Two summers ago Camp Tecumseh planted a large area of native prairie grass and flowers. The prairie was doing well enough that Camp decide to do a burn. With Turkey, Kilimanjaro, and Llama standing by with buckets of water, the prairie burned just as planned.

What is the camp prairie used for?

A small section was left for one more year to allow for it to thicken a little more and to give the schools coming in the next couple of weeks a place to do the ‘Meadow Safari’ (part of the Discovering Nature program). Before it was settled, most of Indiana was forest. The Northwest corner of the state was the only area that prairies could be found covering large areas. Camp is also using this new prairie during ‘The Meadow’ trail in Earthship Journey and is also a great backdrop for parts of the Pioneer Heritage program. Another area in the Lake Village pioneer settlement has recently been designated for a second native prairie.

Why Burn???

Managing prairies with prescribed burns has many benefits. Unburned prairies leave a mantle of dead and decaying vegetation. This stifles the growth of the prairie plants and deprives plants of space and light. The burn also helps release the nutrients in the dead vegetation so it can be used by the new growth. The blackened soil heats up fast by absorbing solar energy, thus stimulating speedy seed germination, sprouting and growth. Burning also helps in controlling shrubs that are invading into the prairie. Without burning, many of the prairies would eventually turn into forests.

Prairies are an important part of the ecosystem. Prairies have an abundance of plants, insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles, many of these found only in prairies. The grasses and forbs also provide seed and nectar for insects, butterflies, birds, and small mammals. But to get these benefits, fire must occur to restore the prairie. (http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/articles/prescribed.htm)

Wandering Albatross (Biggest bird on record)

Tom and Keith from the Outdoor Education staff have been hard at work this winter working on several projects, one of which is a new display for the Nature Center. The display shows silhouettes of several birds found in Indiana as well as the biggest and smallest birds on record. Each silhouette is placed at the perfect height for children and adults to stretch out their wings to compare them to the bird that would have a similar span. Next time you are at camp, check it out next to the bird viewing window.

Keith comparing himself to the Bald Eagle

Bee Hummingbird (Smallest bird on record)

In the past few weeks, 21 of the full time staff have gone through American Red Cross CPR and AED training. All of them passed with flying colors. Staff representing Outdoor Education, Retreats, Housekeeping, Summer Programs, Equestrian, Office, and Maintenance all came together for the training. A recent grant has also allowed us to expand our number of AED’s to include one at the lake, pool, and equestrian center for the summer time.

You may see some new stickers adorning the doors around camp.