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Mountain Nature Camp
RESIDENTIAL CAMP FOR AGES 16+
JUNE 15-21, 2008 and/or JUNE 22-28, 2008
TERRA ALTA, WEST VIRGINIA
Terra Alta Mountain Camp
Founded in 1929 by A.B. Brooks, Terra Alta Mountain Camp serves as a training ground for the country’s leading naturalists. Located along Terra Alta Lake in Preston County, West Virginia, its numerous habitats are home to a wide variety of wildflowers, trees, ferns, club mosses, mammals, cold-blooded vertebrates, and invertebrates. Campers awake each morning to the songs of warblers, thrushes, kinglets and vireos, and end each day at the campfire circle under a ring of ancient white oaks.
Camping Programs
Each year educators, researchers and outdoor enthusiasts gather in this pristine mountain setting to learn from expert naturalists and each other. Our residential camping programs immerse participants in a natural environment and offer field study that can’t be equaled in any classroom. Campers can attend for one week, two weeks, or participate in Natural Discovery Weekends.
Whether you are a novice or an expert, Terra Alta Mountain Camp introduces unique habitats, and celebrates learning, exploring, and protecting our natural world.
Graduate Credit Available
Teachers who attend one week of Mountain Nature Camp or three Terra Alta Weekends can earn 3 hours of graduate credit through West Virginia University. Minimal requirements and pass/fail credits available. Scholarships to help cover the cost of camp are available for teachers. Call 304.242.6855 for more information.
Prices |
ONE WEEK
$295 (nonmembers)
$260 (OI members) |
TWO WEEKS
$565 (nonmembers)
$500 (OI members) |
Camp Scholarships available. Click here to download PDF application.
Please call 304.242.6855 to request a brochure.
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Terra Alta Weekends 2008
Dates |
Programs & Descriptions |
| June 13-15 |
Herpetology Weekend
Have you ever wonder about the difference between spring lizards and real lizards? Are snakes as dangerous as most people think? Why do rattlesnakes have rattles? This weekend answers those questions and many more through hands on learning. Previous Oglebay Institute herpetology weekends resulted in the capturing, photographing, and release of more than 20 species of Appalachian reptiles and amphibians! Oglebay Institute’s Herpetology Weekend focuses on the reptiles and amphibians that call the central Appalachians home. Morning, afternoon, and night collecting trips spotlight salamanders, frogs, turtles and snakes that occur in the myriad of habitats present West Virginia’s Allegheny mountains. Specific animals we will seek out include: arboreal green salamanders, elusive timber rattlesnakes, and gigantic snapping turtles. Participants learn collecting techniques used by herpetologists as well as the fascinating natural history of these wonderful, unique creatures. The need to conserve these misunderstood animals is also discussed. Plan to get dirty, learn, and have a blast pursuing the Mountain State’s diverse reptiles and amphibians. Perfect for homeschoolers, this weekend fulfills West Virginia science standards!
Leaders: Zac Loughman, Greg Park
$95/$80 OI Members |
| July 11-13 |
Botany Weekend
The emphasis for this year’s program will be insectivorous and other wetland plants. Friday evening Bill will highlight the plants we will see and field trip sites we will visit on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend is highly recommended for those interested in improving their photo technique and acquiring photos of some of West Virginia’s most interesting plants.
Saturday’s field trip will be to Olsen Bog, a botanical treasure trove of interesting plants. Plants we will see include: pitcher plant, round-leaved sundew, creeping snowberry, golden club, quillwort (isoetes), buckbean, kidneyleaf grass of Parnassus, small green wood orchid, beard-flower, grass pink orchid, and others. Songs of winter wrens, veerys, and hermit thrushes are often heard.
Sunday morning’s field trip will be to Cranesville Swamp Nature Preserve. A window into ice ages past, 1,600 acre Cranesville Swamp is located in a "frost pocket," an area where the surrounding hills capture moisture and cold air to create a landscape more reminiscent of habitat found much further north in Canada. The most popular botanicals are the insectivorous plants, consisting of the pitcher pant, round-leaved sundew, two other introduced sundews, and horned bladderwort. Cranesville Swamp is the southern most locale for Larch (Larix laricina). Black bear and white-tailed deer are not uncommon. The rare northern water shrew is also found in the swamp. A wide variety of birds are found in and around the swamp. Of particular interest are the golden-crowned kinglet, alder flycatcher, Nashville warbler, and saw-whet owl, all nesting species.
Leaders: Bill Beatty, Ashton Berdine
$95/$80 OI Members |
| August 15-17 |
A Walk in the Woods: An Introduction to Environmental Education
This weekend is perfect for educators, college students, parents, and homeschoolers who want to learn the art of environmental education. Activities focus on incorporating history, art, and science curriculums into environmental activities. Classic environmental education curricula and Oglebay Institute’s unique environment curriculum will be instilled in educators so they can incorporate environmental lessons into everyday curriculum. Basic nature study in the classic tradition of A. B. Brooks, who taught nature study in the original mountain training school, will also be taught in the same forests he used as his classroom. Participants will engage in nature study among the same trees, ferns, and flowers that the nation’s original environmental educators learned this unique, respected, craft. Activities include watershed education and the art of the stream study, the do’s and don't's of environmental education, incorporating animals into the classroom, and solutions for addressing controversial environmental issues with students. Plan on a life-changing event.
Morning Session: Allegheny highland Freshwater Stream Ecology with field trips to Salt lick Creek, and Cheat River.
Afternoon / Evening Session: Allegheny highland Forestry with field trip to Coopers Rock State Forest and in-camp discussions of Project Wild, Mission Ground Truth, and Project Flow.
Sunday Morning: Quarter point Bird Survey with a field trip to the Maryland State Forestry Demonstration Area.
Leaders: Zac Loughman, Greg Park
$95/$80 OI Members |
| August 22-24 |
Mayhem in the Mountains
Join Greg Park, Greg Moore, & J.L. Cook for the third installment of Mayhem in the Mountains. On this leg of the Mayhem experience, you’ll find yourself atop North Fork Mountain for an all day hike along what very well may be West Virginia’s prettiest trail, an evening of music at the Purple Fiddle, and a Sunday morning excursion capturing and studying timber rattlesnakes and northern copperheads.
The physical difficulty of the weekend is moderate to strenuous. Participants should bring appropriate clothing (including footwear) for an all day hike, tent, sleeping bag, & water bottle. Remember it can get quite cold at night.
$150/$120 OI Members
Friday, August 22
5:00 - Campers Arrival. Soup and sandwich
7:00 - Drive to North Fork Mountain
9:00 - Set up camp
10:00- Campfire
Saturday, August 23
6:00 Rise & Shine, Breakfast
7:30 Hike north section of NFM trail (12 miles)
4:00 End of Hike
4:30 Drive to Davis
5:30 Supper at Sirianis
7:00 Music at the Purple Fiddle (band TBA)
11:30 Drive back to TA base camp
Sunday, August 24
7:00 Breakfast
8:30 Venomous snakes with JL Cook
11:00 Drive back to TA base camp
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Campers depart |
| September 12-14 |
Flight and Migration Weekend
This high-in-the-sky weekend includes mini trips to Dolly Sods, Canaan Valley, and the Terra Alta Mountain camp in search of animals of the air. Many of North America’s winged creatures migrate during the spring and fall, and if you chose to participate in this weekend, you will be given a first hand look at this fascinating annual aspect of our natural world. Birds, butterflies, and bats are the focal creatures of this weekend, with collecting trips planned for all of these taxa. The weekend begins along the Appalachian Front at the Dolly Sods bird banding station. You will be given the opportunity to assist bird banders mistnetting neotropical songbirds migrating back to the wintering grounds in South America! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to literally hold the warblers, grosbeaks, and other songbirds that fill our forest with song every spring! From Dolly Sods we will travel to the savannahs, fens, and pastures of Canaan Valley in search of fall butterflies and dragonflies. Plan to get wet with your nets as we track down and identify the butterflies and dragonflies that call Cannan home. Finally, in the dark of night back at Terra Alta, participants enter the nocturnal realm of bats. DNR biologists will be mistnetting the many bat species that call our camp home. You will be given the opportunity to assist them in data collection and trapping of these highflying misunderstood denizens of the night! If you’re looking for an action packed, high flying natural history experience, this is the weekend for you!
- Early Morning Session at Dolly Sods Banding Station
- Afternoon session counting migrating Monarch Butterflies
- Early evening session touring the wind turbines on Backbone Mountain
- Late evening session trapping Bats at Terra Alta
Leaders: Bill Beatty, Sue Olcott, Greg Park.
$95/$80 OI Members |
Call 304.242.6855 to register.
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