alley Camp
K
ettleby V
Photo:
teaching children about nature through ronment,” says Becs. “If there’s a gener-
“I actually got to see a gras-
first-hand experience. Vicki Griffiths, ation that misses being able to connect
shopper shed out of his skin and
its nature interpreter and camp director, with nature, then they are less likely to
promotes the benefits of outside expe-
I found one and got to touch it
inspire their own children to spend time
riences as they allow for unanticipated
and carry it around.
in nature.”
learning. At the centre, children get to I went canoeing and insect The first step in nurturing environ-
see wildlife in their own habitat, and mental champions is to allow children to
fishing. We caught a leech and we
they use these encounters to connect love and appreciate nature, and the best
caught some water spiders and
children to nature. way to do this is to simply let them go
tadpoles.
“[Children] need to see what’s hap- outside and explore. And what better
pening in order to make a connection.
We saw deer, turtles, frogs,
place than summer camp for this to
You can be told something a hundred
groundhogs. I was just amazed
happen — a place where children can de-
times, but especially with younger kids,
because I never saw a deer be-
velop a strong connection with nature
they need those hands-on experiences to and spend day after day in a safe, naturalfore. We also saw a beaver.
understand,” explains Griffiths. setting, learning how to share this envi-
I used to be afraid of animals
Lakehead University in Thunder ronment with their “wild neighbours.”
but now because I know what
Bay, Ont., also runs an eco-literacy ad- Eight-year-old Luca Bidini had his
they all are, I’m not afraid. It
venture camp. first experience at Humber’s nature camp
“When children get the opportunity to
makes me feel way better that I
last summer, and he was exposed to
experience something first-hand it be-
know all about animals.
things he had never seen before.
comes more real to them as they can re- None of this I learned in “I actually got to see a grasshopper
late to it because they saw it with their shed out of his skin and I found one and
school.”
own eyes. When the majority of chil- got to touch it and carry it around,” he
drens’ senses are being used, including — Luca Bidini, 8 years old. says. “We saw deer, turtles, frogs and
touch, they feel it is real,” says Connie groundhogs. I was just amazed because I
Anzew, administrative assistant in the Fac- hind a bush and got another baby and ran never saw a deer before. We also saw a
ulty of Education, Department of Life- across, and that was a really great experi- beaver. I used to be afraid of animals but
long Learning at Lakehead. “Children ence. I really can’t describe it. I was now because I know what they all are, I’m
who have experienced nature first-hand looking at them and they were looking at not afraid. It makes me feel way better
are more aware of their surroundings, me. It was just incredible.” that I know all about animals.”
therefore they are more conscious of what Looking towards the future, what Environmental education starts by ex-
they are doing to the environment.” would happen if today’s generation be- posing children at an early age to nature,
Twelve-year-old Meriel Lepra has comes detached from the natural world? learning to love it on their own terms. It
been a camper at Humber’s nature camp Becs Hoskins, the executive director of doesn’t have to include formal education.
for the past few years. She loves the ex- The Child and Nature Alliance, a virtual The connection to nature can begin by
perience and all the wildlife she gets to network of organizations working to con- satisfying a curiosity of the world around
see that she never knew existed. nect children to nature, cautions that them. At summer camp, nature abounds
“One time we were walking and we without direct experiences with nature, and environmental learning can be ab-
came a cross a deer, a fawn and a mother, children can’t understand why they sorbed, so children can have their black-
and they were probably one metre in would need to protect our environment. berries, and eat them too. •
front of us,” she recalls. “I think I could “We are in jeopardy of building a gen-
have touched them if I wanted to but I eration of kids who don’t understand Melissa Yollick is a freelance writer in
didn’t want to scare them. They went be- why they need to care about their envi- Toronto, Ontario.
14 Canada Camps for Parents January 2010 Edition
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