Crow’s Nest Camp week one

We had a great 5th/6th grade camp this past week: great kids, great weather, fun activities. I’ve always enjoyed the “Bug Camp” theme which we last used in 2003.

This year we came to the realization that—since this is the 14th year of Crow’s Nest Camp—these kids hadn’t even been born when we started camp! Four of the six counselors are the same this year as in 1998. Yes, we have “then and now” photos but perhaps we’ll save that for a later day.

This year the kids built an ant nest in the woods (the structure was started by our Building Stewardship staff, and materials were delivered from the barn to the woods by the teen group of former campers). Tunnels to the sides led to other chambers, and the kids could climb on top and use the chute to get down.

They covered the ant hill with tarps and painted some giant ants (made from recycled plastic bottles by the teen group) and placed them on the sides of the nest.

We also spent some time each day in free play in the Hopewell Woods. We brought ropes and pulleys and some of the girls made a basic zip line.

During small group hikes the kids fanned out to do different activities at different parts of the preserve. My small group spent a little time with the goats and cattle (ostensibly observing the insects that are associated with them). Other groups took bug photos, looked for macroinvertebrates in the stream, or looked for insects in the meadows or woods.

And of course we had some time during the hottest part of the day to go to the creek: play games, splash friends, or look for fish.

You can find updates about camp at the Crow’s Nest FaceBook page.

Posted by Daniel Barringer on July 1, 2012.