Happy Campers

For the last 18 summers, the parents of Gloucester Township children have been lining up in droves to sign their kids up for the township's six-week Nature Camp.

The Nature Camp, one of five summer day camp programs offered to residents, is an extremely popular summer draw.

Head counselor Chip Pildis, who is a seventh-grade science teacher in the "off-season," has been at the helm of this camp since its inception 18 years ago. Pildis has seen a full house each year.

"Our camp fills up very quickly every year," Pildis said. 

Pildis, along with his camp counselor wife, Pam, and his four children, two of whom are camp volunteers, preside over about 50 campers each year, including their youngest child, daughter Emily.

To what do they attribute the continued popularity of the camp?

"We try to mix fun and education together in a way where kids are learning about the earth, and about nature, without even realizing they are learning," Pildis said.

The camp, which is held at Point Ariel Park Recreation Center in the Erial section of the township, provides kids who are interested in the earth, and the environment, a memorable summer adventure.

Campers can expect a daily craft, outdoor exploration and a lesson. Each of these coincides with a weekly theme such as recycling.

Trudy Vernon, a recently retired Glen Landing Middle School life skills teacher, has been spending her summers counseling the Nature Camp kids for the last 15 years. Vernon says that "watching the kids have fun and build memories is the best part of the job."

A job which the Nature Camp staff seems to be getting right.

Kelly Tees, of Erial, has a 7-year-old daughter in the program for the first time this year. The young Tees "absolutely loves the camp," says mom.

The best part of the camp for her?

"My daughter comes home from camp with something substantial every day, something she has made or learned," she said.

Whether it's through a craft project like this week's weather cycle project, or the upcoming visit of a 25-foot high inflatable tunnel, set up by the Camden County Soil Conservation District, Nature Camp has been creating happy campers and parents for 18 years. 

Nature Camp, along with the five other township-run day camp programs, run from the end of June until the beginning of August. Camps are four days per week, Monday though Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.