Camping With Kids. Goldie Silverman
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These in-city excursions are good times to begin teaching your children respect for nature. They can look at the animals, but they should not chase them, feed them, or pick them up. They should learn to look at but not pick the plants. On the other hand, if something is already detached and lying on the ground, such as a pine cone or a pretty rock, it is permissible to pick it up.
Let your child start a “museum” at home of interesting specimens he or she has collected on your walks. Set aside a shelf or a table top for the collection. Be sure to return those items to the park when you clear the shelf
Since your camping trip will include nights spent out of doors, take some of your nature hikes at night. Look at the full moon with binoculars. Look at the stars. A 5-year-old might be able to learn to recognize the Big and Little Dippers. With help, older children could find other constellations. Older children can also track the phases of the moon, from new to full and back to new again.
Step into the backyard at night or go to a safe park and listen. What can you hear? At my house, I hear ducks quacking and geese honking as they fly by. Keep a night journal of what you see and hear. Use a flashlight to look at, and under, the plants in your yard. Are there insects there that you didn’t see during the day? Can you find a moth? Moths are creatures of the night, while butterflies are seen during the day. Moths spread their wings out flat, while resting butterflies generally hold their wings up straight.
Sometimes the out of doors can be studied indoors. Parents who are feeling intimidated at the idea of all this nature study because they have no background for it can accompany their kids to the closest library. Spend an afternoon browsing through the books on birds, bugs, rocks, flowers, and plants. Younger children will be content to look at the pictures. Older children can select some books to take home. Ask the librarian for help finding the books appropriate for the age and interest of your children. While you’re there, look at the books on camping, too.
Is there a museum of science or natural history near your home? Is there a botanical garden or a greenhouse in a public park? An ecology center? An outdoor store? Any of those places will have displays or exhibits that you can use to say, “This is what we might see when we’re camping.”
Quick Quiz
Nature Study
Q: How many places are there near your home where you can begin to study nature?
A: Your yard, the library, the park, the science museum, a botanical garden.
PEAK and Leave No Trace
REI, the outdoor retail cooperative, and Leave No Trace (LNT), an organization that teaches responsible outdoor recreation, have joined together to offer a program they call Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids, or PEAK. PEAK is based on the seven principles of Leave No Trace.
REI will send staff members or volunteers to speak to your child’s class or youth group or even birthday party. A PEAK presentation is made up of several different activities. Wendy Miller, events and outreach coordinator at the REI in Seattle, told me about an activity called the Web of Life that has been very popular in our area. This activity introduces the seven principles through a game in which kids use cards around their necks to trace the food chain, from mosquito to salmon to bear. For other presentations, the REI representative may bring a backpack containing camping equipment useful for responsible camping, like a trowel for digging a hole for your human waste, or a bear bag for storing food out of the reach of animals.
Contact the REI store nearest you (find one by calling 800-426-4840 or visiting www.rei.com) to arrange an age-appropriate presentation for your group. Visits can last one to two hours. You can learn more about Leave No Trace on their website, www.lnt.org, or by calling 800-332-4100. I believe that every family should adopt these principles as their personal outdoor creed. You will find these ideas repeated many times through this book.
Following the principles of Leave No Trace means leaving what you find, but picking the occasional blackberry is OK.
Principles of Leave No Trace
1. Know before you go: Be prepared with the right clothes and equipment. Know how you are going to camp and something about the area. Read Planning Your Trip.
2. Choose the right path: Stay on the trail. Do not walk on wildflower meadows or areas that have been marked for rehabilitation. Choose a campground that has the features you want, and, once you’re there, camp in a designated campsite. Read the sections Where Shall We Go?, and What if Someone is Lost?.
3. Trash your trash: Put all litter in trash cans or carry it home. Carrying it home is better than leaving it in camp; some park budgets have been cut so drastically that trash is not picked up as often as it should be. If there is no bathroom or outhouse, bury your poop in a hole 4 to 8 inches deep and 100 big steps from any stream or lake. (Leave No Trace assumes that a “big step” is 2 feet long, for a total of 200 feet away from water.) Carry your toilet paper out in a plastic bag. Keep water clean. Do not put soap, food, or any other waste in lakes or streams. Read the section What’s Life in Camp Really Like?.
4. Leave what you find: Here, I disagree a little bit with LNT guidelines. I think it’s OK to collect rocks on the beach and leaves or plant material that have already fallen, unless they are special plants, like cones from sequoia trees. Treat living plants with respect. Leave historical items as you found them so the next person can enjoy them. Don’t dig trenches or build structures in your campsite. Read the section What Should We Do for Fun?.
5. Be careful with fire: Before you build a campfire, check fire regulations and restrictions for the local area. Use a fire ring that’s already in place and keep your fire small. Do not take branches from living trees; collect only loose sticks on the ground. Be sure the fire is completely cold and out before you leave. Read the section called How Do We Cook in Camp?.
6. Respect wildlife: Observe animals from a distance and never approach, chase, or feed them. Human food is unhealthy for animals; feeding them will start them on bad habits. Store your food and trash so animals can’t get to them. Control pets at all times or leave them at home. Reread the paragraphs on animals in this section, and read the paragraphs in the relevant sections in What’s Life in Camp Really Like?, How Do We Cook in Camp?, and What Should We Do for Fun?.
7. Be kind to other visitors: Make sure the fun you have does not bother anyone else. Remember that other campers may be there to enjoy the peace and quiet of the outdoors. Avoid making loud noises or yelling. See the section on good manners in camp.
Learning about Campgrounds
When John Silverman was in pre-school, he was part of a group of children who were chosen to appear on a local children’s television program. He had watched this program many times. We took him to the studio, he looked around, and he said, “This isn’t what I thought it would be. Where is the little box?”
You and your children may have had a lot of conversations about camping, but the kids’ perceptions of what a campground is like may be a little bit skewed. It’s not your backyard! Try to find a park near your home that allows camping, and walk through it. Point out the fire pits, the picnic tables, and the platforms for tents or RVs. Show them the bathrooms or outhouses. If you’re going to be camping at a private campground,