~ A day at camp ~
~ A day at camp ~
A short walk, bus, or bike ride from any part of town will carry you to a Tree Frog Treks site where our enthusiastic team of wild and free outdoor educators are waiting for your little explorers. Please always sign your campers in with your Naturalists to receive important information from them about the day!
While we wait for all of our group to arrive, we’ll play games, check out some animal artifacts or some of our living collection of Animal Ambassadors! All of our camp sessions have Themes, which are our guiding compass as we explore science and nature together. The name of the game is “Get Out and Get Dirty,” so it’s important our campers come ready for action and are encouraged to dive deep into the natural places in SF safely and with purpose.
Each day begins with a mind map, a silly synergistic assembly to get our minds geared up for the themes of the day. Then, “Trekking.” We spend two weeks with the same small group and take this time to get to know each other, playing team-building games and generally focusing on building friendships through productive play and guided experiences. On an average day your campers may walk anywhere from 1-5 miles.
The kids bring snacks and are encouraged to eat them at designated snack times 2-3 times a day. We also provide simple snacks, some fruit, and crackers along the way. We’ll stop for lunch together and encourage the kids to relax in one spot for at least 30 minutes with their friends to recharge and fuel up. Lunches and majority of snacks must be provided by families.
Depending on the session theme, the kids will explore science through experiments and activities utilizing TFT supplies. This could be anything from crafting with clay, to exploding hydrogen soap bubbles in the palms of our hands. Ideally the staff can generate lots of enthusiasm around these experiments and the campers are engaged in learning. Otherwise, it’s a great chance to get our hands dirty making slime or building a home for wandering weasels and weevils.
Scheduled animal times with our TFT Animal Ambassadors occur at least once a week, and sporadic visits from our animal ambassadors could happen on any day. This gives all our campers the option of holding a snake, lizard, frog, toad, turtle, or invertebrate. Campers are invited to participate in any capacity they feel comfortable with and will be encouraged to make friends with an animal. We will also have wild animal encounters supervised by our naturalist team, which may include handling nonvenomous snakes, salamanders, lizards, turtles, insects, and invertebrates. Each day we will look high and low to discover the many creatures we can see (and often miss!) in our wonderful city- your campers might teach you a thing or two!
On Travel days we either “BMW” (bike, Muni or walk), or use chartered transportation to destinations near and far to widen our scope. On these days we may be anywhere in the city or even outside of SF. Advanced notice of chartered field trips will be given a week prior to the trip.
Inspired by the Children and Nature Network, and our own passion for connecting kids to nature within the city, we complete each day by joining together for our version of the “Children’s’ Outdoor Bill of Rights.” This is another silly and fun assembly designed to recap and put a cap on the day.
At the end of the day, find your campers gathered at their group site, supervised in the adjacent playgrounds (if applicable) or climbing trees. Please always sign them out with your Naturalists and receive any important information about your camper and their day!
