Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
CHILDREN EXPLORING AND LEARNING
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 (Napanee Beaver)
Friday, August 03, 2007 (Picton Gazette)
Children, ages seven to 13, who attend this summer’s Conservation Day Camp at Picton’s Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area, will have a chance to learn what happens to wild animals when they become injured. Leah Birmingham of the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre, in Napanee, is scheduled to make an appearance at the Day Camp one day next week. The wildlife facility is licenced by both the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Canadian Wildlife Service to provide care and shelter for injured wildlife. Unlike many rehabilitators who specialize in just birds, the wildlife centre’s doors are wide open for mammals and herptiles as well. In fact, last year, over 1,250 mammals and birds and amphibians were admitted to the facility, says Quinte Conservation, and most were released successfully.
The popular Conservation Day Camp, held each summer in Belleville and Picton, has been running since the mid-1990s. Held through July and August, the name says it all. It is a conservation camp, and during the two months, all activities have a natural history theme. The games are nature oriented, as are the crafts, other activities and guest speakers. Registration is limited to 22 children each week and there are three leaders at each location.
The Picton conservation day camp had its beginnings at Macaulay Mountain Conservation Area in 1996. Unlike other summer camps for kids, this one is geared to budding young naturalists, as virtually every activity has a nature theme. And it is this overlying theme that has seen the camp enjoy annual success.
It’s a hands on experience for kids attending the Conservation Camp. Macaulay Mountain with its 440 acres of varied habitat, picnic area and nearby Birdhouse City is an obvious choice as a location for this successful day camp. The hiking trails, pond for wetland studies, and picnic shelter, allow for easy access to all activities that are scheduled to take place. The Picton conservation camp has benefited over the years from generous financial assistance from the Rotary Club of Picton. Their donations have helped organizers each year with the day to day expenses in maintaining high quality programs for the some 20 children who attend each week.
The philosophy of the day camp is to show respect for nature but also to have a good time. It is an opportunity for children to learn about the outdoors, by playing environmental games and implementing a hands on approach as kids get their feet wet and learn about aquatic life. The camp is geared toward fostering and nurturing an environmental awareness in the children who attend, and to have our young people become environmentally conscious.
Each themed week is filled with environmental games and crafts, guest speakers, swimming every Thursday, and the Survival Game every Friday. Some of the themes already this summer have included Fish ‘N’ Kids, Habitat Detective, Wings and Things, Survival of the Fittest, and Reptiles and Amphibians – Fact Verses Fiction. Next week’s speaker is part of a Mystery Mammals theme.
The following week, August 13th to the 17th will focus on some of the area’s Coolest Critters. Guest speaker Marvin Tucker from Quinte Waste Solutions will open children’s eyes to the creepy crawlies of the insect world that make up more than 80 percent of Earth’s animals. Kids will have a chance to get their hands dirty and discover the critters living in the ground and their role in Nature’s recycling. Marvin will also talk about one of his specialities – composting. Kids attending that week’s Conservation Day Camp will have an opportunity to probe some finished compost as they search for a multitude of “decomposer organisms.” As a bonus that week, a local henna artist will be paying a visit to the Conservation Day Camp to discuss this interesting art form. Henna is an all natural dye that comes from the lawsonia inermis bush that is grown typically in Asia and Africa.
The Picton Conservation Day Camp will wrap up with Wondrous Waters, as kids attending the final week of the popular eight week program learn about our wetlands, and what can be found beneath the water’s surface.
Cost is $120 for any week/per child, with the exception of next week, August 6th to the 10th, which is only $96, due to the holiday Monday. Registration can be done online at www.quinteconservation.ca by using Visa or MasterCard, or payment can be made at the Quinte Conservation office during regular business hours at 2061, Old Highway #2, just west of Wallbridge-Loyalist Road. For more information on the conservation Day Camp, please call Conservation Education Coordinator Maya Navrot at 613-968-3434 (131)
This week’s column was prepared on behalf of Quinte Conservation