Summer camp at the Audubon Center at
Francis Beidler Forest is rapidly approaching! This year's theme is HERPS, which includes
reptiles and
amphibians. The three one-week (9am-2pm) sessions are filling quickly, so call (843-462-2150) now to reserve a spot for your child. The cost is $85 and the enrollment form can be found
here.
The tentative camp schedule can be viewed
here.
June 7-11
June 21-25
July 19-23
Even if you will not be sending a child to camp, you can help by donating some of your trash. Campers will each need two 2-Liter, green soda bottles and not everyone will arrive at camp with those items. We also need old or damaged pieces of plywood. We won't simply talk about reptiles and amphibians, we will be looking for them from the boardwalk and we will be looking for them under plywood cover boards.
As the name implies, small reptiles and amphibians will seek cover under a piece of plywood set out in the forest and along the edge of the swamp. Cover boards will be placed in low, wet areas and higher, dry areas near the edge of the swamp and farther up in the pine/mixed-hardwood forest. Although adults will be checking under the boards and collecting any specimens, the campers will be able to get up close looks at the various species once the reptiles or amphibians are placed in an observation container. Campers will keep track of what we find and where we find the herps, so that they can compare and contrast the number of individuals and species found at the various sites.
If you can help us by providing green, 2-Liter soda bottles or scraps of plywood, please give us a call!
Images by Mark Musselman
