Loblolly

The focus was on the forest’s smallest friends this week as campers learn about bugs! During this week everyone had a chance to create their own bugs, learn how they adapt with different environments, and search for real life bugs in the creek!

Bug Builders (Wake – Loblolly, June 17-21, 2024)

This group went the extra mile in everything they did this week! They explored new parts of the park to discover new base camps, traveled to the furthest creek spot, Spa City, and made larger than life shelters during their fort building stations!

Backwoods Adventures (Wake – Loblolly, June 24-28, 2024)

Lots of fun fort building was done during this week of camp. Participants did a great job using natural resources from the park to creature out of this world shelters using all sorts of strategies and blueprints!

Forest Architects (Wake – Loblolly, June 24-28, 2024)

Campers had a blast as they tried to stay cool in the summer heat! Many forts were built, many crayfish were caught, and much fun was had playing fainting goat tag!

Owl (Wake – Loblolly, June 24-28, 2024)

This week the campers did a lot of exploring in a Kingfisher’s favorite place to be: near the water! They had a chance to visit multiple unique creek spots, learned to skip rocks, found countless crawfish, and played many fun games whenever they needed a break from the water. Fun times were had all around!

Kingfisher (Wake – Loblolly, July 1-3, 2024)

During this program campers had many opportunities to get dirty and explore. They found natural deposits of clay and used it to make sculptures, dug in the dirt for bugs and signs of larger creatures, and trampled down the ground while running around playing camp games such as Werewolf.

Dipped in Dirt (Wake – Loblolly, July 1-3, 2024)

Campers learned fun facts about the history of Umstead State Park this week while also learning how plants and animals utilized this land before it even became a park! The group made sure to do some ‘hands-on learning’ by exploring what the park has to offer: everything from new base camps to the best creek spots.

Umstead Before Time (Wake – Loblolly, July 1-3, 2024)

Campers had a rabbeting time during our Frog themed week at Umstead State Park! After spending the mornings searching for toads or playing Leapfrog Tag, the group cooled off in the creek counting tadpoles and were amazed at how many critters they saw every day.

Frog (Wake – Loblolly, July 8-12, 2024)

Campers enjoyed getting wet this week as they put their whole bodies in the creek; not just their feet! During this time opportunities were had to skip rocks, search for snakes, catch crawfish, and have fun in our Splash Zone. When not in the water many kids also grouped up to make shelters as well.

Feet in the Creek (Wake – Loblolly, July 8-12, 2024)

Thirty growth rings were awarded this week during Growth Ring Bonanza! Whether it was using steel strikers to start a fire, carving a butter knife, or learning to identify plants all campers really rounded out their outdoor skills and had a chance to try new skills too.

Growth Rings Bonanza (Wake – Loblolly, July 8-12, 2024)