My job this past week was to shadow some of the camps, take pictures, and learn about the Summer Camp experience here at the Center. I expected to simply be tagging along and photographing from the background, but I found myself having just as much fun with the activities as the campers!

On Wednesday, I joined the I Spy…Birds! camp at our Washington Park branch to band and release birds for research. This meant helping to set up nets to catch the birds, watching the professional and volunteer scientists record their information and place bands on them, and finally, releasing the birds back into the wild! 

Manager of Research and Community Science Tim Vargo demonstrates bird banding to campers while they use their bird guides to identify the one he’s holding. Photo: Maddie Bird

I also had the opportunity to travel to the Menomonee Valley branch to take pictures of the Outdoor Detectives camp while they collected invertebrate samples from the Menomonee River and hiked through Three Bridges Park. Campers learned about macro invertebrates, played games, and then hiked down to the river for some hands-on research. They captured the tiny water creatures using nets, and then observed them using tools such as magnifying glasses, eyedroppers, and petri dishes. 

Campers using tools to observe the macro invertebrates they caught in the river. Photo: Maddie Bird

The Washington Park Trailblazers camp had the youngest campers of any program I shadowed last week. These kids were between the ages of five and six, and were just discovering the wonders of nature. They spent some of their time catching and observing invertebrates from the Washington Park lagoon, but I had the most fun playing hide and seek with them! They discovered a natural hideout inside a bush next to the water, and called it their “secret fort.” 

The Trailblazers inside their secret fort. Photo: Maddie Bird

Watching kids from the city explore nature and learn about the environment was an awesome experience for me. I loved the looks of wonder and excitement on campers' faces as they released birds for the first time, climbed trees, explored the forest, or made new animal friends! Giving urban kids a chance to explore nature without leaving the city is an invaluable service provided by the Urban Ecology Center, and I am grateful to be able to witness the impact it has on our summer campers.