Camp Old Indian

Ecology/Conservation

The Ecology/Conservation department at Camp Old Indian teaches scouts how to identify local and nonlocal plants and animals.  Scouts are taught differences between edible and non-edible species of plants along with which ones are poisonous. 

The Nature Lodge is the main area for the Ecology merit badges.  The nature lodge houses live and preserved animals.  The scouts may be allowed to hold the animals, but that is up to their ecology instructor.  All of the live animals that are housed in the Nature Lodge are caught and released from and into the area of the camp.  Ecology instructors are very knowledgeable in their areas of study which range from Insects to Trees to Rockets and also reptiles and amphibians. 

The merit badges are always called out in the meadow (the second main teaching area for ecology badges) and then based on what the instructor has in mind may go to the nature lodge or another appropriate area for teaching. 

Scouts should bring at least $15 for the Space Exploration merit badge and a notebook along with pens and pencils for every merit badge that they take (this may not be listed in the leader’s guide). 

Part of the Ecology department’s schedule is to help the scoutmaster’s plan out and/or choose a conservation project for their campsite.  There is a list for every campsite in the camp that has multiple options for scouts to choose from in the Nature Lodge.  The Nature Lodge director will be in charge of giving and assigning those to troops that are in search of a project. 

There are many plants and animals at Camp Old Indian some are (, but are not limited to) black bear, whitetail deer, wild pig, bobcat, many different species of bird and insects, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, blue gill, snapping turtle, box turtle, poison ivy, mountain laurel, rhododendron, white oak, black oak, white pine, Virginia pine and many more.