A story you made possible: Adventures at nature camp!

Thanks to your generous support, local students were able to attend free nature and science camps over spring break. The camps were run by the Sonoma Ecology Center, and took place at Sonoma Garden Park and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. 

I recently heard from Penny, a 2nd grade student at Sonoma Charter School, who attended one of the camps. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend a week at Sugarloaf–her first time at the park!

According to Penny, each day brought a new adventure. She and her fellow campers spent most of each day hiking together around the park. They explored creeks and a waterfall, collected interesting rocks, and found the perfect branches for making walking sticks.

Penny particularly enjoyed the views from the mountains, and opportunities to observe wildlife such as deer, butterflies, geckos, tadpoles, and banana slugs. Every morning, the campers were greeted by a flock of wild turkeys near the parking lot (and the camp leader taught Penny and the campers how to gobble like turkeys). 

Penny also learned a lot, and was eager to share her knowledge with her family. One day, she learned about plant medicine. Other days, the camp leaders talked about the way the forests have changed due to the recent wildfires. Penny also enjoyed showing her mom the trailheads at the end of the day, and looks forward to one day taking her family on some of the hikes she most enjoyed. 

Thank you for giving students like Penny the opportunity to get outside and explore nature and science! If you’d like to help another student today, you can click here.