By Cathy Miller

Summer camp; so many different flavors to savor. But right in Asbury, Warren County, is an impressive series of five age-specific, one-week sessions for children from 5 to 12+ years, beginning in early July. It’s one of the Musconetcong Watershed Association’s educational programs, and it’s called Camp Musky.

Camp Musky is an educational, immersive and engaging day camp for kids with oodles of well-supervised, age-appropriate activities. Through outdoor learning experiences and hands-on, river-based programs, campers explore the Musconetcong River, the MWA River Resource Center property, and the adjacent, preserved 30 acres of meadow, woods and wetlands. Every observation in and along the Musky is an adventure, with a sprinkling of games and crafts to round out the day.

The Explorers (ages 5-6, half day) learn about nature through storytelling, cooperative play, and creative art and crafting projects. Each morning begins with a walk to explore the river and its surroundings.

The Stream Team (ages 7-9, half day), through daily explorations of the river, develop lasting connections with our bio-region. Their experiences are recorded in their personal nature journals.

The Trailblazers (ages 7-9, full day) learn about safe ways to interact with local plants and animals. They discover how each habitat they explore provides the necessities for the creatures it supports.

The River Rangers (ages 10-12+, full day) conduct a daily exploration of the Musconetcong River and an in-depth investigation of stream and field life in the Musconetcong Watershed. They learn that to live sustainably, Earth’s resources should be used only at a rate that allows replenishment.

STEM Camp (ages 8-12+, full day) – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math! Using core STEM principles, campers will work together to solve real-world problems, including building sensors to help monitor the Musky’s health.

Kyle Richter is the Watershed Programs Coordinator for the Musconetcong Watershed Association and heads up the camp staff. 2019 is Kyle’s sixth summer running Camp Musky, which debuted in 2005 with just three sessions. This year boasted the largest overall registration yet, with 63 campers among the five different programs. Last week was designed for Trailblazers, girls and boys ages seven to nine.

Kyle said the Trailblazers “are at the right age, where they’re filled with an insatiable curiosity, and want to ask questions. They essentially run the day. It begins with a plan to go on a hike,” and then the campers take the wheel. He added, “They’re not too ‘cool’ yet. This age is the sweet spot where everything is interesting. Over the course of the week, snails were a very big thing.” In addition, there were herons, egrets, snapping turtles, frogs, rainbow trout, birds and butterflies to observe. The campers also built a teepee in the woods, and enjoyed the “flutes” and walking sticks Tomás Gonzales crafted from bamboo for each of them.

For five days, after seven hours of activity, everyone was muddy, sweaty, happy and truly excited to share what they had “explored and discovered.”

When queried about their favorite activities at Camp Musky, the Trailblazers had this to say on their final day at camp:

Devlin B. (age 9) said, “I like going to the river because it cools you off on hot days, and is really fun.”

Vivian C. (age 7) said, “Butterflies are beautiful and colorful. Eating lunch is fun with my friend Winnie. I like swimming in the river because I’m with my friends and we learned to float. Centipedes are cool. I liked the frogs.”

Sember S. (age 8) said, “I like swimming in the river because it’s fun to swim. And I also like seeing nature. And I like playing games like uno, camouflage, kickball, and the fishing game. My favorite game is camouflage.”

Winnie G. (age 7) said, “I like bird watching because I get to use binoculars and see different kinds of birds.”

Layne K. (age 9) said, “I love the creatures because they are cute, cool, crazy and funny.”

Hazel D. (age 8) said, “I like swimming in the river and being in nature. I like being with friends because they are great company. I like to use my binoculars to see the different butterflies because they have pretty wings.”

Zachary K. (age 7) said, “I liked playing the camouflage game because it was fun.”

Grace K. (age 7) said, “I love going in the river because it is refreshing. I love to go on hikes with my friends from camp and seeing birds because birds have different kinds of feathers.”

Finnegan C. (age 9) said, “My favorite game was camouflage because of hiding. I like hiding because I am really good at it.”

Nothing’s better than being a kid in the summer! For the budding environmentalist, floating, swimming and splashing around in a nice cool river with new friends and enthusiastic counselors while learning about “cute, cool, crazy creatures” is a great way to spend a warm, sunny day.

Check the MWA website for upcoming activities and events, for adults and families too, www.musconetcong.org. The Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA) is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and improve the quality of the Musconetcong River and its watershed, including both natural and cultural resources. Their objective is education and awareness – when a community understands the importance and vulnerability of its natural resources then that community will actively support efforts to safeguard environmental quality. The MWA invites volunteers to assist with river cleanups, water quality monitoring, native gardening, river restoration, and watershed protection projects. The MWA also conducts several educational programs for children, adults, and families.