Make Your Child a Happy Camper!
Every child dreams of camp–exploring creeks, singing silly songs and frolicking in the forest. Summer 2021, the Kenai Watershed Forum is happy to offer week-long day camps, tree planting workshops and “pop-up camps.” Wilderness, Wildlife & Wonder will be offering several locally-focused, science and environmental-themed sessions, for kids aged 6-12.
All sessions will involve fostering a connection to nature through a hands-on, immersion in the outdoors, allowing them to see, feel, smell and directly experience the flora and fauna of the Kenai Peninsula watershed for themselves.
Camp size is limited so reserve your spot early! Scholarships are available.
Camp Staff
2021 Summer Schedule
We have a variety of styles of summer programs for 2021. To ensure campers get the most out of their experience, we offer sessions for different age groups. *Pop-Up Camps and Fireside Chats may be added, so make sure to check back!
June 7 – 11 ~ Novice Naturalist Camp, ages 6-8
June 15 ~ Pop-Up Camp, Ages 9-12
June 17 ~ Pop-Up Camp, Ages 9-12
June 21 – 25 ~ Novice Naturalist Camp, ages 6-8
June 29 – Tree Planting Workshop, ages 6-12
July 7 ~ Pop-Up Camp, Ages 9-12
July 9 ~ Pop-Up Camp, Ages 6-8
July 13 ~ Pop-Up Camp, Ages 6-8
July 21 ~ Pop-Up Camp, Ages 9-12
July 23 ~ Russian River Falls Hike, Ages 9-12
July 29 ~ Russian River Falls Hike, Ages 6-8
August 12 ~ Fireside Chat Children’s Stories, all ages
Novice Naturalists
These sessions are designed for ages 6-8 to begin building a basic foundation of science in small children upon which more advanced environmental understandings can be built later in life. These sessions will include informative lessons and games, nature-themed art projects, presentations by plant and/or animal experts.
Novice Naturalists camps start at 9 and finish at 2pm. Campers can be dropped off and picked up at the pavilion by the children’s playground in Soldotna Creek Park.
*Please note: Children must have completed Kindergarten to participate in this camp.
The cost is $200 per camper.
Tree Planting Workshop
June 29, 10am-2pm in Swift Water Park, Soldotna Tree Planting Workshop: Age 6-12 with Kenai River Rotary
Join us for a day of Tree Sapling Planting!
The Kenai River Rotary and The Kenai Watershed Forum are hosting their 2nd Annual Tree Sapling Workshop!
Campers are registered on a first come first serve basis as we can only accept a limited group of 15. Campers must be ages 6-12 years old and dropped off or joined by an adult. Program will begin at 9:15 with a lesson and a craft, followed by a BYO picnic lunch and lots of tree planting!
The cost is $20 per camper for supplies.
Pop-Up Camps
Campers are registered on a first come first serve basis as we can only accept a limited group of 15. Campers must be in specified age group and dropped off or joined by an adult. Program will begin at 9:15 with a hands-on demonstration, field camp stations, and followed by a BYO picnic lunch. The cost is $20 per camper, per camp for supplies.
June 15, 9am-2pm at Kenai Watershed Forum, Soldotna Pop-Up Camp Age 9-12: Invasive Species Field Camp with Emily Heale
Join us for a hands-on adventure at a replica of “Pike Field Camp”! Emily Heale from Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association will be telling stories about her time as a field biologist working to eradicate invasive species on the Kenai Peninsula and beyond.
June 17, 9am-2pm at Kenai Watershed Forum, Soldotna Pop-Up Camp Age 9-12: Recycling and Salvage Art with ReGroup
July 7, 9am-2pm at Kenai Watershed Forum, Soldotna Pop-Up Camp Age 9-12: Stream Studies with Megan Pike
Join us for a hands-on day at KWF learning about measures of water quality. We’ll spend the morning in the yurt learning about the significance of monitoring stream health and the second half of the day at Soldotna Creek collecting data through a water quality lab.
July 9, 9am-2pm at Kenai Watershed Forum, Soldotna Pop-Up Camp Age 6-8: Minibeasts with Megan Pike
Didn’t have a chance to join us for our Wilderness, Wildlife, and Wonder Novice Naturalists? Join us for a hands-on day at KWF learning about macroinvertebrate minibeasts! We’ll spend the morning learning about significant creek bugs, then hike down to Soldotna Creek to collect our very own macroinvertebrate samples.
July 13, 9am-2pm at Kenai Watershed Forum, Soldotna Pop-Up Camp Age 6-8: Stream Studies with Megan Pike
JJoin us for a hands-on day at KWF learning about measures of water quality. We’ll spend the morning in the yurt learning about the significance of monitoring stream health and the second half of the day at Soldotna Creek collecting data through a water quality lab.
July 21, 9am-2pm at Kenai Watershed Forum, Soldotna Pop-Up Camp Age 9-12: Invasive Species with Megan Pike
Join us for a hands-on day at KWF learning about invasive species! We’ll spend the day at KWF identifying some aquatic and terrestrial invasive species, playing some invasive themed games, and creating our own invasive species as a group.
Russian River Falls HIke
July 23, 9am-3pm at Russian River Angler Trail, Cooper Landing Age 9-12: Russian River Falls Hike with Megan Pike
July 29, 9am-3pm at Russian River Angler Trail, Cooper Landing Age 6-8: Russian River Falls Hike with Megan Pike
Have you ever hiked to Russian River Falls to watch the salmon soar bravely upstream? Join KWF for a unique Interpretive Hike that will include a trail scavenger hunt, plant identification, and camp songs for a 5-mile out and back hike.
FREE! *Russian River HIke registration required by emailing: meg@kenaiwatershed.org
*Transportation to the hike is not provided. The hike will begin at 9:15am.
Fireside Chat
August 12, 5:30-7:30pm at Centennial Park, Soldotna Fireside Chat: Children’s Stories, Crafts, and S’mores with Megan Pike
Join us to kick off the last weekend of summer before the school year! Megan Pike will be sitting around the campfire to read a couple children’s stories followed by a craft and gooey s’mores!
FREE! We look forward to seeing you!
If you are interested in applying for a 2021 scholarship, please contact Meg: meg@kenaiwatershed.org. Camp scholarships are made available by generous contributions from individuals, local business and organizations. If you would like to contribute to the scholarship fund, please contact meg@kenaiwatershed.org.
[/learn_more]Scholarships
Thank You!
An investment in youth is an investment of our future.
Through generous contributions of the following organizations, KWF Summer Camp came to fruition in 2011: ConocoPhillips, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Hilcorp Alaska, Wells Fargo and in-kind support from the City of Soldotna.
