HANCOCK COUNTY – Landon Alford is an outdoorsy kind of kid.
The active 8-year-old spent last week learning, playing and exploring at the Plug Into Nature day camp at Nameless Creek Camp just east of Greenfield.
As the name implies, campers spend the week getting plugged into nature rather than video games.
“It’s a great way for them to get away from technology and make new friends and learn new skills,” said Brittany Bennett, who is directing the camp for the third year in a row.
The PIN camp is for incoming third through fifth graders in Hancock County, and is always held the second week of July.
Sixty campers spent the week learning about plants and animals, going on hikes, playing music and doing arts and crafts.
They spent each day rotating through various stations focused on team building, outdoor games, nature activities, arts and crafts and hands-on activities. There’s also the standard camp favorites like singing campfire songs and playing capture the flag.
Eight-year-old Annabelle Smith said her favorite part so far was making a cat figuring out of clay.
“I’m learning a lot and making a lot of new friends,” she said.
Landon’s favorite part was spotting a family of deer during a nature hike.
Bennett said the rural setting at Nameless Creek Camp provides the perfect setting for kids to let loose and embrace the outdoors.
“We try to give them experiences they’ll remember for the rest of their lives,” said Bennett, who teaches biology and environmental science at New Palestine High School.
Before she was a teacher, she worked as a naturalist for Indy Parks, leading nature programs in parks as well as an outreach program through Indianapolis Public Schools.
She embraces the chance to teach children about nature and the environment at the Plugged Into Nature camp, or PIN.
“I think learning about the world around you at a young age can help kids to have more respect for their world as adults, which is especially important in this day and age,” she said.
Bennett said the beauty of the camp is that it teaches valuable lessons in a fun way.
On July 11, the campers learned about the negative effects of bycatching, a term in the fish industry referring to when a fish or other marine species is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife.
“They worked as teams to create a device that would catch only one ‘fish’ in a wading pool at a time, without catching the other ‘fish,’” she said.
The kids heard from a fishing expert about how bycatching can negatively impact marine life before getting the chance to cast their handcrafted nets into the pool.
A different speaker was featured at the camp each day.
On July 10 campers got a visit from Hedgehog Hannah, who brought in a flew of animals to teach them about.
On July 12 they played the bongos along with a music teacher who taught them how to keep rhythm and play their own music.
The camp capped off on Friday with a water day featuring a slip-and-slide and water relays, with a little help from the Charlottesville Fire Department’s water truck.
Susan Geesa, a counselor at the PIN camp since it first started 13 years ago, loves to see the children interact and learn.
“It’s awesome to see them growing and getting along and developing friendships,” she said.
Josie Joyner also loves seeing the kids’ faces light up when they make a new friend or learn something new.
“I love this kind of work and connecting with the kids,” said Joyner, 17, who hopes to become a teacher someday.
Bennett said the numbers at the camp are on the rise, increasing steadily since the camp was canceled due to COVID in 2020.
Landon said the camp has been a highlight of his summer.
“I like being outside and learning about nature, and not just being stuck inside doing electronics,” said the young boy, who enjoys playing soccer with his brother and jumping on his trampoline.
“I have friends who play a lot of video games and ask me to join them, but I’d rather be outside. It’s fun to explore nature and see cool things,” he said.
