Notes on Camp

As summer vacation approaches, children get restless while their parents wonder what will keep them from logging weeks on their PlayStations. The traditional answer is to send the children off to summer camp-at one time a humane way to get kids out of the city heat and these days perhaps a life-saving means to get kids burning fat as they run and play in that mysterious realm: the out-of-doors.

While camps fill up early, particularly those with the most exciting programs, many still have slots available and you can always put your child on the waiting lists of several others. One popular program, the Starr Ranch Junior Biologists Day Camp on an Audubon wildlife sanctuary in Orange County, California, is hosted by the society's biologists who train children to track and identify carnivorous mammals, birds and insects. "We integrate research with education-it sounds very serious, but we have a passion for wildlife biology and excite kids with it," says Sandy DeSimone, Ph.D., director of research and education at Audubon Starr Ranch Sanctuary. "It's like a whole other planet...there's deer grazing, woodpeckers, owls and tarantulas on the road," says Christy Snadow, mother of 12-year old Ethan Elliott, adding that since health problems keep her from getting out much, "It was my opportunity to send him a place where he could learn things I'd like to teach him myself." And parents get some opportunities to join in the fun too-Mona Gouin, mother of a 14-year old Alex, joined him on a kayaking trip to identify birds in the wetlands of Newport Back Bay. "I loved it," she said, "I think I could kayak forever."

From the host of summer camps-many devoted to developing particular skills in areas such as music, math or computer programming-consider picking one that will take full advantage of the benefits of the countryside, especially if it shows an understanding of the vital role learning from the natural environment plays in the child's development. As Stephen R. Kellert, professor at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, notes, "Contact with nature is increasingly revealed as critical in childhood maturation and development." Vital at all stages in a child's development, direct contact with nature offers intense learning experiences that enhance problem-solving, critical thinking, responding to challenges, curiosity and creativity among other factors. Yet children today play less and less frequently outside, which has even led Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods (2008, Algonquin Books, $14.95) to the coin of the term, "nature-deficit disorder." As Louv and Kellert argue, nature is not an extra-curricular activity.

There are many fascinating day and overnight camps available for children around the country, but even if you choose not to send your children to one, make sure they get out to play everyday in the park and the woods.

The Audubon Society hosts four residential and 31 day camps from New York to Hawaii for children 6-years-old and up. Some camps specialize in topics such as birding, river ecology and urban conservation, and 200 scholarships are available to kids who may otherwise not be able to attend camp (prices range from $160 and up for day camp to $429 and up for weeklong residential camps; www.audubon.org/educate/cw/index.php)

Kimberly Moses, mother of 6-year-old Julien, is a big fan of Earth Island Institute-supported KIDS for the BAY's Aquatic Science Adventure Camp in San Francisco. The camp's weeklong day sessions give kids ages five to ten a chance to explore aquatic ecosystems throughout the area ($285-$315 per week; with availability the week of July 28-August 1st, there is a waiting list for next year). "We really didn't expect how much Julien would learn," says Moses, "but he came out so excited about science and nature and now he tells us when we dump things down the drain, that they're going to the bay and hurting the fish." For 4- to 6-years old, the five-day Mini Beasts Summer Camp consists of half-days searching in the Presidio and East Bay Sites for aquatic invertebrates ($260; www.kidsforthebay.org, 510-985-1602).

Bainbridge Island, Washington's IslandWood outdoor learning center offers half-day and full-day sessions on topics such as "bugs, grubs and slugs" for kids ages four through six (140, or $120 for 4-day program the week of July 4, many sessions sold out) young explorer camps for third and fourth graders ($235 per week) and a coed adventure camp featuring scavenger hunts, geocaching, GPS training and mapping ($550 per week). Or the entire family can come to spend the weekend ($575, two days/three people, $75 each additional adult, $50 each additional child; www.islandwood.org).

For older kids in New York State, the Department of Environmental Conservation provides residential programs (at four camps) devoted to the wise use of natural resources. For kids ages 12 to 14, weeklong programs at Camps Colby, DeBruce and Rushford offer canoeing, fishing and hiking as well as sessions studying the human impact on forests, fields and waterways. For ages 15 to 17, Camp Pack Forest provides the opportunity to study forestry, aquatic biology, wildlife management and field ecology and, during the last three weeks of the summer, offers the same programs for 12- to 14-year-olds as the other three camps. As of press time, slots are available for girls only at Debruce, with a wait list for boys; slots still available for boys and girls at Colby and Rushford ($250; www.dec.ny.gov; 518-402-8014).

And don't forget the more traditional organizations. The YMCA hosts camps offering environmental education across the country and in Canada (see "Find YMCA Camps"). The Boy Scouts can earn an environmental science merit badge, and the organization's conservation efforts include working with the Nature Conservancy to protect a portion of the Chesapeake Bay Tributary (for a boy scout camp locator, see http://www.scouter.com/compass/Where_To_Go/BSA_Camps/, free registration required). In a joint program with the EPA, the Girl Scouts earn environmental health badges. Through the Elliott Wildlife Values Project, Girl Scouts can participate in the Linking Girls to the Land program, which partners scouts with federal natural resource agencies and gets them involved in local and nationwide conservation efforts, and the EarthPACT program, which involves girls in the restoration of native wildlife and plant habitats (www.girlscouts.org). If these options aren't right for your child, check with your state and local parks for day camps.

Lastly, don't forget to include the sunscreen in your child's bags, see our Sunscreen Buying Guide.