Crow’s Nest Camp 2024 – Week One
By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.
Our first week of camp was a success despite the heat. It’s always good to spend time in the creek and fortunately the theme this year is water!
![Summer campers trying out homemade rafts on French Creek](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_4251-Pete-scaled.jpg)
Photo: Pete Smyrl
For the first time camp spent free time exploring the newer sections of Crow’s Nest at Warwick Woods.
![Camp kids posing on a giant rock in the woods](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_3807-Pete-scaled.jpg)
Photo: Pete Smyrl
Camp kids went on the Challenge Hike; 5th and 6th graders returning to camp at Crow’s Nest know their way around pretty well and we drop them off at one end of the preserve and meet them at the far end. (They’re supervised, but they lead the hike, and do very well at that.)
![Camp kids hiking along a farm field edge](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_5112-Devon-scaled.jpg)
Photo: Devon Funt
![Summer camper holding a crayfish](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_3570-Julia-scaled.jpg)
Photo: Julia Rakowski
The creeks (French and Pine) offer plenty to discover, like the crayfish above, or just jumping into the deep spot below.
![Summer camper leaping into the creek at Crow's Nest Camp.](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_4829-Devon-scaled.jpg)
Photo: Devon Funt
![Camp kids enjoying the shade under a tarp in the woods](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_8105-Molly-scaled.jpeg)
Photo: Molly Smyrl
There’s plenty of free time to hang out in the woods here. The big project was building rafts using wood and recycled milk jugs (photo below). From the photo at top, it looks like they were successful.
![Camp kids building a raft with a power screwdriver](https://natlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_6348-Serena-scaled.jpeg)
Photo: Serena Hertzog