Ecology Day Camp participants Eli Solinger (left) and Elsie Buskes come up empty-handed while trying to capture a dragonfly near one of the UM Field Station's research ponds. UM photo by Nathan Latil.
… Children have fun learning about nature at Ecology Day Camps
OXFORD, Miss. – Catching dragonflies, learning about water conservation and enjoying nature’s wonders are all part of what area children experience at Ecology Day Camp.
The camps are an educational and fun annual activity hosted by the University of Mississippi Field Station and the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality in June and July. Five camp sessions, broken into two age groups, are offered each summer. About 100 children, ranging from second- to seventh-graders, participate in the camp.Campers are exposed to various aspects of biology and environmental science through hands-on interaction and lectures provided from local resources. Past camps have included such activities and topics as bug collection and identification, water quality, tree identification, fire ants and spiders and various arts and crafts activities. The children are frequently outdoors, gaining knowledge on a variety of subjects.
“The Ecology Day Camp, held each summer at the UM Field Station, is an event we look forward to because it reaffirms our belief that learning is fun,” said Ray Highsmith, Field Station director. “All you have to do is watch and listen to the kids to see that they ‘get it.'”
During the first of this summer’s sessions, campers took butterfly nets and empty boxes to one of the Field Station’s ponds to catch dragonflies and other bugs. They received instructions not to use their nets up and down to catch the bugs, but instead, as they would a tennis racket.
“I caught two dragonflies,” said Eli Solinger, excitedly.
Fellow camper Elsie Buskes was intrigued by his find. “I’ll trade you a butterfly for a dragonfly,” she told him.
Mike Wallace, a third-grade science teacher at Oxford Elementary School and Ecology Day Camp director, designed the program for participants to spend as much time as possible outdoors, learning about a variety of subjects.
Student Elsie Andre was fearless in her attempts to catch dragonflies.
“It’s hard to catch dragonflies,” Andre said. “I caught one, but then it got away.”
Oxford fourth-grader Caden Noonan tries to track down an elusive dragonfly. UM photo by Nathan Latil.
“Catching bugs is my favorite part,” said Emily Bond.
Wallace keeps things interesting for the students and has different field trips throughout the week and a cookout with parents on Thursday evenings.
“At this age, it’s important to get them out here away from the video games,” he said. “They learn to watch where they put their feet, and how to respect nature.”
That lesson is especially important when snakes are about.
When Wallace asked the students, “What do you do when you see a snake?” they all answered at the same time, “Take two steps back and find an adult.”
One of the field trips was to Woodson Ridge Farms, which provides produce for families and restaurants in the area.
“They learned about drip irrigation, how to keep water clean and how to conserve water,” Wallace said.
The varied habitats of the Field Station provide an ideal setting for students to experience nature. Only 11 miles from Oxford in the Bay Springs area of Lafayette County, the station is a preserve of more than 700 acres where participants can “mingle” with the natural world.
Its mission is to foster ecosystem stewardship by providing a natural laboratory and infrastructure for research, education and service, and by cultivating scientific information and understanding of upland watersheds in the lower Mississippi River Basin and similar habitats.
For more information on the Field Station and its educational and research programs, go to http://baysprings.olemiss.edu.