What Are Your Kids Doing this Summer?
A Week at Camp, A Lifetime of Memories

It’s only a few weeks before school ends for the summer and you haven’t planned any way to occupy your child/children for the summer? No problem. Look no further than the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) summer environmental education camps! At $350 a week these camps are a terrific bargain, half the price of camps run by other non-profits, and they offer amazing opportunities for your child to learn and interact with the natural environment. If exploring a forest, swamp, lake and a field or fishing, hiking, canoeing, swimming, star gazing and meeting professionals in environmental fields sounds like a great way to spend a week of the summer, then we have a camp for you!

DEC’s unique residential camp program still has openings for youth ages 12 to 14. Each of the camps focuses on conservation education by immersing campers in outdoor activities and hands-on learning that teach the wise use of natural resources. Highly qualified staff ensure that campers enjoy their week-long outdoor adventure and help them develop outdoor skills such as hiking, fishing and canoeing that can last a lifetime. For those who are interested, hunter safety training is available from certified Sportsman Education instructors, with prior permission from parents/guardians.

All four camps—Colby and Pack Forest in the Adirondacks, DeBruce in the Catskills and Rushford in Western New York—still have openings for some weeks during the seven weeks of camp, which run from July 3 through August 20. Campers arrive on Sunday afternoon and are picked up Saturday morning. The $350 cost is all inclusive including food, lodging and activities. Local organizations such as civic groups, garden and sportsmen clubs can also sponsor a camper. Applications are still being accepted and registration will continue until all spaces are filled.

Full information, including registration forms, available weeks and detailed program descriptions is available at Environmental Education Summer Camps or by writing to NYSDEC Camps, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4500. You may also e-mail the camps at edcamps@gw.dec.state.ny.us, sign up for DEC’s camps listserve or call 518-402-8014.