ECO Camp Training at BTWNM a Success

Each year in July nature training is offered at Booker T. Washington National Monument (BTWNM) for our kids age ranges from 7 though 12.  It is sponsored by BTWNM, the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists and the Smith Mountain Lake Association.  This year we expanded ECO Camp training to 4 Saturdays in July.

Our first training session was conducted last Saturday, July 8^th and was very successful.  About 25 knowledge hungry kids showed up and were treated to 2 topics.  The first concerned stream critters.  Connie Hylton and Dick LeRoy who are long time SOS (Save Our Streams) volunteers showed the kids how to catch and categorize stream critters, AKA macro-invertebrates.  They enjoyed getting into the stream on a hot day to catch the critters.

The second training session was about soil erosion.  Kathy Scott, President of the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists came well prepared with various plants and some soil.  She explained what soil is and where it came from and why it is important to keep it in place.  She also demonstrated how soil erodes from running water and how plant can mitigate the erosion with their root systems.

There were 3 more ECO Camps this July as you will see in the above posts.

July 15^th – A disappearing act: Camouflage & Stealth and Hidden Life of Birds – Become a Bird Detective

July 22^nd – Water Cycle and Life of Seeds

July 29^th – Monarchs & Their Migration and Decomposers

Capturing stream critters

Learning about soil and soil erosion from Kathy Scott