Grade 4s Exploring Camping, Nature

Parents of Grade 4 students should be watching their kids’ backpacks for a passport to camping.

Every year, Grade 4 students and their families can camp for two nights for free at any of the 20 provincial camping parks in Nova Scotia. A camping coupon and nature passport activity booklet are delivered through schools.

The passport encourages kids to explore the parks by checking off items and activities they experience while camping with their friends or families.

“I can’t wait to sleep in a tent in the woods and cook spider hotdogs over the campfire,” said Kaden Selig, a Grade 4 student at Tantallon Senior Elementary School. “I like seeing animals, too, like squirrels, rabbits and deer.”

Packages are also available to privately or homeschooled Grade 4 students. They can be obtained by contacting parkinfo@novascotia.ca .

“I am most looking forward to swimming and sleeping near a beach. I am also looking forward to having a good time with my family,” said Evelyn Bird, a homeschooled Grade 4 student from Greenwood, Annapolis Valley, who will be camping with her family at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park this summer. “I think it is going to be sunny and that we are going to be happy spending time as a family, playing around and learning about nature.”

About 900 students and families used the program last year.

More information is found online at http://parks.novascotia.ca/content/grade-4s-outdoors-program .