Community Based Camps
Audubon Society of Portland offers three satellite summer camps in three very different communities. Alberta Nature Team (ANT), Explorador Summer Camp, and Estacada Summer Science School.
The Alberta Nature Team (ANT) is a partnership between the Inner City Youth Institute and the Audubon Society of Portland. ANT camp is a hands-on, nature themed summer camped focused on exploring nature in your own neighborhood. Favorite activities of campers include animal tracking, water quality testing, habitat restoration, bird watching, plant identification, learning to use a map and compass, and building birdhouses.
ANT camp serves children from North and Northeast Portland, a population that has historically been under-served by environmental education programs. To learn more about ANT camp please contact Steve Robertson at 971.222.6118.
Explorador Summer Camp
The 2004 Audubon Society of Portland Explorador Summer Camp Program was the result of a partnership between the Audubon Society of Portland, The Housing Development Corporation of Northwest Oregon and Jackson Bottom Wetland Preserve. The Explorador program served 27 youth over a two-week period from the Hillsboro area. 2004 was the pilot year for this exciting new summer camp.
The goal of the Explorador Program was to serve a population of children who rarely have the opportunity to learn and explore in the natural world. Specifically, the Explorador program reached out to bilingual Spanish/English speaking children. The printed materials for the program were available in Spanish and English, and all of the three instructors had, at the very least, some Spanish speaking ability. The camp was offered free of charge to all students. A healthy lunch and snacks were provided each day. The program was well received by students and their families, and the Audubon Society of Portland was encouraged to continue this successful program in years to come.
Students were recruited from one elementary school and two low-income housing communities that serve farm workers and their families. In total, 27 students were served this summer. The first week of Explorador consisted of 5 students from Peter Boscow Elementary and 8 students from Montebello housing complex in Hillsboro. The second week consisted of 14 students from Reedville housing complex in Aloha. Of the 27 students, 22 were Hispanic and 5 where Caucasian. All of the 22 Hispanic students were bilingual Spanish/English speakers. - by Alice Froehlich
Estacada Summer Science School: Partnering with the Estacada School District to deliver our fourth summer of Estacada Summer Science Camp for grades 2-8. Estacada students are encouraged to explore the natural world via hands-on activities and experiential learning. In this summer day camp, children make journals and record their daily interactions with nature. Children also make cool and useful things to take home, like birdhouses and bird feeders, designed to extend their learning and connection with nature.
For more information about the Estacada Summer Science Camp contact Steve Robertson at 971.222.6118 or email srobertson@audubonportland.org
