As summer nears, the Go Green Adventure Camp is ready for another exciting year. The camp, which was founded by four WW-P Girl Scouts in 2010 as part of their silver award project, is now under the leadership of counselors Natasha Kanitkar, Lula Kavalov, and Kelly Donnelly.
They could not be any more enthusiastic to teach kids about our environment in a fun, interactive way. “I still cannot believe that after years of learning about our planet’s environment and ways to go green, I can finally teach kids about it. It is an incredible experience to look at kids faces that are all starting out exactly as I had, and even think that maybe one day some of those smiling kids will grow up to become a future counselor. This overall experience has proven to be a lesson and an inspiration to teach me that anything is possible if you really do want it,” says Kanitkar.
Children ages 8 to 12 who are interested in attending Go Green Adventure Camp are invited with their families to an open house on Saturday, April 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 13 Briardale Court in Plainsboro. In addition to Kanitkar, a freshman at High School North, and Kavalov and Donnelly, both freshmen at High School South, a first aid-certified adult is also on-site throughout the camp.
The one-week day camp runs Monday through Friday, August 1 to 5, and meets each day at a different park. Each day includes hikes and other interactions with nature through games and activities. One of campers’ favorites, Kanitkar says, is the day at the Plainsboro Preserve, where campers get to experience nature first-hand by the river, as they observe different organisms passing by. The last day of camp features a parent presentation and camp party to celebrate all that the campers have learned.
“I would have to say that the most moving moment of all my camp years was when a little girl actually spotted a deceased fish in the river with some plastic debris next to it. After asking what happened, I had said someone had littered and the fish had probably gotten tangled or hurt by the plastic. The girl was so stunned that a human could cause such damage without even knowing or thinking about what they’ve done that it brought tears to my eyes to see how moved she was,” Kanitkar says.
The counselors have also learned a few things from the campers along the way. “On the last day of my first year as a counselor, we were learning about pollution when one of the campers came up to me and asked, ‘Do you know what noise pollution is?’ And I had no answer to give her!” Kanitkar says. “She explained that it was when humans scared away animals or even harmed them by making loud noises. It was great to know there was still a lot to learn about our planet and that all these kids really did care.”
For more information, visit https://goinggreencamp.weebly.com.
