media release- Camp Bayou April events

Camp Bayou has been busy this year with home-school classes, cleanup/fixups and the Spring Open House, with more planned in the coming months. Upcoming events at Camp Bayou include:

Friday, April 6, 7:30- 9pm: Full Moon Night Hike. Join us for a walk through the woods in the moonlight- no flashlights permitted! We'll look for signs of night life- owls and bats and fireflies, oh my! The walk is a kick-off to the Walk to the Moon Challenge and ends at the campfire with s'mores and star gazing. Requested donation of $5/person helps cover supplies. Pre-registration is required and limited to 20 participants at campbayou@gmail.com. Include your name and number of people attending with you.

Saturday, April 14, 9:30am: Crocheting Corals. Join the Camp Bayou volunteers in a group session to make additional pieces that will go to the Coral Reef display at the Florida Craftsmen Gallery in June. Don't know how to crochet? Come out and we'll teach you!

Saturday, April 21, 9am-noon: Great American Cleanup. Help Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful! Sign up for the cleanup at http://www.keeptampabaybeautiful.org .

Saturday, April 28, 10am-2pm: Save the Frogs Day. Great family-friendly event- for more information check out the event website at http://conserveitforward.org . This event is a satellite event of the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

Saturday, June 2- 9am-2pm: SAVE THE DATE- H-2-Ohhh! Fest at Camp Bayou.

The Camp Bayou Annual Photo Contest will be accepting entries this fall. Get an early start on those perfect nature photos at Camp Bayou. For information contact campbayou@gmail.com or call 813-641-8545.

These activities are part of a Get Outdoors Florida!, "Let's GO"- C & N, No Child Left Inside, Be Out There!-NWF, and Let's Move Outside inspired initiative.

Camp Bayou is neither a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land but it is now open for day use only, open to the general public. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, the Center offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families plus it's open from Thursday- Saturday from 9am-2pm for passive recreational pursuits such as wildlife watching, nature photography and trail walks.

The Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center is managed by the newly created, non-profit Bayou Outdoor Learning & Discovery, Inc. (BOLD), in a public- private partnership with the non-profit Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. (RCDF) and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. More information is on the web at www.campbayou.org or call 813-641-8545.
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Pictures:
1- A previous night hike ends at the campfire with s'mores and stories
2- Crocheters, Patricia and Marie, both of Sun City Center, at the Spring Open House make more 'coral' for the reef. display.