Annual event well-attended and resulted in happy Kampers!
RAIN OR SHINE...San Saba Kids’ Nature Kamp 2022 proceeded on with high expectations and completed a fun filled end of the week, June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd! Fifty kids, ages six to 10, four teens, and twenty-nine adults enjoyed three days of, mostly outdoor, activities at San Saba Mill Pond Park, San Saba LCRA Nature Park, and San Saba Joe Ragsdale Pavilion in our beautiful hometown of San Saba. We had awesome group guides who included Virginia Gonzales, Mary Joy May, Maria May, Jasmine Gutierrez, Raylee Wood, Karen Gill, Ami Whitley and Joanne Weik. They graciously met their group each morning with name-tags, water thermoses and backpacks. Then they trekked out and led Kampers to sessions, encouraged them, and instructed them along the way through each of the parks every day. Groups carried on through the slowly falling rain on Thursday, and again Friday enduring the wetness with laughter and fun!
Sandra Vaughn served as our Kamp photographer, catching some moments of nature in the works with kids. Marcie Butler acted as our Kamp nurse, bandaging a few scrapes and cuts and dealing with a few itches. Michael Wadsworth and Rhonda Killion, on an ATV, provided snacks and water to session leaders and helped to run errands and meet requests.
Giving awesome Nature Presentations during the three days were Kristen Millican, assisted by daughter, Abby, by presenting her new book, “Abby and Her Curious Find.” The lovely book about pecans is a family story telling how and where they grow, how we gather them, and prepare them for yummy eating. Lisa Foil presented “Birds and their unique Beaks” at the bird blind in San Saba Nature Park, having activities where kampers pretended they were birds eating in special ways. Jessica Fuller taught the Kampers about “Music in Nature” and led kiddos in the ways to make a wind chime of nature items. Sara Saldivar and Shayna Norris presented the “Rewards of Recycling, Reusing, and Repurposing” with a fun lesson and relay race. Stephanie Faulkner, along with Celia Bell and Lesa Schulze, spoke to Kampers about interesting plants and how to grow them, then assisted them in making a container and planting a succulent plant to take home. Mason Murr and the Texas Fish trailer came to Mill Pond Park where the City Guys and Callie Nelms helped the Kampers fish. What fun they had, with several reeling some in! Lisa Foil and Elizabeth McBee interacted with the kids in Mill Creek and led them in finding creek creatures, while wading the refreshing creek. Aileen Roberts and Carol Gibson taught the groups how to use a dowsing rod to locate water under the ground, and most were successful in their attempts. Wayne Yarborough and Sara Saldivar instructed the kids on water resources right Debbie Shahan, along with help on different days from Dianna Furlan, Lesa Schulze and Mona McMahan, taught snack lessons where Kampers learned about rocks in general, and specifically, igneous rocks, the Comanche Indians and their tepees, and aquifers underground. Then, after much patience, Kampers got to eat their nature creations!
Paula Wood, Lisa Foil, Sara Saldivar, and Debbie Shahan composed the Kids’ Nature Kamp “Plan of Action’ this year, acquiring presenters and group guides, materials, donations, and setting up registration and the schedule.
A great big “THANKS” goes to Keep San Saba Beautiful for printing and registration bookkeeping, San Saba Garden Club for the use of their building and money donated, SS County Commissioner James Lebow for canned water, San Saba Farm Bureau for backpacks for Kampers, Central Texas Farm Credit for providing a thermos for each Kamper, and Mr. and Mrs. William Grusendorf, who continue to encourage and support us, for providing bananas this year! Raylee Wood labeled Kamp gear, and she and her family took care of sending out all ‘thank you’ notes! Also Keep San Saba Beautiful/Keep Texas Beautiful contributed educational handouts and fun freebies, promoting Conservation and Recycling, the City of San Saba for preparing the grounds for Kamp, security in the parks, assisted all when crossing the highway, and provided trash bags for needed rain gear!
God has truly blessed our town of San Saba with beauty in nature; wonderful, enjoyable parks; kind and willing volunteers; an awesome bonding of local organizations interested in our kiddos; and yes, REMARKABLE children!
San Saba Nature Kamp 2022 is in the books! We’re already excited about next year! Thanks to all who helped in any way!