Save The Bay Summer BayCamps Serve Up Narragansett Bay to Children from All Over the Region

PROVIDENCE, RI – Save The Bay is now taking reservations for its Summer BayCamps – the only Rhode Island camps where Narragansett Bay is the campground, quite literally. From June 29 through August 21, Save The Bay offers week-long BayCamps for children in kindergarten through high school, in Providence, Newport, Wickford and Westerly. Weatherpermitting, every camp includes ample time on the Bay, at exploring the shoreline, swimming and snorkeling, and even aboard one of Save The Bay’s three education vessels.

“It’s important to us to offer camps and Bay access from multiple locations, so that children from regions throughout the state can participate. The future of Narragansett Bay lies in their hands. We want to reach and teach as many children as possible about the value of the Bay and how to care for it,” said Save The Bay Camp Director Dan Blount.

Led by counselors with marine science and education training and backgrounds, BayCamps include age-appropriate lessons in navigation, charts, and plankton, marine-based games and activities that make learning fun, boat trips to locations for swimming, snorkeling, seining for fish, and canoeing. One of the highlights for many campers is experiencing various islands in the Bay, such as Prudence Island, where they explore the salt marsh and the shoreline at Potters Cove and tour Narragansett Bay Research Reserve. Many boat rides include a trawl and hauling all sorts of creatures from the Bay into the touch tanks onboard.

Mackenzie Gray, 10, and brother Owen Gray, 8, can’t wait to return to Save The Bay BayCamps again this summer, according to their mother, Kara Gray, of Mass. “We do the sports and crafts circuit for other camps, but this is by far their favorite. They have a blast. The staff makes learning fun. And I loved all the stories and things they would teach me when they came home,” she said.

“I spent all of my summers growing up on Prudence Island, so I have experienced all that these quiet and natural open spaces offer. To be able to share that with kids today is very important to me,” Blount said.

High School BayCamp is designed to allow older students to explore possible college career paths. Campers tour local colleges and their various marine science labs and enjoy guest presenations on such topics as salt marsh restoration and conservation. Serving as temporary coastal ecologists, they also evaluate the overall health of Narragansett Bay, testing water quality, trawling for marine life, identifying live plankton species and other activites.

Save The Bay also partners with Camp Fuller, Providence Community Boating, and Edgewood Sailing to offer Sailing and Science Camps, the perfect blend of marine science and sport, “a great way to experience the Bay from different perspectives,” Blount said.

BayCamps begin June 29 and run through August 21. Most are full-day camps running from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and two of six Jr. BayCamps for children in kindergarten through second grade are half-day camps from 9:00 a.m. to noon. More information and online registration is available at http://www.savebay.org/camp.

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