Summer Fun
EcoCamp 2024
Join us in some outdoor, fun in the sun (and shade) !
Seven Weeks of Summer Fun!
Give your child the gift of nature with a week of EcoCamp at Pickering Creek Audubon Center. EcoCamp provides children with the freedom to explore and experience the outdoors in a safe and fun environment. EcoCamp encourages curiosity, exploration, and investigation that can lead to a greater understanding of the natural world and a lifelong appreciation for our environment. Each day is filled with fun activities like swimming, dip netting in the pond, marsh mucking, hiking, games, canoeing, fishing, meeting animals, and birding that take campers on adventures all over Pickering Creek’s 450 acres.
REGISTRATION FOR 2024 ECOCAMP BEGINS at 10 AM on MARCH 1st.
MOST WEEKS ARE SOLD OUT, BUT PLANS DO CHANGE! CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE WAITLIST
Who?
Each of the seven weeks of camp being offered in 2024 are open to all age groups.
Fledglings (campers entering K-1st grade in Fall 2024)
We guide our youngest adventurists around Pickering at their level – literally! Short hikes pause frequently to turn over logs, look under leaves, and examine a new treasure with magnifying lens in hand. We will fish, get wet, search for animals in our pond, and explore like the older campers but everything we do is adjusted for them, with plenty of opportunities to focus our activities on new questions and discoveries that always come up with this curious age group. Fledglings will have a quite time after lunch so they are reenergized for the second half of the day.
Larks and Shrikes (campers entering 2nd-7th grade in Fall 2024)
Larks and Shrikes weeks are filled to the brim with games, hikes, shelter building for frogs to people, swimming, canoeing, and fishing. We start each day prepared to keep this energetic age group engaged. Campers will end each week with new knowledge of our local environment and how to explore it while keeping themselves and wildlife safe.
What?
Camp Hours and Length: Each camp is held from 9-4, Monday through Friday and lasts one week. There is no camp on June 19 in observance of Juneteenth.
Staff: Our dedicated staff is experienced in teaching and is safety-certified and science educated. They transform Pickering Creek’s expertise in school-based programming into fun, hands-on activities that keep your camper learning throughout the summer. Our staff gets many helping hands each week from our volunteer Junior Naturalists; these teens have graduated from EcoCamp into our yearlong nature-enthusiast club and bring a variety of experience and fun ideas.
Group Sizes and Ages: Each group of ~12 campers is led by one college aged or older Camp Counselor with help from 2 to 3 Junior Naturalists. Larks & Shrikes groups may contain several grade levels.
Cost
$285 (with the exception of June 17-21 which is a 4-day week at $235 ) Scholarships are available. For more information, see Camp Scholarships below.
As our camp grows in popularity, we want to be able to reach as many families as possible. We will adjust registration rules accordingly. Thank you for helping us introduce more kids to nature!
2024 Camp Themes and Dates
Each week has a broad topic so you can select a theme based on your camper’s interest. The staff will be able to make adjustments within the theme based on campers’ questions with plenty of room for unscheduled curiosities to turn into hours of fun exploration. Click on Camp Theme for more information.
Wet & Wild (June 17-June 21) 4-Day week- No Camp on June 19 SOLD OUT Waitlist only
Cool off in the waters of Pickering Creek. We’ll explore the muddy freshwater wetlands, look for streams and puddles to play in and fish in the creek. Be prepared to get wet and muddy as we wade through these habitats collecting and watching wildlife, creating dams and new pools, and learning how water is the center for all habitats – big and small!
Pollinator Power* (June 24- June 28) SOLD OUT Waitlist only
The bees are buzzing, and the butterflies are fluttering! Come explore the world of pollinators as the summer flowers bloom all around us! Learn how important pollinators are to the world we live in and observe the beautiful varieties that call Pickering Creek home; from the bright Tiger Swallowtail to the bee-utiful honey bees!
Secret Forest (July 8-July 12) SOLD OUT Waitlist Only
Walk where few have walked before and explore the lesser known spaces of Pickering Creek. Campers will find spaces where the wild things are, the trees are taller, and the mud is deeper! We’ll try to spy new wildlife and use wayfinding skills to keep track of the places we explore.
Hop Slither Crawl* (July 15- July 19) SOLD OUT Waitlist only
This week we will explore our forests in search of salamanders and bugs, our wetlands to find frogs and crayfish and our creek front in the hopes of catching fish and turtles! Join us as we celebrate all the creatures that call Pickering Creek home, including reptiles, amphibians and insects.
Science Explorers (July 22- July 26) SOLD OUT Waitlist only
Who says science is boring? Come explore the laws of physics and nature at Science Explorers week! Campers will explore nature through messy outdoor experiments and games. Join us for a week of discovery and hands-on science fun!
Nature Ninjas* (July 29-Aug 2) SOLD OUT Waitlist only
Ninjas conceal themselves in the shadows stealth movements and coloring- much like every kind of wildlife in the Mid-Atlantic! This summer we’ll practice the art of camouflage and close observation and learn how to be calm, quiet, and prepared- being one with nature.
EcoCamp Village (Aug 5- Aug 9) SOLD OUT Waitlist only
Imagine a home-away-from-home. If you could live at Pickering Creek, how would you? We’ll build shelters, make carrying vessles with vines and gather treasures that could help us live in the forest. As we seine in the creek, we will learn about all the animals that depend on the fish in the water for food. We’ll learn how to depend on each other as we explore Pickering Creek.
How to Register:
Registration is scheduled to begin on March 1st at 10 AM. In preparation for registration, it is recommended that you, log in to your existing account (use Forgot Password, it you have registered for EcoCamp before) OR if you are new to EcoCamp, sign-up for an account. Whether you are logging in for the first time, or using an existing account it is highly recommended that your confirm your address and payment information in CampDoc prior to March 1 at 10am.
If you are unable to be available online at 10AM on the 1st, you must find a proxy to do the registering for you. To be fair to all and due to the speed at which EcoCamp fills up, we will not be available to assist registrants before 10:15 AM on March 1st.
Camp Scholarships
Scholarships are available for students in need to attend this year’s EcoCamp thanks to charitable donations from community members like you. Scholarships only cover a portion of EcoCamp tuition and do not include the $90 non-refundable deposit required upon registration.
Registration begins at 10am on March 1. You must register for a spot, paying the $90 deposit, PRIOR to submitting a scholarship application.
If you plan to submit an application, have questions, or need assistance completing one, please call 410-822-4903 or email alloyd@pickeringcreek.org.
* Transportation
We offer transportation Monday – Friday during the following weeks: June 24-28, July 15-18 and July 29-Aug 2. Transportation is available to EcoCamp from Easton each morning (8:30 am pickup) and afternoon (4 pm drop off).
Transportation is $30 per camper, per week. If you reserve camp transportation and decide you don’t need it, or you cancel your camp reservation, funds will be refunded through May 31st, 2024. Van space is extremely limited. A spot can be reserved as you complete the registration information.
About Registration
1. Camp spots will be reserved only after an $90 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit is received, for each week of camp. You may only register for 3 weeks per camper. After April 15th, you may register for additional weeks.
2. Reservations cannot be made over the phone. Spots are reserved on a first come, first served basis and many weeks fill up quickly. You will have an option to sign-up for a wait list.
3. Full payment and completed online health forms for all camp weeks are due on June 10th at which time the full amount of camp tuition is non-refundable.
4. If you have medications coming to camp with your camper, please have these forms completed to accompany the medication on the first day of camp. Medical Administration Authorization Form and Asthma Action Plan.