Conservation Kids

The Straker Foundation is proud to have supported Conservation Kids, and glad the students involved spent parts of their summer learning more about the natural world.

The Muskingum Valley Parks District partnered with Zanesville City Schools to provide Conservation Kids, a once-weekly, outdoor summer camp 2021 experience focused on nature; they covered topics ranging from animal and plant diversity to sustainability to community engagement. Students hiked, explored nature, and experimented with photography, journaling, and watercolor painting. Beautiful Kaufman field guides bolstered their explorations. Participants earned their Conservation Kids patch.

The program had two goals: to bridge summer learning gaps, especially important after COVID forced virtual learning, and to introduce children to outdoor recreation.

The morning we visited, the groups met at Mission Oaks, where a butterfly had just, as students watched, emerged from its chrysalis. Not too long after that, one group of students emerged from the woods with their mentor, elated at having seen an owl.

The Straker Foundation is proud to have supported Conservation Kids, and glad the students involved spent parts of their summer learning more about the natural world.

• Year:2021
• Location:Zanesville, Ohio