Connect a child to Nature through a Week of Camp!

Wow! Although we seem to be in winter given the weather, our spring camp season is in full throttle. Thanks to your support, we are able to provide a few scholarships for some kids to join us. Despite the cold, rain, and snow, the kids are great at improvising, and welcome the opportunity to play in the mud, the forest, and find a warm sunny spot to use charred wood from fires we make to wax creative on the sidewalks!

A favorite activity from last week’s camp was something called, Meet a Tree. It is a great way to appreciate these plants that all the kids in camp express their gratitude for each day. Bennett, one of our new campers, timid at first, jumped right into leading Mack, our counselor, to a tree. When it was Bennett’s turn to be blind folded, he said, “This is much more fun than I thought and not at all scary…I love meeting trees!” It was heartwarming to see how much Bennett came out of his shell to play with new friends and be accepted no matter the age of the campers, who ranged from 5 to 12 years.

Meet a Tree involves working in pairs. One person is blindfolded and the other guides the blindfolded person in a random, indirect direction to a tree of their choosing. The blind folded person then uses all senses but sight to get to “know” the tree. After several minutes of feeling the bark, figuring out girth, height if possible, how the roots go into the ground, what covers the ground and how level or not it is, and how the tree smells, the partner leads the blindfolded person back to where they started via a different direction. The blindfold is removed and the person then has to go try to find the tree that they just met. Then partners switch places and repeat the process. It is great to see how many campers find the actual tree they met, and watch the fascination that spreads through them! Kayley was so excited when Nan found her tree that she jumped up and down, ”you did it, Nan, you found the tree!”

Your donations allow so many campers the opportunity to see trees in a whole different light. They gain a desire to protect them. Your support allowed kids like Bennett the chance to become part of a comforting, safe community. You put smiles on kids’ faces and ours. Thank you for believing in what we do. Go out and rub a tree. It will thank you in its own way, too!

Links:

• Children's camps