When the weather warms up in the summer, many of us desert our offices, our schools, and even our comfortable homes. We abandon the world of four solid walls. For what? A flimsy tent that may leak if it rains? Why?
For one thing, camping is an opportunity 鈥渢o get closer to nature.鈥� The walls that insulate us from the vagaries of the weather also hide the majesty of the outdoors 鈥� the forests, fields and streams, the landscapes, and the views from ocean shore or mountaintop 鈥� and the wildlife, the creepy crawlies and flying things.
Getting close enough to nature to encounter creepy crawlies is not on every adult鈥檚 A-list.
Kids, on the other hand, are primed for such encounters. I鈥檒l never forget one night camping in Manning Park when my kids and I watched transfixed as hordes of bats manically circled in the evening air in hot pursuit of mosquitos. I also remember what got us there.
One afternoon we stopped off in Manning Park briefly, but long enough to realize that this beautiful outdoor environment was a perfect match for the energy of our four boys.
My wife and I theorized that these kids could probably throw rocks in the water for hours 鈥� and we tested this theory as we relaxed at our campsite a few weeks later watching the rocks kerplunk.
Besides Manning Park, we have many other wonderful spots to camp here in 鈥淪upernatural British Columbia.鈥�
There are also a whole host of camps that take care of your kids for you. Sending the kids to camp for a week or two is even more of a break than camping with them.
Day camps are another great option. LEPS runs an 鈥淓co-Explorer鈥� day camp program here in 黑马磁力 for kids aged six to 12 every week, starting July 9.
You can tell by the funky names of the camps that this is gotta be a fun time: 鈥渢rash talk鈥�, 鈥渢ree huggers鈥�, 鈥渂umble boogie鈥�, 鈥渢hings with wings鈥�, 鈥済arden grub鈥漚nd 鈥渨ater, water, everywhere.鈥�
The picturesque A Rocha Brooksdale Environmental Centre, located in South Surrey on the Little Campbell River, also has day camps on offer for kindergarten to age 11, including a week of 鈥淐reature Construction鈥� July 22-26 and one-day camps Aug. 6 and Aug. 13.
As Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus cartoon would advise, don鈥檛 stay indoors this summer but get out there, 鈥渢ake chances, make mistakes and get messy.鈥�
David Clements, Ph.D. is a professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Trinity Western University.
