Goals of Nature Study in the Church Camp Setting

It is important to keep some goals in mind as you begin to develop your nature study program. These goals were never explicit in my mind as I planned and worked, but simply developed over the years. I present them here in hopes that they will help you to focus on your important ministry.

1) Nurture Connection to God. Most nature study programs encourage children to experience a connection with the earth. However, through that connection to the Creation, we must also help children to grow in relationship with the Creator. Exclamations like, “Isn’t nature great?!” are still expected and acceptable. But more than that, we should encourage, “God is awesome for how wonderful the creation is.” While this may seem a small point, I find it very important to focus attention on the Creator while exploring the woods and streams of camp.

If your staff or children tend to use Mother Earth language, I try to use sibling words instead. The earth is our sister because it is a fellow creation of God, and I find this language more helpful in directing attention to God as Creator.

2) Help campers to share God’s exclamation “It’s good!” An active time exploring and playing should leave campers with an appreciation of the goodness of creation. Help them to explore the divine creativity and humor that God invested in making the earth.

3) Show your camp to be a sacred place. Help your campers to experience the holiness of your unique site. For some areas, it may be a special tree or a stream; for me it has always been Kirchenwald’s spring. Explore until you find a place where God is uniquely present. By experiencing the holiness of one spot, children can more easily understand the sacredness of the entire world.

4) Explore the relationship between the plight of the poor and the environment. In Scripture, the prophets reel against Israel for neglecting the earth and the poor. The two are intimately connected together in the modern world as well. Poor often suffer the brunt of environmental degradation and unequal distribution of resources. This is a difficult but vital part of faith-based environmental education.

5) Nurture exploration and observation. Set a model of careful study and observation of nature. If you notice the small beauty in a spider's web, your enthusiasm will be contagious. Help your campers to develop skills that help them to find out about creation on their own. And always be ready to stop talking if God provides a snake or a bird for your group to watch.

6) Emphasize Divine design. Nature is full of the handiwork of a caring and creative God. Do not feel that the church camp environment prevents you from talking about adaptation, the special elements that help animals survive, but simply talk about them as evidence of God's grand design in creating the world.

7) Have fun! God takes joy in creation and so should you. Kids learn best when they are having fun, so fun is the obvious key to any nature study program. You will notice that many of these games are basically models of natural processes. The campers can easily understand the information presented because they participate directly in the experience.

Home