Environmental Summer Camps: Review of Colorado Youth Program

The Colorado Youth Program in Boulder, Colorado helps kids get connected with the Earth and nature, as well as their communities. The program helps them find their own inner strength. The summer camp in the Colorado Youth Program is the Mountain Summer Camp. There are four sessions throughout the summertime from the beginning of June through the end of July. The summer camp lasts for nine nights and ten days per session. The Mountain Summer Camp is strictly for kids ages eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen (ages 11-16). Each session has up to twelve children and two campsites. The minimum qualifications set on camp counselors are experience working with children in the outdoors and a bachelor’s degree.

The focus of the Colorado Youth Program Mountain Summer Camp is to have the attending children live in a campsite for the ten days. The children learn all about the basics of their environment, the Earth, and nature. They will also learn the importance of volunteering and how great it feels to volunteer. The kids of this summer camp will also learn about conservation. Since there are only twelve kids per session they learn about responsibility as they have to help each other out in the daily needs of the camp. They will also get more individualized and personal attention from the camp counselors. It is an friendly place where kids learn all about the environment, conservation and community.

There are a variety of outdoor activities for the kids of the Colorado Youth Program Mountain Summer Camp, including bird banding, astronomy, fishing, kayaking, hiking, white water rafting, evening campfires, wildlife study, mountain biking, canoeing, forest study, games, and aquatics study. Each session also includes an alpine day that is spent entirely above the tree line. Kids will also get to see a lot of wildlife: elk, coyotes, deer, turkeys, moose, eagles, otters, and more. There is private access to the water: Lake Tumblesom and the National Forest lands. The summer camp is located in the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado. It has more than 400 acres and is elevated at 9,000 feet.