This summer, Missouri Conservation Corps teamed up with Missouri Stream Teams to bring Camp I Love Me campers down to the creek. The campers, ranging from kindergarten to third grade, were led down the trail in Capen Park to the confluence of the Hinkson and Grindstone creeks. There, thirty rambunctious kids explored, splashed, and discovered a little about the creeks, the creatures living in them, and how much they love getting in the water!
Our days in the creek taught our camper friends how to play like a kid but think like a scientist. We seined for macroinvertebrates, caught fish and crawfish, and picked up shells and fossil pieces in the sand. We helped them identify what they were catching in their nets and sampling trays, and how to look for signs of a healthy water system. At the start, a few were hesitant to get their feet wet, but by the end, they were showing us not only how to look beneath the surface of the water but how to get under and explore!
It was amazing to see how only a couple hours could turn kids who had never been in a creek before into kids who didn’t want to leave. They wanted to take home everything they had seen and caught to their friends and families, and although they couldn’t bring diving beetles and darter fish on the bus, they took with them memories of days in the water, flipping over rocks and drying off in the sun.
Our time at the creek was only a small part of the summer of outdoor lessons we put together for Camp I Love Me, but there was such a big impact. Unfortunately, recent funding changes means we need your support in order to continue creating these experiences for our summer camper friends. Making a gift to our CoMoGives campaign is the best way to ensure we can uphold our commitment to Camp I Love Me and further our mission through environmental education. A donation today can become a magical memory in nature for our youth.
Photos by Sam Brusven
