Outdoor Adventure Camp: Week 2, Day 4

Today was Conservation Day at camp so we learned how to help and preserve nature!

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Each group made a turtle island for the turtles to sun themselves on in the pond.They used books to find out what kind of environment turtles like, what they eat, and where they live. They used water bottles to make the wood float and experimented with the placement to see what made it float the best. One group saw a big turtle in the pond and researched it to see how much an average turtle can weigh. They found out that the turtles can weigh up to 86 pounds!

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Today while the Green Earth group was in the arboretum they found a HUGE crayfish! They put it in a terrarium to look at it later in the day. Ms. Megan took them to the activity center to research crayfish on the iPad. They found out that crayfish eat plant life, vegetables, small fish, and other small pond life. Crayfish can live for 20 to 30 years and they are an adult at 4 years. Crayfish swim backward through the water because they use their abdomen to swim. Having crayfish in a body of water is a good sign because they clean the water and are a sign of a healthy pond!

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In garden kitchen, we made corn pancakes. We ground our own corn to see how cornmeal was made. While we were talking about cornmeal and pancakes, we talked about different types of flour. The most common type of flour is wheat but you can also use rice, quinoa, or even almonds!

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During our casting practice, we identified parts of the fishing pole like the reel and the bobber. We talked about how you will see the bobber move when you have a fish and when to reel it in to make sure you catch the fish. Each person got the chance to cast off the top of the hill to prepare to cast into the pond for tomorrow.

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Our most exciting activity of the day was archery! The kids learned all about safety and how to use the bows before they went to shoot. It was two whistle blasts to walk to the line, one whistle blast to shoot, three whistle blasts to retrieve arrows, and 4 or more quick blasts to signal an emergency and stop shooting. Everyone hit a target today! Great job everyone! Make sure to check next week for all the photos from camp on our Facebook page!

Garden Kitchen Recipe

Corn Pancakes

  • 2 cups finely ground Wapsie Valley corn
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. cornstarch

  • 2 tsp. baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 cups milk

  • 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla extract

  • 1/4 cup canola oil

  • 2 eggs, separated

  • 1 1/2 Tbs. sugar

  • Melted unsalted butter for brushing griddle

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the ground corn, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, canola oil and egg yolks. While whisking, slowly add the ground corn mixture, whisking well to prevent lumps from forming. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.

Put the egg whites in a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes more. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half of the whites into the batter until just incorporated, then fold in the remaining whites until incorporated.

Preheat a griddle or a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. When the griddle is hot, brush with butter.

 Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Keep warm until all the pancakes are cooked. Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the griddle with more butter as needed. Makes about twelve 5-inch pancakes.

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One Response to Outdoor Adventure Camp: Week 2, Day 4

  1. Jasmin says:

    Thank you for giving my kids an amazing week outdoor! They loved each day of Outdoor Adventure Camp. They learned so much from just a week. We will definitely come back again. Again, thank you!

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