Adventure Camp: Grades 6-8

Each of our middle school camps include a Thursday night, backcountry camp out onsite at KNC. Each campout includes site selection, food preparation, applying Leave No Trace Principles, and proper gear use. Each week we’ll focus on building special, outdoor experiences and skills. Gain leadership and teamwork experience on the Low Ropes Challenge Course. The themes below describe additional activities we will add during that session of camp.

Note: Participants should be able to carry a 30lb pack, walk two miles a day, and learn and use backcountry bathroom techniques where there are no facilities available.

“ADVENTURE SKILLS” RUNS 9 AM–3 PM, MONDAY–FRIDAY. OVERNIGHT CAMPOUT IS 9 AM THURSDAY – 12 PM FRIDAY. TENTS AND 3 MEALS ARE PROVIDED. TENTS ARE NOT SHARED. Please bring your own if you’d prefer.
$595 MEMBER, $620 NON-MEMBER

Young Farmers: 6th-8th Grade

A farm is a great place to experience nature while exploring the outdoors. Do you know what it takes to be a farmer? We’ll dig in to all the facets involved in soil making, seeding, planting, tending, harvesting, and giving back to the land that provides our food. Each session will highlight the changes the farm goes through during the growing season. Plus, there will be plenty of time for all the activities you’ve grown to love at camp, like a hike to Source Pond, hammocking with friends, and team-building activities. It will be a fun and busy week!

A Note for Parents & Guardians: Farm work is the original experiential education program. It provides a platform for healthy risk, critical thinking, deep observation, and hands on engagement with nature. Growing food is a direct representation of our dependence on healthy systems. A farm is a place for young people to experience nature while exploring and playing in the outdoors.

“YOUNG FARMERS” RUNS 9 AM–3 PM, MONDAY–FRIDAY

$395 MEMBER, $420 NON-MEMBER

Register Here

We have a new registration system this year! Here are some helpful tips:

1) Please make sure to read carefully.

2) Financial Assistance: During Registration you will be able to fill out a request for Financial Assistance. Those who end up qualifying for a 100% financial assistance award will be refunded their deposit. If you believe you will qualify for a 100% award and are unable to pay the 20% deposit, please contact Program Registrar, Tamila Brode, at (269)381-1574 x24 or register@naturecenter.org.

3) If you will be registering different children for different camps: Register the first child. When you reach the end of registration you will see your shopping cart with price totals. At the bottom of this page is a button that says ‘Keep Shopping’. Click this to return to the list of camps and register subsequent children. Your Financial Assistance Application and Parent/Guardian/Authorized Pick-up Information forms will already be filled out.

4) If the camp you would like to register for is full, you can still register and automatically be placed on the waitlist.

Adventure Skills Camp Sessions

Session 1: June 14-18 | Wild Work

Have you thought about going into an environmental career? Get hands-on experience with the skills you need. From animal care to climbing skills, see what it takes to be a wildlife biologist, animal care provider, or environmental educator.

Session 2: June 21- 25 | Night Quest

Session 2: June 21- 25 | Night Quest

Be knights of the night with us. Lay under the stars with hot chocolate and treats, track the sun and moon, and journal during the night. Learn to use a telescope and search the galaxy with the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. Find your constellation and go for a night hike.

Session 3: June 28- July 2 | Backpacking Skills

Session 3: June 28- July 2 | Backpacking Skills

Do you dream of exploring places few people go? Find skies with the brightest stars and sounds only nature makes. Learn all you need to know to take on your own backpacking adventure, or lead your family and friends into the wild. Learn to fit and pack the perfect load, determine the bare essential supplies, start a fire with no tools, filter water, hang a bear rope, set up a solo tent and brave the night.

Session 4: July 12-16 | Folk Life

Session 4: July 12-16 | Folk Life

Sing, write, create, and share. Explore how people past and present build their lives from the natural world. Enjoy campfire cooking competitions, build backcountry forts, get your hands dirty in the garden, and get a taste of the folk life!

Session 5: July19-23 | Nature is Calling the Artist in You

Session 5: July19-23 | Nature is Calling the Artist in You

Seek out the art hiding in the world around you. Take a closer look at the beauty of nature with local artists as they share some of their favorite skills. Compose a symphony of natural sound, mold clay into wearable art, and more. Delve into the natural world of creativity.

Session 6: July 26-30 | Navigation Nation

Session 6: July 26-30 | Navigation Nation

Explore the great outdoors old-school style. Learn to use a compass and GPS on the trails of KNC. Work with a team to navigate your way toward a prize. Create your own map, hike to Source Pond, and explore the world through the eyes of animals that use these skills every day.

Session 7: August 2-6 | Survival Skills

Session 7: August 2-6 | Survival Skills

Can you survive in the wild? Using the skills you’ll learn at KNC, yes you can! Hike to new destinations, learn to build a simple shelter, find food and water, spark a fire with a flint or fire bow, and prepare a wild-cooked meal. You’ll have what it takes to take on the wild!

Session 8: August 9-13 | Adventure Challenge

Session 8: August 9-13 | Adventure Challenge

Take on daily challenges, build leadership skills, and work with other campers to accomplish shared goals. Develop new outdoor skills, complete challenges at the low ropes, and celebrate your accomplishments around the campfire.

Young Farmers Sessions

Session 4: July 12-16 | Onions and Greens

Session 4: July 12-16 | Onions and Greens

Don’t worry, this camp won’t make you cry. You will get to peel back the many layers of onion and greens to learn how plants work together. Discover perfect plant pairings for pest reduction. Learn about food and food justice while trying your hand at soil making, seeding, planting, tending, harvesting, and giving back to the land. You’ll grow your own harvest and make a meal.

Session 8: August 9-13 | Tend and Till

Session 8: August 9-13 | Tend and Till

Give it a rest! Put a garden bed to sleep for the season. As we set the stage for the season ahead, learn about giving more than we take away from the land. Dig in to soil making, seeding, planting, tending, harvesting, and giving back to the land. Grow your own harvest and make a meal.

Jr. Naturalists | 4 & 5 Year Olds

Explorers | Grades 1-3

Wild Child | Grades 4 & 5

Adventurers | Grades 6-8

Nature's Way Preschool Camp

Parent/Guardian Handbook

Camp Director:
Tanequa Hampton, (269) 381-1574 ext 15,
(269) 815-8326,
or thampton@naturecenter.org