Day 4 of Survival Camp: complete! We had another action-packed day and beautiful weather here at the farm!
We did all of the animal chores again this morning. The Orange Peppers milked Isabella, one of our Toggenburg goats. She’s a little bit feisty, but she behaved pretty well for the campers and they all got to try their hand at milking. She gave us close to a gallon of milk!
Orange Peppers milk Isabella.
Isabella appreciated the extra attention.
All of the campers got to spend time out on the water today. We went canoeing in the farm’s pond, and campers had to use their teamwork skills to navigate. No one tipped their canoe over, and very few got wet. By the end of their paddling session, our campers were professionals! A teen Steward or Steward-in-Training was assigned to each canoe to help troubleshoot.
We took a hike in the woods and looked for animals that show good survival skills. When we stop to think about it, animals are playing a huge game of hide and seek to try to stay alive. We took cues from animals like foxes and owls and tried mimicking their behavior. We talked about what we learned and how we felt while pretending to be different forest animals. Ask your camper about their experience during the Fox and Owl Hike.
The Orange and Red Peppers built solar stills today. This is a simple setup that purifies and collects water that it is safe to drink. First, campers dug a hole in the ground that was a specified dimension. Next, they placed a container inside the hole and covered it with a sheet of plastic. Moisture condensed on the underside of the plastic and is clean and safe to drink. We placed rocks around the edges of the plastic to hold it down and added a small stone in the middle. The center rock was meant to encourage the condensation on the plastic to roll to the center and drop into the container below. It was pretty slick!
Orange Peppers with their solar still.
During our time in the garden, the Green and Yellow Peppers talked about seed saving and the importance of keeping good seeds for the next year’s planting. Campers used a long piece of toilet paper and a little bit of glue to make a seed tape. These strips can be lightly watered and then planted once the seeds sprout.
Yellow Peppers line up their seeds.
Yellow Peppers making seed tapes.
The Green and Yellow Peppers got to take their turn at archery this afternoon, and they did a great job! The bows are very heavy, but they stuck with it and quite a few hit the target. We’re very proud of their patience and for following directions. Safety is a huge concern when we do activities like archery, and they were wonderfully cooperative.
During Garden Kitchen today, we made fruit smoothies and fruit pizza! The pizza crust recipe didn’t fit on the recipe card, so you can find that below at the end of this post.
A Red Pepper lays out the cookie crust for their fruit pizza.
A Green Pepper stirs their pizza crust.
Red Peppers figuring out how to make their fruit pizza crust.
Measuring ingredients.
Teamwork makes the dream work!
We continued building our shelters and improving on our designs. The campers have made awesome progress throughout the week, and we couldn’t be more proud of their creativity!
Green Peppers experiment with tarp shelters.
We invite campers to wear their tie-dye T-shirt to camp tomorrow. We will be performing skits at the end of the day as well, and parents are welcome to come watch. We will begin our closing ceremony and skits around 3:00pm.
Fruit Pizza
Ingredients
For cookie crust:
- 1 large egg white
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oatmeal
- Cooking spray
For topping:
- 3 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 (6 oz) container nonfat vanilla yogurt
- Fruit for topping the pizza
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F
- Use a medium mixing bowl to beat egg white until foamy. Add oil and sugar. Beat until smooth
- Use a small bowl to stir together the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add to sugar mixture. Stir in oatmeal.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread the dough in a 9-inch circle.
- Bake about 12 minutes. Crust will begin to puff but does not look done. Remove from oven and let cool about 20 minutes. The crust continues to cook while cooling.
- Use a small bowl to stir together the cream cheese and yogurt until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.
- Transfer the crust to a serving plate. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust. Arrange fruit on top.
- Cut into wedges and serve, or refrigerate up to 2 hours, covered and uncut.