Connect a child to Nature through a Week of Camp!

Salutations,

Sometimes, as educators, the hardest part of our job is spending weeks of meaningful time with a camper and after the season ends, watching them go. Sometimes we see campers year after year and sometimes they only have the opportunity to attend for a single summer. It is hard to know the impact of our programs when life is in such flux.

This year, we are fortunate enough to share a camp story where that is not the case.

In December the education team opened registration for all three sites (Durham, Orange, and Wake) as well as our registration for our teen camps and backpacking trips. After registration opened, our Durham coordinator received an email from Shannon and Sean, past camp parents.

Shannon, Sean, and their son Kyler spent the summer in the Triangle and chose Piedmont Wildlife Center (PWC) as their camp for the season. Five-year-old Kyler was developmentally delayed and had never run before he attended Piedmont. He had spent the last two years of his life living in the pandemic. Those years were rough on everyone, but especially children, who didn't get a lot of experience with people outside of their families. 

Throughout the summer, our camp staff and Kyler's parents watched as Kyler began to understand personal space, became more active, and grew more confident in himself. Shannon and Sean wrote: "Kyler learned so much at Piedmont. He learned to run and got physically fit. He learned how to make friends and have cooperative play with others. Most importantly, he had fun and consistently looked forward to camp. Kyler also had many counselors who "got" his needs. I spoke with one counselor who was autistic and said she understood Kyler's needs for quiet time because she herself needed this on occasion as well. This was really affirming for Kyler to be around people and young adults who understood him."

As always, our summer programs could not succeed without the generous support of the PWC community. From the small, like purchasing nets that allow us to explore the creeks and streams, to the large, like our ongoing scholarship fund, every bit counts towards connecting people with nature and to a community that understands each other.

Links:

• Visit our website for more photos, stories, and upcoming events

This was an exciting summer for Piedmont Wildlife Center as we were able to operate our programs out of three North Carolina parks, something we hadn’t been able to do since before the pandemic. At all three locations, we ran twelve weeks of outdoor programming with themes such as Wildlife Science, Web of Life, and Creek Crawlers. 

Because of past donations, thirty-two campers were granted scholarships that covered the cost of tuition. Over 1,800 kids of all ages were able to attend camp as they experienced exploration through the woods, animal encounters, and competitive games. During each week campers learned to identify trees and other edible plants, how their actions impacted the animals in their community, and how to play together as a team. 

One of our campers, Jeremiah, was always ready for all things mud and bugs but had a hard time when it came to group games. He was frustrated by unfair teams or games with too many rules and sometimes tried to play by his own rules. As the summer progressed and Jeremiah become more connected to the other campers and his counselors who encouraged him to be a helpful leader we saw him grow into a more patient and engaged game player. As he always loved to share the discoveries he made in nature, Jeremiah continued to do this during games as he helped younger campers complete more complicated games and encouraged his friends when he was tagged out.

Throughout the entire summer, we have seen the impact of our program on campers, families, and staff and are excited to continue our mission of connecting people to nature in the coming seasons. 

Links:

• Visit our website for more photos, stories, and upcoming events