Registration opened for Summer Camp in the Gardens this month, and we couldn’t be more excited for our fourth summer of camp fun! We are offering three different camp themes (Aquapalooza, Plantapalooza, and Yuckapalooza) for all three elementary age groups, as well as Sprouts Summer Session for our preschool-aged campers. There are many well-established benefits to nature-based play and learning, and summer camp is the perfect place for kids to reap those benefits. Monk Botanical Gardens campers experience all of the rewards that come with a traditional summer camp, like socializing and friendship-building, but they also gain important environmental skills and knowledge.

New this year, we are offering a way for kids that have “aged out” of our summer camp program to stay involved.  Naturalists in Training (NITs) are young adults (ages 12-16) that have a passion for the outdoors and a desire to build leadership skills. Working closely with our education staff and interns to plan and lead activities and games, NITs will get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run an environmental education program. We are looking forward to establishing this new program and we hope to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones in the summer of 2023!  For more information about summer camp and the Naturalists in Training program, please check out our website: https://monkgardens.org/education/children-families/#summercamp

Written by Environmental Educator, Kaytie Ruesch