summer conservation camp at andrews farm

Cameron County Conservation District (CCCD) and CCOYA hosted an all-day Summer Conservation Camp at the Andrews Farm on July 31. This was a CO-ED event for young people ages 8-12. The day started out with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) doing an electrofishing survey of the Salt Run stream that goes through the Andrews Farm property. This was a great opportunity to see the many species of fish that call this stream home. WPC also took the time to talk about water quality and how one can determine the health of a stream by identifying the fish and macro-invertebrate’s that live in it. Using plastic bottles students also did a craft making a rain gauge that they could take home. CCOYA taught them how to identify owls that live in our area using owl mounts borrowed from Sizerville State Park. During this program, they dissected owl pellets to determine what food source the owls were using. Utilizing archery equipment borrowed from Sinnemahoning State Park, all participates practiced their archery skills. Many of the students were shooting archery for the first time. Taking a lesson plan from Archery Trade Association and PA Game Commission’s Explore Bow Hunting curriculum, the youth learned about deer anatomy. Using common household materials such as cooked oatmeal packed and rolled up in clear food wrap for intestines, baggies filled with red Jell-O representing lungs, balloons filled with water representing the bladder, etc. - the students learned about the various vital organs. The organs were then placed in boxes layered in a way that would represent a live deer. Once their box was completed, they added a bullseye to the outside of the box and continued to practice their archery skills. After the shot they examined the organs inside the box to determine if their shot hit a vital organ.