Connect a child to Nature through a Week of Camp!

The land has come alive. Each year, we trade the serenity and silence of the winter season for the buzz and bustle that spring brings. The spring camp that I would like to share with you all was held in a forested oasis in the middle of Research Triangle Park for the first time through Piedmont Wildlife Center. The excitement radiated from the campers as they arrived on Monday morning all the way down to the almond cented milipedes on the forest floor. Umstead State Park hosted a group of children that signed up with the intention of becoming young wildlife scientists, and with your help, that is exactly what they did. Thank you all for your support, because of you, we reach more children each year.

Everyday we greeted the excited budding naturalists with a new subject in the world of wildlife science. Activities ranged from a wide take on a subject such as ecology and relationships between animals, to specific skills such as assessing water quality. When it was warm enough we spent the better part of our time together down by the creek. The tail end of the week, Maren’s opening line of the day would be “can we go down to the creek today?” We aided their discovery with field guides and a squared out plot of land that we tasked them to find and identify everything in. Although some got distracted by slugs and earth worms, we all learned something new. Jordan ran up to me to tell me “there are fifteen pine tree saplings in there! I counted them all!” And Ryan informed me “that cockroach is an oriental cockroach.” It was incredible to watch children take so quickly to a whole new environment. Heather, in particular, was very concerned with the presence of “crawlies” in the woods, but by the end of the week, she had almond scented milipede friends crawing up and down her arm.

It was undoubtedly a week of discovery. Thank you all for supporting the growth of these young people. Without you we would not be able to reach all the children that we do. Because of your generous donations, we can continue to engage children’s passions and love for the outdoors in our camps. Children who attend our camps are able to learn valuble lessons in nature, build self confidence, and be happy by playing and having fun in the small communities we build each week. Your contributions to this endeavor are truly appreciated. Thank you!

May 13th is Global Giving Bonus Day!  Every donation will be matched by Global Giving that day so tell your friends they can help budding naturalists like Maren, Jordan, Ryan and Heather by making a donation on May 13th!

Links:

• http://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/

• Jack_and_the_Rat_Snake.pdf (PDF)
  
• Hannah & Kelsey with an Almond Scented Millipede (PDF)
  
• Kelsey leaping the creek (PDF)
  

There is a story from the Seneca People in the Northeast woodlands of the United States that describes winter as an old man with long white hair. Anywhere he goes, the ground grows cold, the animals flee, and the leaves shrivel and fall from the trees.  The grim picture of winter the old man depicts is far from the joy, learning, and growing we witness each camp day in every season. We teach skills that allow children to feel safe and warm outdoors during the winter and practice awareness techniques that enable campers to witness the beautiful and enchanting world around them even during the coldest months of the year.

We offer different themes of camp to accommodate the interests and needs of each child. They range from camps focused on skills to exploration-based camps that allow wonder and curiosity. Each camp also has a flow that allows children to be called to the questions and skills they feel most drawn to that day. In our Bushcraft Camp we teach old style skills such as tarp stringing, knot tying, fire making and whittling to help make the wilderness a welcoming place. Each camp week we watch children grow with the confidence that knowledge and skills bring. This pride and self-worth belongs to every child, and with your help we can send more and more children in our community to camp regardless of economic status. We can allow every parent to welcome their child home, as one parent, Laura Sokol-Meade, expressed, “filthy and smiling.”

During Bushcraft Camp and our other winter camps this year, it was truly amazing to see the excitement and eagerness of the campers that arrived on the first day of camp. Even before the camp day started children were taking charcoal out of the fire pit to see what surfaces they could draw on; they were asking questions about the vine they saw on the tree; and some were inches from the ground trying to figure out what animal left that print in the mud. We engaged this wonder and asked questions to encourage their curiosity. One parent commented that her daughter came home and the family spent “time around the dinner table looking up more info about something she heard”. By sending a child to camp you are awakening the child’s entire community to nature.

Last year we were able to give away 68 full or partial scholarships to families in need. We hope to support even more families this year. We have spring and summer camps right around the corner with requests already coming in. We need your help again this year to make a child’s time away from school full of exploration and worthwhile challenges in the outdoors.  Help these children grow into strong young adults by supporting them now and allowing them the chance to connect with nature on a deeper level this summer.

Links:

• Camp offerings