A camper at one of Harrison Bay State Park’s previous camps aims for the bulls-eye during target practice.Harrison Bay State Park is offering a brand-new survival camp this summer for kids who like a little bit of a challenge. There is only one session planned for its inaugural year, and spots are limited.
The camp, being offered June 6-8, includes two nights and a day and is limited to children ages 12-14.
The survival camp is designed to test kids’ endurance as well as teach them team building skills by splitting the campers into teams in order to compete against each other to complete required tasks, said Harrison Bay Park Ranger Matt Vawter.
He said the park decided to offer this camp because of the interest in survival skills being fueled by many of the survival shows that are popular right now. Camp organizers are also hoping to provide some new learning material for kids who have been involved in the park’s Junior Ranger Camp before.
Kids who have been through the Junior Ranger Camp will earn a bonus from their previous experience, and will be considered an asset to the teams in this new survival camp, he said.
“The kids will be given a swim test before beginning the activities,” said Vawter. “They will then go on to learn useful skills such as fire starting, water filtration, hunting/gathering, shelter building and signalling; all skills that could be useful and practical, but also fun. The teams will have a choice of which skills to learn in order to best help their team progress in the course.”
Those interested are required to submit an application packet at the park office by Sunday, June 5 in order to be considered for a spot in the new camp. Vawter explained that this is to make sure that only kids really wanting to attend the single session are accepted for one of the few spots.
The fee for attending the camp is $65 and goes to support the Friends of Harrison Bay, a nonprofit organization providing the materials for this camp and which also helps support the park’s upkeep.
While space in the survival camp is limited this year, Vawter said the park may expand the camp based on the success of this summer’s first session, though that decision has yet to be made.
For more information, call Friends of Harrison Bay at 593-4730.