Anna Youngk,
Education Coordinator

Spending summers at camp is one of our favorite childhood memories and we hope to create similarly memorable experiences for CBEC campers every summer. This summer, with over 340 campers and our team of dedicated and enthusiastic staff, we had another fantastic season. By combining outdoor exploration and play with environmental education, our camps are both fun and educational. It is wonderful and rewarding to see campers grow and become environmental stewards while thoroughly enjoying spending time outside with fellow campers and volunteers.

It takes a lot of work to pull off such a successful summer season. An integral part of our camp staff is our team of college interns who join us for our Environmental Education Summer Internship program. This year, interns assisted in running the 9-week summer camp program, led environmental education programs for visiting groups, participated in onsite restoration projects, and attended professional development opportunities. We could not have welcomed so many visiting groups and campers to CBEC without the support of our amazing team of college interns, so please join us in thanking Emma Lodge, Kelsey Mathern, Colin Quinn, and Ben Vantran. Along with our assistant counselors and volunteers, everyone’s hard work, enthusiasm, and caring for the campers created a close-knit camp family.

Campers enjoyed learning how to fly fish this summer! Thank you Katie Blizzard for teaching us!

We look forward to next summer and hope for many returning, as well as new campers and volunteers! With that in mind, we’ve already started planning for 2018! Keep an eye out for the release of the camp calendar in early January with registration beginning in February.

http://bayrestoration.org/camps.

Most of our sessions sold out this summer, so be sure to register early and take advantage of the early bird registration discount from February 1–15.

Interns shared their reflections on their summer. Here is a little bit of what they had to say:

“Through my time at CBEC, I’ve realized the importance of community and advocacy of natural spaces. From grandparents and parents volunteering as counselors to campers experiencing their first camp, I’ve treasured the moments where I’ve seen visitors realize the value of the work that we as interns do at CBEC. Without CBEC, I never would have held a Great Horned Owl or ‘talked to’ tilapia while water testing in the aquaponics ‘GrowDome’. I would like to thank everyone, with special thanks to Anna Youngk and all of our summer camp counselors and CITs, for this extraordinary opportunity and for welcoming me to the CBEC family.”