We are finished with summer camp for this year, but we had a great time! All of the activities gave the campers a chance to investigate the maritime heritage and culture of St Augustine. Over the 6 weeks, campers identified a host of marine animals and plants on walks to Salt Run and through the marine hammock including hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, oysters, clams, periwinkles, a flounder, a yellow tail tuna, dolphins, turtles, gulls, heron, mangroves, red bay trees, beauty berries, poison oak…and even a live whelk without its shell! They hauled sail aboard the schooner Freedom and cruised comfortably aboard the Victory III where they got to see the coast from a different perspective. During “Shrimping and Fishing” they tried their luck fishing with cane poles and learned the basics of sailing. During “Marine Ecology” they studied plants and animals found in our coastal environment and did a beach clean up in an effort to help preserve the fragile habitats. During “Historic Foodways” they learned to understand what it was like to travel across the ocean, arrive in a new place, look for food and adapt our customary tastes. They visited the exhibits in the keeper’s house and climbed the lighthouse more than once.
A great way to communicate the great times and great discoveries that everyone had was to write about it. And the campers did just that – they wrote in their journals and even wrote songs about their adventures. For details of each week and to see the songs that they wrote see the Education blog./blog/man_of_science/education/