By Karen T McCall | Project Leader
Sound of water greets us as we make our way down the hill to the creek. It sounds calming, inviting,… cool. The campers are excited – and so is the staff! Summer camp is off to a great start here in the piedmont with one of our favorites, Creek Crawlers. This means kids get to get wet in the cool creeks that offer plenty of wildlife to observe, a reprieve from the already mid 90 temperatures, and learning what can be done with all the substrates they encounter!
We have introduced games and nature challenges to our 7 through 12 year olds. They have jumped in with both feet and risen to the occasion. We begin with gratitude, and mine is to all of you whose support has made it possible for many kids to join us for at least one camp this summer. After gratitude, we go around the circle and ask who did the challenge. I am impressed when they show up with papers in hand or have learned names, both common and Latin, of species they hope to find in the water. Eighty percent of the kids have done the challenge! Sebastian shows me his paper and tells me, “This is the six line race runner. He has 6 stripes and I hope to see him at the creek since there is a lot of sand.”
The biggest fascination for several of the campers is the leaches they find! They are juveniles, so quite tiny but moving everywhere in the shallows. Some of the campers let the leaches stay on their feet. “OOOW, it sort of tickles and feels weird, get it off!” exclaims Taylor.
Redirecting the flow of water, playing with the sand, skipping rocks, and finding crayfish – all make for a great time. Take a step down to your local water shed, flip some rocks and gently put them back in place after seeing who is under there. Become a curious kid again. Thank you for continuing to support these fantastic kids, that get to be a kid, outside, unplugged, making friends, and bringing their happiness to others, all because you believe in what we do!
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By Karen McCall | Project Leader
By Shealyn Elstein | Durham Program Coordinator
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