PLENTY Spring 2020 Plenty Spring 2020-WEB | Page 46

BRETTON WOODS
ADVENTURE CAmP
Nonstop fun in nature’s classroom
S
ummertime for kids used to
mean playing outside all day
and wishing you could skip
dinner when you got called
in! Children these days need more
time connecting with nature, hav-
ing fun summer memories with new
friends, enjoying a variety of outdoor
experiences, and hopefully exhaust-
ing themselves and triumphing over
obstacles and fears in the process.
Boys and girls ages 5 to 15 can
experience all of this and more at
the Bretton Woods Adventure Camp.
It’s is a week-to-week day camp
conveniently situated within short
walks to the Potomac River, Seneca
Creek and the C&O Canal. As part
of the spectacular 285-acre campus
of the Bretton Woods Recreational
Center, its summer camps are open
to the public, and also include more
traditional day camps specializing in
activities that develop a child’s golf,
tennis, or soccer skills.
As part of the Adventure
Camp—and in addition to its excit-
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plenty I Spring sowing 2020
ing jam-packed array of physical
activities—there is a well-designed
environmental education component
embedded in every week. Slow walks
along the C&O Canal—unplugged and
free to experience, reveal abundant
wildlife habitats, turtles, blue heron,
egrets, and even a pair of nesting
bald eagles. Taking in the beautiful
surroundings and watching nature
abuzz with activity for some kids is a
first-time experience.
All kinds of fun-filled water
activities happen daily like learning
canoeing skills, paddleboard balance
and steering, rapids swimming, and
floating in tubes. All campers wear
PFDs or personal flotation devices
for maximum safety while on or near
the water. Other rotating activities
include discovering the fascinating
history of Seneca and C&O Canal,
visits to the old quarry tucked away
in the woods near the Canal, craft
projects made with local clay, hands-
on shelter building, making rope,
and primitive skills to name a few.
Team and trust building exercises in
Bretton Wood’s mature forest with
its 65-foot giant swing, zip line and
ropes course boost kid’s confidence
and provide a lifetime of memories.
Distinctive to the Adventure
Camp program is a diverse interna-
tional contingent of campers, reflect-
ing the multicultural membership of
Bretton Woods. Young people from
different countries and life stories,
with varying ages and abilities, make
for a rich learning experience. “If
you close your eyes on any given day
you’ll hear several different languages
being spoken,” remarks Dave Ritter,
Director of Teambuilding and Out-
door Education at Bretton Woods.
Many on staff are bilingual, are highly
trained, 90 percent college educated,
and have advanced degrees in fields
like education and early childhood
development and, most importantly,
share a passion for outdoor activities
and a love of the outdoors. “We be-
lieve in hiring camp counselors based
on their ability to read children as