From July 6-10, NMWC hosted our second summer camp of the year. This camp was sponsored and hosted by Owl Peak Farm in La Madera, NM. We had another fantastic group of local kids, and we learned a lot of science during the week.
A local farm is a fantastic place to hold a summer camp, and it provides ample opportunities to study plants and what they need to grow.
We even got to help out on the farm a little!
Owl Peak Farm sits on the Tusas River, which gave us ample opportunity to discuss the ins and outs of riparian ecosystems, the importance of benthic macroinvertebrates, and the effects of beaver.
Of course, not all of New Mexico is wetland, so we had to explore a nearby arroyo.
In this arroyo, we talked about geology. We noticed that some of the rocks looked like animals, so we took a few back to the farm and embellished them.
On hot afternoons, we got to swim in the pool below El Ojito hot springs- it was a real treat!
We practice tying knots on several days. One morning we hiked up behind the farm and discussed emergency shelters. This was particularly fun because it involved very little participation from the adults. Campers had to figure it out using their new knots!
Everybody did a great job, and we enjoyed lunch in our little shelters.
The entire experience was incredibly fun for everybody involved. On the last day, we reviewed everything we discussed, and the campers remembered all of the science that we learned over the week.
We had a fantastic time, and we’re very grateful to Owl Peak Farm for supporting and hosting this camp!