What’s better than making s’mores on a beautiful summer night? Making s’mores with seventeen youngsters on a beautiful summer night!

Camping in the woods. With kids. For a week. No phones, no computers, no electronics. Sounds like fun? You bet!

As spring turns to summer, our thoughts and the thoughts of our campers start thinking about camp!

Camp is an overnight adventure for campers between the ages of 8 and 12 in Carbon County and the surrounding area. Registration begins in late spring but space is limited to the first 25 registered campers so remember to check out the center’s Facebook page next year for more information.

Campers arrive Monday morning and stay until Friday morning. We spend the week exploring the forests and learning about ecosystems, rafting another day, swimming, as well as many other fun activities.

Our goal has always been to send them home with a deeper sense of their connection to our natural world. They arrive unsure of the new surroundings but as they settle in by the end of the week they say goodbye to us, friends they have made with a promise to return again next year!

Beautiful Hickory Run State Park is the perfect backdrop for camping. Forests, meadows, streams, waterfalls are all places to explore and learn about.

A trip to Boulder Field is always a highlight as we explore and learn about this place that is like nothing else in North America.

I like to point out to the boys and girls that the only other place on earth with a similar feature is in Russia but “ours” right here in Carbon County is bigger, better, and geologically for more interesting!

Not only do our campers return year after year but one of the requirements of our camp counselors is that they must have been campers themselves.

Counselors understand the worries that our campers might experience especially if a camper is away from home for the first time. Our counselors know how to make new campers feel at ease.

Campers get the chance to express themselves creatively through art, explore the environment, make new friends, experience new activities and are exposed to a variety of professionals in various fields that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet. Some of the guest speakers in the past included rescue teams, entomology, herpetology, and astronomy.

At the end of the week there are hugs, and some tears, and promises to return next year and that is not limited to just our campers.

We are fortunate to have dedicated staff and counselors who enjoy the week with our campers and the other counselors.

It is a busy week that includes challenging work and long hours for our staff but as one counselor put it, “Camp is the best part of summer!”

I agree.

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.