get to try.
Gluten Free Pancakes
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup rice milk
- 1 large banana
- Dash of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions: Blend ingredients in blender. Heat griddle to 325℉ (medium high). Pour ¼ cup onto griddle, flip when halfway cooked (bubbles should form on the surface). Serve with fruit and Tollgate maple syrup!
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 large cucumber, seeded and shredded
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Peel and shred a cucumber. Squeeze extra moisture from the shredded cucumber using paper towel or cheesecloth. In a medium sized bowl, combine cucumber, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly to combine and add water as needed. Serve with pita bread.
As we continue to explore planet Mars, we’re trying to learn skills to help us find and provide our own food. Fishing is one of the ways campers can do this. Although we’re not cooking up the fish that we catch in the Tollgate pond, it’s still fun to practice! We’re so fortunate to have our Stewards and SITs helping campers hook their worms and use their fishing rods. The work they do to keep campers safe is very appreciated!
While fish were difficult to come by today, the Green Peppers were catching an abundance of “allergies”! This is what they were calling the algae and seaweed that is currently lining quite a bit of the pond. This didn’t stop them from delighting in their fishing experience.
The Red Planet is offering many challenges for our campers! One of which being the Survival Maze. Orange and Red Peppers quickly found that their success in the maze was dependent on their communication and cooperation skills. Campers were sent on a grid one at a time and had to work out a pattern created by their EduLeader that would take them from start to finish. If they made a misstep on the grid, they had to return to the starting point and give the next camper a chance to try. Campers realized that they could learn from one another’s mistakes and those observing could give tips and guidance to their fellow explorer in the maze.
Peppers put their creativity and engineering skills to work as the developed different models for robot arms. They were tasked with using upcycled materials along with a few craft items to create robot parts. Campers brainstormed and communicated their design plans so that they were able to bring their ideas together.
Today’s Leave No Trace Lesson encouraged campers to think about our waste and where it ends up. It’s unfortunate that litter is found on the ground but Green Peppers worked on combatting this by designing clean-up collection bags to pick up trash!
The final survival skill we worked on today was Fire Building. This skill is extremely important as it aids in warmth for our bodies as well as our ability to cook food (like the fish we caught earlier!). Campers practiced several fire starting methods such as the use of matches, steel wool and battery, and flint and steel sparkers. Campers took time to try out different combinations and arrangements of their materials to find what worked best.
