The gang at Soetwater. Photo by Kristi Jooste

Camp Report: 13-15 September 2019, Soetwater Enviro Centre.

The weekend camp for the CBC Youth Bird Club was a big success! 30 primary school learners joined; 20 from Floreat Primary and 10 from Steenberg Primary. The kids were split into 6 groups of 5 learners, mixed from the two schools. The groups worked well together!

The schedule was full but with gaps in between for downtime to enjoy the venue. All weekend the kids could take photos in their groups to enter in various categories which were to be judged on Sunday morning.

After arrival on the Friday afternoon the kids went on a coastal walk for some bird watching. Highlights for the kids were the African Black Oystercatchers and Speckled Pigeons. This was followed by a creative session run by Ceinwen Smith using clay provided by Glenda Samuels. Each child was given a large lump of clay with which to make a bird. Each group could come up with a mascot as well. After some initial hesitation all the kids really got involved! Some opted to work on one sculpture per group while others each did their own bird. Some worked on nests, others on single birds. It was great to see them each engage with their own concept of what a bird is!

In the evening the kids were treated to a snake show by local snake catcher, Tim. He brought along several venomous snakes which caused a sensation among the kids – the kids also had a chance to hold an albino Burmese python, stretched across about six learners.

Saturday started with off with a beach walk after breakfast. The walk combined a beach clean-up, bird watching and rock pool investigations. Some of the kids were treated to a stunning sighting of a Cape Clawless Otter.

After the walk Tiffany Fox, a Nature Conservation student came to give the kids a talk on microplastics and show them how to sample for microplastics in the sand. Mark, from Zandvlei Nature Reserve, came to do a treasure hunt with the kids along the seashore. This was a big success!

The rest of the afternoon the kids were able to enjoy some down-time swimming in the tidal pool and playing soccer among the daisies. Late afternoon a few kids were keen for some more tidal pool exploring.

After supper we watched Zambezia, which most of the kids really loved.

One more early morning beach exploration was fitted in on Sunday. After breakfast and clean-up, we all watched a slide-show of the weekend photos. This was followed by a prize-giving session for the photographic competition. The feedback from the kids was positive, with all the various activities coming up as ‘favourite’.

Sanjo Rose

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