Camp Bayou Updates

Camp Bayou Updates

The recent H2Ohhh! family-friendly event at the Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center was attended by families, scout groups and others who were looking for a fun water-related activity for a Saturday morning. The next guided tour is the Pollinator Walk on June 23 from 9:30-10:30am. The next big event is the Back to School- Back to Nature event on August 4.

 

At Saturday's event there were several aquatic activity tables set up on the "Big Lawn" with folks from Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Hillsborough County Solid Waste Recycling, Tampa Bay WaterAtlas, League of Environmental Educators in Florida, ConserveItForward.org and a few Camp Bayou volunteers. Door prizes were awarded every half hour. Scheduled activities included native plant walks and critter netting. After a quick hot dog lunch, several guests joined in the canoe tour around the island, including a family who won the last door prize which was the use of 2 canoes for the tour.

 

Guests were asked to complete a survey which also entered them into the final prize drawings of a hydration backpack; duffle bag, windbreaker and hats; water quality exploration kit or summer fun activities bag .

If you missed the event, you can still enter the prize drawing by filling out the survey link at SeeDoShowH2O.blogspot.com. Since only entries with all correct answers are eligible for the drawing, it will help to browse through the event blog for hints to the answers.  Deadline for entries is June 16.

 

H-2-Ohhhh! is sponsored by grant from the Southwest Water Management District. Other sponsors include EcoWater and Sweetbay Supermarkets.

 

H2Ohhh! was also a National Trails Day's 'Trailgating' event.These activities are part of Get Outdoors Florida!, "Let's GO"- C&N, No Child Left Inside, Be Out There!-NWF, and Let's Move Outside inspired initiatives.

Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center (Camp Bayou) is neither a campground nor a summer camp. It was an RV park before the County's ELAP program purchased the land. It is now open to the public for day use only. Through volunteers, donations, membership and grants, Camp Bayou offers pre-scheduled programs to schools, youth groups, adult groups and families! Plus, it's open from Thursday–Saturday from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 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 and Discovery, Inc. (BOLD) in a public-private partnership with the non-profit Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of S.R. 674 at the end of 24th St. S.E. in Ruskin. For more information, visit the website at www.campbayou.org or call (813) 641-8545.

 

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Pictured: Canoeists on the last leg of the H2Ohhh!- Aquatic Reflections, family-friendly event at Camp Bayou.