Buzzards Bay Coalition and YMCA Exploration Camp

Spring is here and summer is coming soon! This summer the Buzzards Bay Coalition and YMCA SouthCoast are proud to offer the new River Exploration Camp. This weeklong day camp will be full of hands-on activities for kids explore the Mattapoisett River from its headwaters to Buzzards Bay.

River Exploration Camp is just one of the ways the Bay Coalition and YMCA SouthCoast are partnering to help kids explore the Bay and watershed this summer. As part of a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bay Coalition will provide Bay stewardship programs for traditional day camps at Camp Massasoit in Mattapoisett and at Camp Frederick Douglass in New Bedford. Campers of all ages will engage in hands-on, exploratory activities designed to connect them to their Bay. This partnership allows the Bay Coalition to further its mission of helping people to discover Buzzards Bay while providing new opportunities for the YMCA’s summer camp programming.

Campers who want to dig a little deeper can sign up for one of two weeks of River Exploration Camp. (July 9-13 for ages 9-11 or August 13-17 for ages 12-14). Campers will spend the week in an in-depth study of the Mattapoisett River. Starting from a home base at Camp Massasoit at the mouth of the river, campers will travel upriver to YMCA property on Snipatuit Pond in Rochester, where the river begins. Campers will learn what it takes to be a river biologist while hiking, seining, water sampling, and creating a Mattapoisett River Field Guide.

YMCA SouthCoast has been a leading provider of quality day camp programs for more than 50 years. Camp Massasoit and Camp Frederick Douglass collectively serve hundreds of local children, ranging from ages 5 to 14. This summer, the Buzzards Bay Coalition will put a Bay-focused spin on camp activities. Children at Camp Frederick Douglass will engage in water testing, searching for plankton, and exploring easily overlooked habitats in downtown New Bedford. At Camp Massasoit, campers will muck around in the salt marsh, seine in the estuary, and explore the intertidal zone. All activities are designed to tap into campers’ natural curiosity and desire to explore. They will form a bond with the natural environment that hopefully will last a lifetime.

The Bay Coalition encourages all of its supporters to consider YMCA summer camps for their children to form lasting relationships with peers and the local environment. Registration forms can be found at www.ymcasouthcoast.org and more information can be found at: www.savebuzzardsbay.org/Camps

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