Michigan Out-of-Doors Youth Camp is Underway

It is hard to believe, but the Michigan Out-of-Doors Youth camp is already in its second week of operation for the 2023 season. Currently, we are hosting more than 30 9-11 year-olds for a week of overnight camp down at Cedar Lake. Last week we had 35-day campers join us to learn new outdoor skills and connect with the environment down at Cedar Lake. Before that, we had a week of staff training to prep our eight seasonal staff for their summer down at camp.

During staff training, our staff spends an entire week learning the skills and knowledge they need to help the campers have a fantastic week. Whether it is rounding out their knowledge of bog ecosystems or practicing their skills on the archery range, these are skills they will be passing on to campers and using throughout their life. They also spent time growing and learning as a team. This year we have two returning staff from the 2022 season as well as new faces from states as far away as Florida and California.

During the first week of camp, our day campers ages 5-12 joined us for a week of outdoor exploration. They spent time playing nature games, building survival shelters and swimming and fishing in Cedar Lake. These campers learned about water ecology, and macro-invertebrates and created some of their fishing tackle to use down at the waterfront or on their own when they returned home. They also spent a few hours on the archery range and in the kayaks.

During week two (currently), our overnight campers are participating in more advanced outdoor skill-building. Although the beginning of the week has been a bit wet, the campers are still enjoying time fishing, and kayaking and will head down to the rifle and archery ranges on Thursday. These campers are also participating in the Michigan Hunter Education Course. If they pass the test on Thursday, they will be certified and can purchase a hunting license in the state of Michigan.

We look forward to wrapping up this week and rotating into another batch of day campers during the week of the 4th of July. We still have a few spaces left in our day camp weeks throughout the summer. To learn more or toregister your child visit the camp website at www.mucccamp.org.

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