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Bay
Mania
Ages 11-13
New for 2008, Bay Mania is an Earth Camp program for ages 11-13,
which will take you on an adventure of exploration in Narragansett
Bay. The week is spent exploring
coastal ecosystems and marine habitats. Rhode Island's
pristine Prudence Island in the heart of Narragansett Bay will provide the backdrop for
much of your week. This camp theme is offered in conjunction
with the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, which means that
in addition to your counselors and junior counselors from Alton
Jones Camp, you will meet staff from the NBNERR who will share their
knowledge and enthusiasm about the bay and let us use their facilities. This program offers a chance to learn more
about Narragansett Bay while making new friends and having fun.
Sunday and Monday are spent at the W. Alton Jones Campus.
Your Bay Mania group will consist of a maximum of 10 campers, 2
Alton Jones counselors or a counselor and a junior counselor. You will
sleep in cabins with some campers who are in your group and some
who are in other themes, which will allow you to get to know kids
from outside your Bay Mania group. You will eat your meals in the dining
hall except for lunch Tuesday through lunch Thursday. Sunday is devoted to meeting
and getting to know your cabin-mates and fellow Bay Mania campers,
junior counselors, and counselors. Sunday
night also includes an “all camp” campfire so you will
meet and see all of the other campers and counselors who are in Earth Camp for the
week.
Monday will focus on freshwater as a basis for comparison to
the marine ecosystems that you will learn about. Swim tests occur
at Lake Eisenhower in the morning, so be ready to get wet! Monday
afternoon is spent exploring freshwater ponds and streams on the
W. Alton Jones Campus. You will find various critters in the wetlands
and learn more about how they survive. Monday night involves an
all-camp activity and snack before heading to the cabins for a good
night's sleep.
On Tuesday morning you will pack your van, have breakfast, then head
out to meet the ferry. The ferry waits for no one, so it will
be important to leave on time. The ferry leaves Bristol and
arrives in the small old-fashioned island village of Homestead where
you will begin your Prudence Island adventure. From Homestead
you will drive to the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve at the south end of the island and move into your sleeping
cabin. After move-in, lunch, and an orientation you will head
off for snorkeling. The rest of the week involves exploring
the coastal ecosystems of Prudence Island.
While you are on Prudence Island a staff member from NBNERR will
join your group during the daytime. Other activities planned
for Prudence Island include a salt marsh walk, help with an oyster
project, sandy beach activities, a tidal creek study, a crab
monitoring program, a sunset walk, ecology games, and
swimming. A full compliment of rainy day activities have been
planned just in case the weather doesn't fully cooperate.
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings will be spent at the Reserve's modern
sleeping cabin which includes bedrooms with bunk beds, a living
room, a kitchen, and bathrooms. Your counselors will prepare simple
dinners and breakfasts in the cabin's kitchen, while pack-out
lunches will be eaten outdoors at the study sites.

Thursday is time to pack up, clean
up, and say goodbye to Prudence Island as you board the ferry back
to the mainland. But there is still one more adventure in
store on your exploration of Narragansett Bay. You will head
off to meet the folks of Save the Bay to go on a cruise. This
hands-on cruise aboard the oceanographic study vessel Alletta
Morris will give you the opportunity to conduct fish studies,
pull a trawl, test water quality and enjoy some time on the
bay. After the cruise you'll head back to Alton Jones for
dinner and an all-camp evening program before heading off to your
cabin to sleep.
Friday is spent putting the whole week together
with reviews and wrap-ups plus closing activities. After lunch, there is some time to spend with friends new and
old before the family program begins. Sign out and goodbyes follow as the week comes to an end.
A Special Note About Ticks: Like many coastal areas,
the forests of Prudence Island have a high concentration of disease
carrying ticks. While on the island, every effort will be made
to avoid tick habitat. These forest-dwelling ticks do not
typically live in the areas we will be visiting, which include salt
marshes, sandy beaches, tidal creeks, and open lawns and
meadows. Tick checks are a regular part of Alton Jones
programs and campers will be reminded to conduct periodic
checks. Treating shoes (and other clothing) with permethrin
products such as Buzz Off before the camp program starts can also
help prevent tick bites. An information sheet on ticks and
tick borne illnesses will be provided with your registration
packet. Please contact the W. Alton Jones Campus if you have
questions.
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