Quick Facts:

• Troop will depart from American Heritage @ 6:00pm (via bus) and return on Sunday May 20th approx. noon time.
• Scoutmaster in Charge is Mr. Victor Pitts for this campout
• The signup deadline and money due is May 8th.
• Cost is. $25.00/ Scout
• This camp is a fabulous camp to learn about Florida nature and wildlife
• Theme: Wilderness Survival - Older Scouts, New Scouts: working toward 1st class requirements
  • Tenderfoot Req: 1, 2, 3 (patrol must cook their own meal), 5
  • Second Class Req: 1a, 1b, 2b, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g (patrol must cook one meal over an open fire), 4 (doing a 2 hour service project for the park), 5
  • First Class Req: 1, 2, 4a (patrol must plan menu for three meals at campout), 4b(patrol must purchase food), 4c, 4d, 4e, 6
  • Star & Life Req: 4 partial (doing a 2 hour service project at park)
  • Possible Merit Badges Activities well suited for this campground:
    • Wilderness Survival
    • Nature
    • Forestry
    • Camping
    • Backpacking (the 2 mile hike part of it)
    • see Mr. Pitts for MB signup in advance of trip!
• Optional : Backpacking
• Service Project: Earn Service Hours - we will be participating in the "Million Plant March" on Saturday from 9:00am - 11:30am. We will remove none-native Forida plants from the flatwoods area of the park
• Bring standard gear for campouts, a compass, plus a pair of work gloves

About Highland Hammock State Park:

Directions
Highlands Hammock State Park is located on S.R. 634, four miles west of Sebring.

History
This 8,140-acre park opened to the public in 1931 and is one of the earliest examples of grass-roots public support for environmental preservation. Local citizens, concerned about plans to turn the hammock into farmland, acquired the property and pledged to protect it. When Florida's state park system was established in 1935, Highlands Hammock became one of four original state parks, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a camp there as a base for development. The history of the CCC in Florida State Parks is illustrated in an accessible museum. This park offers nearly 5,000 acres of virgin hardwood forest with a cypress swamp, pine flatwoods, sand pine scrub, scrubby flatwoods, and marsh. It's also the site of an old homestead, as evidenced by the still-standing citrus trees where you'll likely see deer grazing in the evening.

Resources
The park still preserves a scenic, virgin hardwood forest. Its boundaries encompass several additional plant communities, including a cypress swamp, pine flatwoods, sand pine scrub, scrubby flatwoods, bayheads and marsh.

Wildlife
The sharp-eyed wildlife observer can catch a glimpse of white-tailed deer and alligators almost every day from one of nine nature trails. Three of these trails are ramped boardwalks bordering cypress swamps and hardwood forest. The other six trails are packed dirt that meander through all of the plant communities found in Highlands Hammock State Park. Otters and Florida scrub jays also make frequent appearances, while bears and the rare Florida panther are seen on occasion.

Wanted
1. six shovels - just for this trip
2. someone to pull the troop trailer