The Indian Point Young Naturalist Club: May 2012

New and Improved Registration

Hello Everyone,

As some of you may have noticed when we uploaded our poster to this site, we are now offering a third camp for younger kids (aged 5-12) from August 13-17, 2012! To that effect, here is the updated registration information with this new camp included on it. If you would like to register for our camps, please contact us, and we will send you a copy of the information below.

The Indian Point Young Naturalist Club’s 2012 Registration Sheet and Waiver

Parent or guardian: please fill in registration and waiver and send with registration fee.

1. Name and age of Camper(s): ____________________________________________

2. I am signing him/her /them up for:

   Camp 1, July 9th to 13th   Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 3 PM
Cost: $295.00 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $531.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $796.50 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers

   Camp 1, July 9th to 13th Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 5 P.M
Cost: $340 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $612.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $918.00 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers
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   Camp 2, July 23rd to 27th   Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 3 PM
Cost: $295.00 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $531.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $796.50 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers

   Camp 2, July 23rd to 27th Days/Times: Mon. to Fri. 9 AM to 5 P.M
Cost: $340 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $612.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $918.00 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers
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   Camp 3, August 27th to 31st   Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 3 PM; Fri. 7 PM to 10 AM Sat*
Costs: $295 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $612.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $918.00 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers

   Camp 3, August 27th to 31st Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 5 PM; Fri. 7 PM to 10 AM Sat*
Cost: $340 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $612.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $918.00 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers
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   Bonus Camp, August 13th to 17st   Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 3 PM
Costs: $295 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $612.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $918.00 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers

   Camp 3, August 27th to 31st   Days/Times: Mon. to Fri., 9 AM to 5 PM
Cost: $340 for 1 Camper
*10% family discount  $612.00 for 2 Camps or 2 Campers  $918.00 for 3 Camps or 3 Campers

*received when two or more children from the immediate family attend one camp or one child attends more than one camp

Note: A Camp Photo DVD and Video DVD are included in ALL registration fees
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The Indian Point Young Naturalist Club’s 2012 Registration and Waiver

3. Name of parent or guardian: _______________________________

4. Phone number(s) that above parent or guardian can be reached at during the camps:
_________________________________________________________

5. Medical conditions (including allergies) that we should be aware of:
_________________________________________________________

6. Campers will be near and in the water for most of the duration of the Camp. Therefore, it is very important that we know the swimming ability of each camper. Please check the camper’s level of swimming ability below:

   Not a swimmer       -    They sink like a rock and have not floated or swam.
   Weak swimmer       -    They struggle and are nervous about swimming in general.
   Average swimmer   -    They swim and are generally comfortable in the water.
   Strong swimmer      -    They believe they are a sea turtle and are excellent at swimming.

7. Parent or guardian: please sign both copies, keep one, and return the other with the Registration fee.

I, (please print) ___________________ RELEASE, The Indian Point Young Naturalist Club and its owner, Scott William Pelton, and his employees from all suits, claims and demands whatsoever and give Permission for photographs of my child taken during the camp to be used in promotional material. This release excludes any and all instances where there has been demonstrated negligence on the part of The Indian Point Naturalist Club and its employees and the owner, Scott Pelton.

Dated this ____ day of ______, 2012

Sign here: ______________________________   Print name here: _________________________

Cut along the line - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Send copy below with registration fee below- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I, (please print) ___________________ RELEASE, The Indian Point Young Naturalist Club and its owner, Scott William Pelton, and his employees from all suits, claims and demands whatsoever and give Permission for photographs of him/her taken during the camp to be used in promotional material. This release excludes any and all instances where there has been demonstrated negligence on the part of The Indian Point Naturalist Club and its employees and the owner, Scott Pelton.

Dated this ____ day of ______, 2012

Sign here: ______________________________   Print name here: _________________________

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Thanks everyone, we look forward to seeing you all at camp!

Peace, Love, and Jellies,
-The IPYNC Staff

Guest Experts

Hey Everyone!

The IPYNC is very excited to announce two of our visiting guest exerts for this summer's camp program: Damien Lidgard and Stephanie Boudreau!

Since 1993 Damian has worked with several marine mammal species, both as a research assistant and through postgraduate studies. His main interest is in the behavioural ecology of pinnipeds. He has examined the development of mother-pup behaviour in the harbour seal in Scotland, the effects of human disturbance on grey seals in England and the population status of grey seals in southern and eastern Ireland. He has also been involved with behavioural studies examining fostering in the grey seal, nutritional status of the Steller sea lion in Alaska and the success of releasing captive manatees into the wild in Florida.In 2003 Damian completed his Ph.D at the Université de La Rochelle, France. His study focused on the intraspecific variation in male mating behaviour in the grey seal on Sable Island, NS. Several different field methods, such as energetics, diving and VHF telemetry and paternity analysis, were used to relate characteristics of the male with behavioural traits and success. During his post-doctorate research, he extended this work to examine the movement of males between breeding colonies in Scotland using satellite telemetry. He has also continued his work on Sable Island grey seals through the examination of longitudinal changes in male behaviour and success, and the role of stress on mating behaviour. He is currently a research associate at Dalhousie University collaborating with Sara Iverson and Don Bowen on the predation of grey seals on large cod. In 2007 and 2008 he was the technical assistant for the summer course 'Field Methods of Marine Mammals'.

(http://seaside.science.dal.ca/Damian_Lidgard.php)

The goal of Stephanie's Doctoral research is to assess the causes of long-term changes in American lobster (Homarus americanus) and snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) populations in the northwest (NW) Atlantic. Through analyses of available time series including commercial landings, research surveys, catch per unit effort, and local ecological knowledge, she isexploring a reported ecosystem shift in the NW Atlantic. This shift entails a region-wide decline of groundfish resources and an increase in benthic invertebrates, including large, commercially valuable decapods. She is examining multiple hypotheses relating to the causes of this shift, including changes in temperature and predation.

(http://wormlab.biology.dal.ca/person.php?pid=47&height=400&width=720)

We look forward to working with Damien and Stephanie this year!

Peace, Love, and Jellies

-The IPYNC Staff

Activities

Hello Everybody,

We just wanted to let you guys know a little more information about the kinds of activities you can expect to be doing if you sign up as a camper at the IPYNC summer camps this year!

First of all, for the younger kids in our first three camps, we are looking forward to creating beachcomber boxes, crazy original Tie Dye T-Shirts, and garden stepping stone crafts! We will also be exploring the basics of snorkelling and decorating our own underwater scopes. :)

For the older kids in our fourth and final camp, we're super excited to be building and launching mini rockets and learning about echolocation and building bat locators for our Creatures of the Night tour on a Friday evening overnight island adventure! We will also be undertaking a full-scale snorkelling expedition with our older campers.

Both age groups can look forward to using an underwater camera, learning about the basics of nature journalling, discovering new worlds with our digital microscope, and getting up close and personal with the Sun through a special filtered lense on our heavy-duty telescope.

Stay tuned for more information about the exciting happeningd during our 2012 summer camps. So, get excited and sign up!

Peace, Love, and Jellies
-The IPYNC Staff

Upcoming May Events

Hello Everyone!

The IPYNC Staff are super excited to announce two upcoming events this weekend. We invite you to come out and meet the staff in person, see some ocean critters in our touch tank, and get some more information about the camps.

The first event is The Hubbard's Market, located at the Hubbards Barn and Community Park. We will running a stand there this Saturday, May 26th, from 8am to noon, so come check it out!

The second event is the May Fair, located at the Jerry Lawrence Park, Lewis Lake, from noon to 4pm on Sunday, May 27th. Again, we invite you to come out and see us our ocean creature friends and learn a little more about the camps.

We look forward to seeing you!

Peace, Love and Jellies
-The IPYNC Staff

Welcome :)

Hello eveyone!

The Staff of the Indian Point Young Naturalist Club are very pleased to announce some new members of the IPYNC team today, and they are all looking forward to meeting you this summer. :)

First, we are thrilled to welcome our newest member of the core staff, taking on a counsellor position:

Jaclyn Inkpen!

Some of you may remember Jaclyn from the 2011 camps, when she spent a couple of days with us substituting for Mandai. She has just completed her first year in marine biology at Dalhousie University while working as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at the Dartmouth Sportsplex. Jaclyn is a trained diver and has spent many fun-filled summers at her grandparents’ place next to the I.P.Y.N.C. She is great with kids and will bring her enthusiasm and knowledge of the Bay to the camps this summer. We are very lucky to have her with us for this year's camps. Welcome to the team, Jaclyn!

We would also like to announce this year's junior camp counsellors. These talented and wonderful people will be helping out at the first three camps!

Camp 1 (July 9 to 13, 2012): Sophie Williams and Alex Mahtab

Alex and Sophie with 2011 camper Kyra

Camp 2 (July 23 to 27): Jake Kenney and Luke Andrews

Luke and Jake, goofing off as usual :)

Camp 3 (August 13 to 17, 2012): Alex MacDonald and Mitchel Law

Alex at the Big Dock, 2011

Mitchell protecting campers in 2011!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more exciting news about the 2012 summer camps!

Peace, Love and Jellies