The youth are out of school for the summer and the City of Action has plenty of activities to keep them busy. The week long Outdoor Adventure Camp at Jacob Myers Park wrapped up on Friday, June 21 for campers between the ages of six to 12 with a BBQ.
Joye Thompson, Program Specialist and Edgar Fernandez, camp leader had a full week of activities with about 20 young campers.
The camp started on Monday, June 17 and ended on Friday, June 21 and was from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. They did offer early drop off at 8 a.m. and late pick up at 6 p.m. for parents who needed additional care to fit their work schedule.
The weeklong camp was filled with several activities like exploring, hiking, games, crafts, and a talent show. Kids also got a camp T-shirt for participating in the camp.
On Wednesday Scott McRitchie took the campers on a hike where they learned about nature. Before they started on the hike, McRitchie explained to them how important sunscreen was by showing them a picture of the damage the sun can do. Quickly following his explanation the kids all got their sunscreen out and used it.
The breeze was blowing and the campers were playing in the park, which seemed to be a hit with several of the youngsters.
“The wind has hindered our crafts because we get started and then the wind starts blowing things everywhere,” said Thompson, adding that they did get some completed during the course of the week.
A few of the girls at camp were making good use of the slide and swings during play time in the park. They all expressed that the camp was really fun and they enjoyed the arts and crafts, swings, slides and the hikes.
Some of the campers also were busy with a game of checkers or a game of water tag.
One of the activities was a drawing contest. Each camper could draw a picture of anything they wanted. The pictures would then be labeled with a number and the participants would go around and pick the drawing that they liked the best.
Eight-year-old Olivia Saldivar won the contest with her elaborate drawing of the things she saw on the hike that they had a day before. Her drawing had a thorny plant, squirrel, a log with termites, a hawk, and many other things. Saldivar was awarded a pack of markers.
Camp leader Fernandez is new to the Parks and Recreation department but has been adjusting into his position with ease. He will be a senior in the next school year and looks forward to working with the kids throughout the summer.
He created a quiz for the little campers to take that had questions about the different things they have learned at camp.
During the week of camp they also practiced for a talent show that they performed on the last day of camp.
The Outdoor Adventure Camp has been a summer activity in Riverbank since 2001 and has been a success every year. They will be offering a Mini-Outdoor adventure camp starting July 1 through July 3 at Jacob Myers Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for kids 6 to 12 years old.
