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30 July 2005, 08:58 AM
Almost ready for all the happy campers
Officials, educators getting a sense of 427-acre Adventure
11:13 PM CDT on Friday, July 29, 2005
By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News
WESTMINSTER – Construction workers apply the finishing touches to buildings and landscaping dotting the Collin County Adventure Camp near Westminster.
MELANIE BURFORD/DMN
Student cabins dot the foreground of the Collin County Adventure Camp near Westminster. The smell of lacquer on the floors fills student cabins. A manmade lake awaits water. A dining hall stands quiet, but soon the sounds of clanking utensils and the chatter of children will make the place a camp. Collin County officials expect the 427-acre facility to be completed by late fall or early winter and open its door next summer. County official Bill Burke said he projects the camp to be completed about $500,000 under its $26 million estimate.
Dr. Joe Farmer, chairman of the camp advisory board, is excited that the waiting period for the camp is almost over. "It's going to be a tremendous learning and developmental opportunity," Dr. Farmer said, "for a generation of kids for 21 different school districts at least."
The county built the camp to provide hands-on activities for students to learn about natural sciences, including astronomy, biology, botany, ecology and zoology. County school districts will primarily use the camp during the school year. Outside districts will use the camp depending on availability.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas will run the camp. The organization will schedule its own programs during the summers. During the weekends, the public can use the camp for retreats or group functions. Among the camp's features are a ropes course, an archery range, a prairie study area, a 500-seat amphitheater, a swimming pool, three lakes and learning stations. More than six miles of trails zigzag through an area that was once dense with woods.
There will also be learning stations. A wide array of plant life lines the trails, including cedar trees, prairie grass, pine trees and honeysuckle. The camp's diverse wildlife – bobcats, owls, snakes, raccoons and coyotes – will remain in place. "This is one of the assets to having this piece of property preserved," Ann McWilliams said, the camp's transition coordinator. "As Collin County builds up, we're going to find out that this is the preserve that pushes all the wildlife into this camp area."
Ms. McWilliams said coyotes use the trail system at night. She said children will see signs of the coyotes in the mornings. "Children will study the evidence of this wildlife," she said. "Whether they see it or not, they'll know the animals are in their midst."
A group of teachers and administrators from Collin County school districts developed the camp's curriculum for fifth grade because most schools send fifth- and sixth-graders to camp. Elaine Rulla, assistant superintendent of curriculum at Anna Independent School District, said fifth grade also takes the first science test on the TAKS exam. "There are a lot of experiences that they can't get in the classroom that help them understand life cycles and ecosystem cycles that they can experience in a camp," Ms. Rulla said. "Their real-life experience helps them come back and apply that in a testing situation."
Ms. McWilliams said the camp will help fifth-grade teachers relate difficult topics, such as the nitrogen cycle. She said the cycle involves decomposition processes and how nature uses gaseous nitrogen. Sometimes teachers found it tough to get the concept across, she said. "We've got lots of examples of decomposition that are naturally going on, and the area lends itself to the natural teaching cycle," Ms. McWilliams said. Students will use scientific instruments for their activities such as when they study soil. Ms. McWilliams said the students will use a soil sampler to help them study how fast water permeates through different kinds of soil.
The camp will also be a peaceful and educational place for adults. Ms. McWilliams said she has given tours to adults. "They go out there and nobody wants to leave," she said. "It's just a wonderfully tranquil place to be."
E-mail malanis@dallasnews.com
Officials, educators getting a sense of 427-acre Adventure
11:13 PM CDT on Friday, July 29, 2005
By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News
WESTMINSTER – Construction workers apply the finishing touches to buildings and landscaping dotting the Collin County Adventure Camp near Westminster.
MELANIE BURFORD/DMN
Student cabins dot the foreground of the Collin County Adventure Camp near Westminster. The smell of lacquer on the floors fills student cabins. A manmade lake awaits water. A dining hall stands quiet, but soon the sounds of clanking utensils and the chatter of children will make the place a camp. Collin County officials expect the 427-acre facility to be completed by late fall or early winter and open its door next summer. County official Bill Burke said he projects the camp to be completed about $500,000 under its $26 million estimate.
Dr. Joe Farmer, chairman of the camp advisory board, is excited that the waiting period for the camp is almost over. "It's going to be a tremendous learning and developmental opportunity," Dr. Farmer said, "for a generation of kids for 21 different school districts at least."
The county built the camp to provide hands-on activities for students to learn about natural sciences, including astronomy, biology, botany, ecology and zoology. County school districts will primarily use the camp during the school year. Outside districts will use the camp depending on availability.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas will run the camp. The organization will schedule its own programs during the summers. During the weekends, the public can use the camp for retreats or group functions. Among the camp's features are a ropes course, an archery range, a prairie study area, a 500-seat amphitheater, a swimming pool, three lakes and learning stations. More than six miles of trails zigzag through an area that was once dense with woods.
There will also be learning stations. A wide array of plant life lines the trails, including cedar trees, prairie grass, pine trees and honeysuckle. The camp's diverse wildlife – bobcats, owls, snakes, raccoons and coyotes – will remain in place. "This is one of the assets to having this piece of property preserved," Ann McWilliams said, the camp's transition coordinator. "As Collin County builds up, we're going to find out that this is the preserve that pushes all the wildlife into this camp area."
Ms. McWilliams said coyotes use the trail system at night. She said children will see signs of the coyotes in the mornings. "Children will study the evidence of this wildlife," she said. "Whether they see it or not, they'll know the animals are in their midst."
A group of teachers and administrators from Collin County school districts developed the camp's curriculum for fifth grade because most schools send fifth- and sixth-graders to camp. Elaine Rulla, assistant superintendent of curriculum at Anna Independent School District, said fifth grade also takes the first science test on the TAKS exam. "There are a lot of experiences that they can't get in the classroom that help them understand life cycles and ecosystem cycles that they can experience in a camp," Ms. Rulla said. "Their real-life experience helps them come back and apply that in a testing situation."
Ms. McWilliams said the camp will help fifth-grade teachers relate difficult topics, such as the nitrogen cycle. She said the cycle involves decomposition processes and how nature uses gaseous nitrogen. Sometimes teachers found it tough to get the concept across, she said. "We've got lots of examples of decomposition that are naturally going on, and the area lends itself to the natural teaching cycle," Ms. McWilliams said. Students will use scientific instruments for their activities such as when they study soil. Ms. McWilliams said the students will use a soil sampler to help them study how fast water permeates through different kinds of soil.
The camp will also be a peaceful and educational place for adults. Ms. McWilliams said she has given tours to adults. "They go out there and nobody wants to leave," she said. "It's just a wonderfully tranquil place to be."
E-mail malanis@dallasnews.com