The Nature Area at Camp Royaneh is located across from the amphitheater in the small valley near the entrance to the Fricot Meadows campground.

The nature area came into being in the 1950’s with nature director and Naturalist Ed Dike. He taught various Nature Merit badges. His main badge was Beekeeping (which no longer is a Merit Badge). It was taught on the lower part of the Scoutcraft flat which is now across from the Moon Bench.

Friday was test day and the boys in the class had to pull the screen up and identify the various bees and point out the queen bee. Occasionally the bees would get loose or a young Scout would get nervous and drop the screen and the bees would go in all directions – and so would the class.

“Uncle Ed” would get his smoker – currently located in the Chiefs Room – and smoke the bees. He had a big net on and amazingly this old man got the bees calm down. Then he gave two blasts on his whistle – that meant the class was to come back and sit around on the side of the hill again and the next kid would pull out the screen. In variably on Friday – test day – the class would disband and reassemble half a dozen times.

In 1958 the Order of the Arrow dedicated the Chief’s Room to the memory of “Uncle Ed” Dike.

Refer to the current Leader’s Guides for times or costs on all activities.