Last year we sent 3 campers from the Young Naturalist Club up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to spend 3 weeks at Green River Preserve camp! Upon arriving, campers are required to turn over their cell phones and all electronic devices. It was 3 weeks full of morning mentor hikes and learning new skills and activities like: archery, arts and crafts, skeet shooting, canoeing, a climbing tower, drawing and painting, fencing, field games, fly fishing, low ropes, mountain biking, music, outdoor skills, pottery, theater, and yoga. Each camper also goes on an overnight hiking trip where they pitch their own tent, cook their own food, and sleep under the stars. The goal of the camp program is to form a respectful and inclusive community, as they guide campers to understand that humans are also part of that larger community of living things we call the natural world. They ask the campers to think about their impact on the Earth as a living community, and practice ways they can learn about, explore, share, and protect the natural world. By focusing on community, they hope to build responsible and respectful members of Earth's ecosystems.

Last year, we were awarded a scholarship that allowed us to send 3 campers and give each participant a $200 gift card to purchase the necessary supplies to go to the camp. Hendrick Honda of Charleston also graciously donated the use of one of their minivans to transport the kids safely to and from Green River Preserve, 5 hours away from Edisto.

Our goal is to send every Young Naturalist student we can to this camp. Green River Preserve's camp has been a life altering event for every one of our students who has had the opportunity to go. We currently have 13 fifth and sixth grade students enrolled in the Young Naturalists Club this year. Each camper that we want to send to Green River Preserve costs $4,100 for 2 weeks. It would cost $53,300 for EIOLT to send each of these students to the 2 week camp.

Please consider donating towards sending at least one more student to camp this year. Your generosity will have an incredible and long-lasting positive impact on the lives of these children and the future of Edisto Island!

Thank you!

Krystal Parsons

Young Naturalist Coordinator