During the summer of 2025, Missouri Conservation Corps was heavily involved in a local summer camp called Camp I Love Me. With the help of partners, educators and volunteers, our organization developed twelve environmental education segments that we delivered to a group of 35-40 summer campers on twelve mornings between early June and mid-August.
Our campers ranged from kindergartners to third graders, and it was extremely rewarding to see them let down their guard and become excited about nature and the outdoors! For some of our young campers, these summer camp environmental education “classes” in Columbia’s parks, creeks and green spaces were the first time they had been immersed in nature and connected to a lesson about the natural environment.
Planning and organizing a structure and a curriculum for the Summer Camp was a lot of work, and we could not have done it without help and support from our partners, our educators, and our volunteers.
Our partner organizations this year included Missouri Department of Conservation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri Master Naturalists, Volunteer Columbia, Columbia Parks and Recreation, City of Columbia Office of Sustainability, Missouri State Parks, Columbia Public Schools, and the University of Missouri.
Special thanks go to the educators and volunteers who turned out with us on twelve summer mornings, sometimes in the rain, sometimes in the heat, to bring environmental education and an appreciation for nature to our young Summer Campers. These include: Laura Semken, Nina Thomas, Cara Coates, Dan Miller, Lindsey Smith, Emily Althoff, Sam Brusven, Leanne Tippet Mosby, Sajo Abdallah-Colon, Danielle Fox, Jeremiah Smith, Roxie Campbell, Anna Do and Mark Berlinger. We are grateful for your time, your effort, your energy and your enthusiasm, and we hope to work with you again next year during the 2026 Camp I Love Me summer camp.
