Displaying items by tag: Outdoor Youth Camps
We all have memories of our childhood. For many these include times at Summer Camp. As we reflect on those Old-Fashioned summer camp days, void of Iphone, Ipods and youtube they bring back fond memories, when times were simpler. Recently I was recalling with some friends and we both had the same Ole’ summer camp story, “Our camp director pulled a little 19 inch black and white TV on the beach as we all gathered around to watch the Apollo 11 crew take their first steps on the moons suface. What were your most treasured camp memories? Did you like/hate camp? Do you feel that attending summer camp taught you any valuable life lessons? Do you still have camp friends that you keep in touch with? Do you send your own kids to camp during the summer? What was your favorite/worst craft activity? Below Heidi Kelly of Weltman, Weinberg and Reis Co asked her fellow workers to share their Old Fashioned Camp Memories. We hope you enjoy these stories from the WWR staff!
“Starting at the age of 5, I was involved in the Indian Princesses with the YMCA. I was in the tribe called the Snow Owls. For those that aren't familiar, the Indian Princesses are a group of fathers and daughters that camp, attend meetings, do arts and crafts, and get involved in various nature-related activities. We did horseback riding, canoeing, roasted marshmallows over the campfire, and other such activities. I absolutely loved it! My only horrible memory was one night when I ventured into the woods alone to find the outhouse...I wandered back to what I thought was our cabin, snuggled into what I thought was my sleeping bag, and was awakened with flashlights in my face from the Fox tribe girls. Yeah, I wasn't in the Owl tribe cabin, I was in their cabin, and in someone else's sleeping bag. Other than that slight moment of horror, camping was nothing but good memories.” - Terry Newood (DET)
“When I was 10, my parents decided they were tired of us sitting around and causing trouble during the summer, so my Dad had the brilliant idea to send my brother and I to 'computer camp' at a local university. We arrived at camp with a sour attitude- I mean really- how much more nerdy could your summer vacation get, right? But it turns out that going to computer camp was one of the best things that I ever did. We spent half the day taking computer classes (which strangely enough, have been helpful as we moved through college and into our careers-- maybe our parents were on to something?), and the other half doing sports, playing outside, and attending culture classes. The neat thing was that the counselors were from all over the world. A lot of people from Trinidad and other international students spending the summer in Pittsburgh. I continued to attend camp for another four years and then went on to work as a counselor for another six summers. I made some really close friends working at that camp and had so many wonderful experiences. I even visited a friend in Trinidad for Carnival. I keep in touch with lots of people even today. Going to camp definitely gave me more independence and the confidence to do things on my own. It also gave me a more multicultural outlook on life and the desire to learn as much as I can about other people/places in the world.” - Mala Mason (PIT)
“I grew up in the inner city and my father had to work two jobs so we only took some day trips as a family. My grandmother, who was widowed and had the patience of a saint would have 10-12 boys from her sons’ and daughters’ families stay on her farm for two weeks during July. It was like a Huck Finn novel. There was no TV, just a block farm house, 10 bunk beds, and outdoor facilities. We didn't wear much more than shorts everyday, played in the fields, made rafts to go down the creeks and swam in ponds. On July 4th the parents came up (or down) and we had the biggest fireworks display you could imagine. Except one summer when it was pouring and they greased up little piglets and we had contests in a muddy pen. If we still had the 8mm film it would be on America's funniest home videos.” -Anonymous
“My parents would send my sister and I to Hiram House Camp every summer growing up. Most kids would cry because they didn't want to leave their parents, my sister and I would cry because we didn't want to go home.” - Carol A. Higgins (CLE)
“My most memorable moment in summer camp would take me back to the year 1970. I was four years old. At that time, my best friend’s name was Mark. He and I did everything together. When I think back, this memory never fails to pop into my head. We were lined up at the gate of the Humeville Swim Club. As we walked to the playground, in single file, Mark and I would sing the Beatles song, "Yellow Submarine". We only knew the chorus, but that was good enough for us. When we got to the swings, we would hop on and start our daily routine of singing and swinging. We would sing "Hello, Goodbye, Jell-o, No Pie." I never knew where that came from, but they were good 'ol' days.” - David L Feldman (PHI)
“I grew up as a camp kid, and also worked as a counselor for nine years and fondly remember those days even more than when I was the camper! My favorite memory is sending our new counselors through the woods asking every counselor for the "left-handed smoke shifter" when we cooked out on Fridays. Of course there's no such thing, and each counselor would tell the newbie that they thought so and so had it, or they gave it to someone else, and send the new counselor on the biggest wild goose chase... we all waited to see how long it took the new counselor to realize there is NO left-handed smoke shifter! Simple prank that never got old. - Brittany A. Dean (BRO)
“Well I didn't get to go to camp as a camper, but I did go as a counselor and was the keeper of giggling 12-14 year old girls. This was a church camp near Bedford, Indiana. On the last day of camp, everyone is tired so we have a day of games and I was counselor of the horseshoe games. (I chose it because it was in the shade). Needless to say, these girls had hardly heard of horseshoes let alone did they know how to play. One girl in particular was deadly. She threw the shoe straight up and I knew it was a bad deal. I screamed "watch out girls" and low and behold it hit me on the head and almost knocked me out. They put an ice pack on my head and made me lie down on the bunk. A little later I tried to get up and everything started moving, literally. I really thought I was hurt badly. Come to find out we were having an earthquake, wouldn't ya know it (nothing bad, just tremors)!” - Kathy Carlisle (CIN)
“When I was about 11 years old I went to this camp called NYSP, that was sponsored by Ohio State University. I did not enjoy going to NYSP at all! We stayed outside the majority of the day and had to run a lot on the track with the sun beaming down on us. All the kids enjoyed it and thought it was the times of their lives. I on the other hand thought that was abuse! However, now when I look back on that time, I am glad that I was able to do something productive with my summer even though I despised the activities we did. All kids should go to summer camp, at least once in their lives. Then they have memories, good and bad, to share with everyone.” - Champagne Braswell (GRO)
“I just thought I would throw this into the mix. I realize you are looking for summer camp stories but just as a flavor to that thought… I am of the older generation here being 59 years of age. When I was a boy, we really didn't have summer camp. I was raised on a 250-acre farm in the Hocking Valley so when summer came and all my fellow school mates in town would be off to their summer camp, I would have the joy and pleasure of spending the summer "making hay" for the following winter. This would entail getting up at 5 a.m. to do the morning chores and spending the rest of the day out in the fields either doing the hay or working the corn. In the evening there would be the evening chores around the barn and by the time you got to the house you were ready for bed. The nights were too short and the next day everything would start all over again. Summer camp? For me that would have been a holiday dream!” - Charlie Workman (GRO)
Heidi Kelly is a Legal Assistant II in the Foreclosure department of the Pittsburgh office
- By Kristen BourqueFamilies hike in Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge during a Jan. 29 trip organized by the Children's Heart Center.
Instead of an order for pills, pediatricians at the Children's Heart Center in Las Vegas have given Matias, his mother, who is diabetic, and his 9-year-old, 136-pound little brother, a "nature prescription."
More than 100 of the 553 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuges such as Moapa are part of a national consortium of federal parks and the National Environmental Education Foundation now using this prescription tactic. It's funded by a $75,000 grant to improve family health through a two-year pilot project linking the federal agencies with health care providers. The aim is to turn doctors, nurses, teachers and therapists into "nature champions" who steer children and their parents into the outdoors.
It's a whole lot more than just saying, "take a hike."
The prescription, an "Rx for healthy living," prompts families to eat more fruits and vegetables, step away from the TV or video screen and go outside to breathe fresh air, awaken their senses, and shed some weight.
Using the prescription format gives the psychological oomph of doctor's orders to simple suggestions for diet and workouts disguised as nature walks. Each prescription comes with easy-to-follow maps to nearby refuges and parks where outdoor experiences are led by rangers and volunteers.
'Phenomenal difference'
Matias, once unwilling to play outside, has already lost 10 pounds since joining the fledgling program this winter, says his mother, Ma De Lourdez Perez Mata, 44. He now looks forward to the walks — and so does she.
Perez Mata says, "It's so beautiful, and you learn about nature. It's been so long that I breathed fresh air and so long since I've hiked and been surrounded by nature. The rangers tell you about life in these places, their history. It's very interesting."
Since December, the Children's Heart Center in Las Vegas, has already organized three field trips to nearby desert refuges with about 100 participants such as Matias and his family, says Angelina Yost, visitor services manager for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Moapa.
They hiked up a little hill "that definitely gets your heart racing" and visited a viewing chamber carved into the desert floor that let them get face-to-fin with an endangered fish, the Moapa Dace, Yost says.
The initiative began last September with a national training program where nearly three dozen health professionals from 11 states met at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, to be schooled in the value of nature prescriptions.
Dubbed "nature champions," they were charged to each train 30 more advocates. One was pediatrician Noah Kohn, medical director for Clinics in Schools, the free medical clinics funded by private donors and the United Wayof Southern Nevada. He sees this as a smart new tool to combat complex problems:
"We have a very significant obesity problem. Ninety percent of my patients have no health insurance. These are low income families with few resources. It's hard enough to convince them to eat a vegetable. And they don't live in neighborhoods where there is a safe place to go out and play.
"A prescription makes a phenomenal difference. It says, 'Rx for healthy and active outdoor living.' Once you get kids outdoors, away from the inner city, they are just completely bamboozled by the science and the natural world and they never think they are exercising," says Kohn, who will start sending out prescriptions as soon at the Spanish translations are available.
Multiple benefits
Susan Morse, a spokeswoman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says each region is taking its own approach to the prescription program.
In Santa Clara, Calif, Kaiser Permanente clinic pediatrician Charles Owyang has already written 67 prescriptions to the Don Edwards Preserve, an urban nature enclave in the San Francisco Bay Area. Owyang also teaches other doctors about studies that show outdoor activities have intellectual and emotional benefits, too — brightening kids' moods, sharpening their concentration and cutting down on stress.
In New Jersey, a nature champion connected health care provider AtlantiCare with a network of home schooling parents to begin forming "Family Nature Clubs" that meet every second Saturday for a walk in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge that weaves exercise and education.
"The days when Mom could send you out the front door to play have changed," says Sandy Perchetti, volunteer coordinator, at Forsythe, 15 minutes from Atlantic City.
"Once the children come with their 'prescriptions' we stamp them and give them an incentive like a nature journal or a pedometer to track their walking," says Perchetti.
The national project includes tracking whether families visit the refuges and parks, their physical progress and whether they came back again.
The answer is in for Matias and his family. They've already been back to Moapa.
Contributing: Marisol Bello
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Learning lessons about self-reliance, self-confidence, exploration, and responsibility are all important metrics of a successful summer camp experience. At Swift we look to promote the below trits.
Self-Reliance
At Swift we steer young people away from dependence on their parents and toward independence and self-reliance. Because parents are not present to guide their children’s decisions, kids at camp must identify the resources that can help them meet personal and group goals, resolve conflicts, and find success for themselves.
When campers get on the bus or see their parents drive away, often this is a childs first time of being on their own. For others it does not hit till the next morning when mom wouldn't be there to wake them or make their bed. Our goal as Swift counselors is to introduced campers to something new but not hold a campers hand the entire time. Camp is all about active learning. Campers often try something the first time and if they can’t figure it out counselors would be there for guidance.
Self-Confidence
Campers gain self-confidence when they find meaningful, fulfilling educational and social experiences at camp, interpret those experiences correctly, and have reasonable, achievable expectations for success.
At Swift Nature Camp children are challanged to work toward getting Achievement Awards. Campers realize these awards serve as a much greater purpose than just handing out patches. It is not always essential for campers to become the best at whatever they choose to do, but it is essential that they feel they've accomplished something. Our Final Banqutte recognizes campers for their accomplishments which helps to build self-confidence. Yet, often for those who do not participate in the awards program just being away from home is an accomplishment that builds self-confidence.
Exploration
Camp is, in short, about learning: learning about oneself, learning about others, and learning about new ways to approach the world. Self-confidence leads to learning through exploration of one's interests, abilities, and relationships. To maximize exploration, young people need to feel safe — free from fear of ridicule, sarcasm, or insult. Creating a community of caring where young people feel comfortable moving beyond their "comfort zone" to the "challenge zone" promotes exploration.
Counselors at Swift are always there to make children feel safe yet, in their own ways they encouraged kids to step outside of their comfort zone and take a risk. This creates a developed of trust with staff and in turn with the entire camp community. Whether campers on the water, on a field, or in a cabin, they always know that the counselors and the camp would be there fore them.
Responsibility
Beyond the buddies, baseballs, and bonfires lies the true value of the summer camp experience: a heightened sense of personal responsibility for the well-being of others. Research from Students Against Destructive Decisions points out that young people who have attended summer camp are significantly more likely than those who have not to feel good about their relationships and to take positive risks.
At Swift our campers tell us that Swift is their summer home with the greatest people in the world. In fact, campers have made such real friendships that the time they spend at camp each summer was enough to make me feel good the entire year. One of many lifelong things most campers learned at Swift is a conscious responsibility to always be there for my friends and for others.
Life Lessons Learned at Camp
The benefits to young people of a summer at camp have long been discussed and more recently evaluated. What are they? Simply put, they are opportunities. Opportunities not exclusive to camps but rather concentrated at camp, where under the direction, supervision, and influence of caring counselors, young adults can learn to become more independent, more confident, more self-aware, and more giving toward others. These are just some of the life lessons learned at camp says
Stephen Wallace, M.S. Ed.
Swift Nature Camp works hard to promote these qualities in all children that attend. Our Tree of Values helps bring these values to forefront of each child. So much so that each cabin is given a value that they live daily and give skits about. THey even hang a sign on the from of the cabin. See more about this wonderful Children’s Summer Camp .
Minong, Wi (2011) – Swift Nature Camp is proud to announce participation in the American Camp Association’s® (ACA’s) Explore 30 Camp Reading Program.
It has long been said that children experience “summer learning loss” when they are not involved in high quality programs with opportunities for skill building. Research indicates that participation in intentional programs, like camp, can help stem summer learning loss.
Swift Nature Camp Teamed up, ACA's Explore 30 Camp Reading Program. This program addresses summer learning loss by providing youth with the incentive to read at least 30 minutes per day. Swift Nature Camp has always promoted kids to read by furnishing a library and time to read. In addition each night staff read to their cabin. So, joining this national movement was an easy transition for SNC. We believe that the camp experience is a vital component in the development and education of the whole child, eading is just a natural part of that.
Swift has long had Achievement Awards that promote children to learn about particular camp areas, such as sailing, fishing and archery. “We just added it to the A.A. program and created a patch for campers to show completion”, said Lonnie Lorenz, owner of SNC. It proved to be our of our most popular Achievement Awards.
There are currently 140 camps from more than 30 states participating in the Explore 30 program. For more information on the program, or to view a list of particpating camps, visit ACA’s Web site at www.ACAcamps.org/explore30.
Ninety percent of all forest-related fires in Wisconsin are started by humans. Education is a key prevention tool to develop an informed and caring citizenry that will take action to prevent useless fires and who support the use of prescribed burning as a management tool. This was the main point to the lessons recently taught at Swift Nature Camp.
Swift nature Camp invited the Minong and Solen Springs 5th grade classes out for 3 days and 2 nights of Science Camp. it was the last day when students had 2 fire presentations. The first was held by the local DNR, where they spoke how important it was to protect against wild fires and how they put them out. THe second presentation was by the local fire department and how they protect the local residents with their fire equipment. These 2 classes were very informative and kept the kids involved.
Marking the 150th Anniversary of Organized Camp in the United States
Hon. Chellie Pingree of Maine
In the House of Representatives
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ms. Pingree of Maine. Mr. Speaker, this summer marked the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of organized camp in the United States. Summer camps throughout the nation provide valuable educational experiences and offer the chance for youth from many different backgrounds to connect to the outdoors, enhance their mental, physical, spiritual, and social development; make new friends; and learn life-long skills. In the summer of 1861, William Frederick Gunn and his wife Abigail organized the first summer camp in America by taking a group of kids into the wilderness along the Long Island Sound for two weeks. Since then, thousands of camps have been founded, and 150 years later there are over 12,000 summer camps nationwide. While times have changed, the purpose of summer camp has remained the same – to provide our youth with havens in which to grow and learn in nature.
In the state of Maine, we have nearly 200 camps — most of which are accredited by the American Camp Association — including sleep-away camps, day camps, co-ed camps, boys–only and girls-only camps, and specialty camps. More than 18 of those have been operating for more than 100 years. In 1902, Wyonegonic Camps in Denmark, Maine opened its doors to girls and, today, remains the oldest continuously operating camp for girls in the nation. Girls’ camps have and continue to play a pivotal role in young women’s lives — providing settings in which they can grow confidence and develop can-do attitudes. In the same year, Pine Island Camp for boys opened in Belgrade Lakes, Maine and remains the oldest continuously operating camp for boys in the state. In 1908, two camps were opened by non-profit agencies in Maine: West End House Camp in East Parsonfield and Camp Jordan YMCA in Ellsworth.
Camps in Maine and throughout the nation reflect a unique American attitude towards the outdoors and towards the value of natural settings in the education of our youth. Camps are special places where kids get a chance to re-create themselves, develop independence, be physically active, and learn new skills outside of the traditional school setting. And, through exposure to new experiences, friendships with kids from other states and around the globe, campers gain perspectives on their own lives that augment their education during the school year. Camps are also a place to build lasting friendships — a home away from home where the camp community becomes a second family. In a fast changing world, summer camps continue to be a mainstay of American society — providing youth a time for quiet reflection away from the pace of day-to-day modernity. As millions of summer campers head back to start another year of school, let’s remember the valuable role that summer camps play in the year-round education of children.
At camp, children are given...
Enhanced Self-Esteem
Camp offers children many opportunities to become competent. Practicing both new and old skills on a regular basis, it makes sense that there will be improvement. Novices have chances to learn, while those who are more experienced can improve. Learning new skills and improving on old ones builds self-esteem. Children become more independent and self-reliant at camp with their new-found skills.
Trying New Things
Sending your child to camp is giving them an opportunity to try something new. No matter how many after-school programs or lessons a child takes, its likely they will never have the opportunity to try all that is offered at summer camp. In a supportive environment, the child can try at something new. The interesting twist to these activities is that, since campers often don’t know anyone else at camp before they go, they are more willing to try activities that their friends at home might not expect them to. The athlete can try out for the camp play, while the artist may dabble in sports. At camp, children can try new things and set their own goals for success.
Life Skills
Though years later, your child may not remember capture the flag games or the words to a camp song, the life lessons learned at camp will remain. At camp, a child learns how to take responsibility. The child who has never before made a bed, will learn how to smooth out sheets and blankets and tidy up a cubby. Though counselors will remind and encourage, campers quickly take responsibility for personal hygiene, and for more minor health issues, a camper learns to articulate what hurts and how to get help. All of this personal responsibility further fosters a sense of independence and self-esteem. Camp also improves a child’s social skills by making new friends and learning how to reach out to strangers. At camp, children learn to get along with others, all while living together 24 hours a day, learning about courtesy, compromise, teamwork, and respect.
Hidden Benefits of Camp
The benefits of overnight camp are not limited to children, but extend to parents as well. There is relief in knowing that your child is in a safe, exciting environment for the summer. Even if child care isn’t an issue, it’s often hard to find suitable activities for the summer, as well as finding peers for children to interact with. Camp offers entertainment and constant peer company. For parents that have more than one child, camp can give a younger sibling a chance to shine in the older one’s absence. And if you Homeschool camp is a wonderful way to help your child socialize. For families where all the children go to camp, parents have a chance to do things that would not interest the children. When a child makes it clear how excited he or she to go to camp, these parental excursions are guilt free.
Teens claim that 1/5 have been Cyber Bullied. In response, Facebook has launched an anti-bullying campaign and other programs,have been started that that aim to empower kids to promote kindness.
Swift Nature Camp has long promoted fairness and kindness with our children and has lead the way in being non-tollerent towards those children that physically pick on other. Once back home its hard for us as camp directors to know what is going on...so if you find yourself being cyberbullied please reach out to us, your counselor or your parents so we can stop this type of bullying.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and released Wednesday teases out these complex, often painful threads of teen life on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Two-thirds of the teenagers surveyed said people were “mostly kind” to each other on these networks, even as 88 percent said they had witnessed “people being mean or cruel.” One in five admitted to having joined in on the cruelty.
Notably, one in five teens surveyed said they had been “bullied,” but of those, the largest share said they had been bullied in person, not online. Indeed, online and offline sentiments often merge: one in four said an online squabble resulted in a face-to-face argument or worse.
What do they do when they see or feel the brunt of cruelty online?
The vast majority say they ignore it. Girls are more likely to seek advice than boys. And when they do seek advice, teenagers are more likely to turn to their peers than their parents. Parents are not entirely useless. The survey found that 86 percent of teens said parents advised them on “how to use the Internet responsibly and safely.”
Those surveyed expressed a certain savvy in manipulating their online profiles: Close to half lied about their age in order to access a site off limits to children under 13. Most said they tweaked their privacy settings so their posts were not widely visible.
The survey also revealed some of the new anxieties that parents experience. Three out of four parents said they “checked which Web sites their child visited.” Pew researchers said that could have been as simple as checking the browsing history on their computers. And among parents who have a Facebook account, 80 percent were on their children’s list of friends.
The survey was conducted by phone earlier this year on 799 children, aged 12 to 17, and their parents or guardians. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points. Nearly all kids in that age group are online, and among them, four out of five use a social network like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. The report aptly calls them “spaces where much of the social activity of teen life is echoed and amplified—in both good and bad ways.”
We All know how wonderful summer camp is. But have you ever thought about what Swift Nature Camp looks like in February? A few days ago we were at a MN summer camp show and after that made our way up to camp. It was great....
As you know the Midwest has been very dry this year with almost no snow. When we first arrived it seemed more like April with many bare spots around the bottoms of the trees. But, snow was covering most of the land and the lake. Giving us a chance to play.
One day we walked out to Picnic Island just to see what was going on. It is a different place in the winter with no low plants so you can see almost across the island. We particularly wanted to go look at the Eagles nest. It seems that the winds from one of the storms destroyed the nest. However, we still saw eagles flying around so they are still nearby but we did not see where their new nest might be.
As you can see from the movie I tried a new sport. I got out the water skis and put them on over my socks...it was very tight and then I hooked up to Super Toms 4 wheeler and off I went for a little skiing on the frozen lake. Look at my Hitch Hiker! It was much harder to turn than when you are in the water. Yet, it was fun to try something new. Much of the time we were in sleds being pulled. We tipped so many times yet it was very fun and seemed like winter even though it was near 40 degrees.
One of the most exciting time we had was when we woke up one morning and looked out the window to see two dog like creatures run from Picnic Island across to Sawtooth Isle. They looked like Wolves to me. Later that day we went for a hike to see if we could find the tracks and we did. That was so cool.
After a few days we left and that very night, the snows came and came and came. Tom reported that Swift Nature Camp was covered with over 15 inches of snow. Sadly we missed the real winter that finally came to camp. If you are ever up in the Northwoods in winter be sure to stop by camp and take a look, it is beautiful but kind of depressing with out all he campers there having fun.
See Ya next Summer
Lonnie, Jeff & Forrest
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Experts tell us the first step in becoming an environmentalist is noticing what nature offers. Such observation often leads to a desire and commitment to conserve and protect the natural world.
However, with out having a purpose many times staff and campers merely walk along the trail without really noticing what is around them. They overlook the sounds, sights, textures and diversity of the ecosystem.
Please read these simple programs that can be done while walking through the woods. You may need suppliesbut it will take only a few minutes to get them.
One you feel you have a feel for these activities invite your childrens friends to come along, I'm sure they too will enjoy being away from their scheduled lives and enjoy the peace of nature,
Look Down
Supplies: Yarn and scissors
Ahead of time: Cut the yarn into 15-inch pieces, have one for every two campers.
Assignment: Move off the trail, and make a square on the ground with the yarn. Study what you find within the square. What lives there? What is the soil like? What grows there? Use a stick and dig into the ground a little. What do you see?
Conversation: What did you find in the square or circle that surprised you?
Changes
Supplies: Clipboard and writing utensils
Ahead of time: think or research how things would be different if the land was developed
Assignment: Stop along the trail and look into the woods. Imagine that the land had sold this plot of land to a developer to build. How would that development changethings? What effect would it have on the habitat and food supplies of the animals living there? What would happen to the soil if the trees were cut down? How would the plants in the woods change? How would the threat of erosion increase?
Conversation: How have ecosystems near your home been destroyed? What changes have happened to the land?
Look a Tree
Supplies: Blindfolds
|Ahead of time: look for a place on the trail where there is a variety of trees.
Assignment: Find a partner and decide who will be blindfolded first. The sighted partner will lead his/her partner to a tree. The blindfolded child will explore the tree by touch and smell. Then the sighted partner leads his/her partner away from the tree. Once the blindfold is removed, that camper tries to locate the tree. Switch places and repeat.
Conversation: What have you learned about trees that you didn't know before?
Swift Nature Camp hopes this information give you few a simple projects we do at our camp out in Nature. If you child is interested in these sorts of activities Please look at our website and see if we might be part of your summer plans,
If this is your first time thinking about Summer Camp look at Summer Camp Advice a free website that helps parents fing the right camp for thier child.
About the authors: Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz are the directors of Swift Nature Camp, a non-competitive, traditional overnight Animal Summer Camp. Boys and Girls Ages 6-15 enjoy nature & animals along with traditional camping activities. As a Summer Kids CampSwift specializes in programs for the First Time Campers as well as Adventure Teen Camp programs
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