New England Nature Camp Program
Pemi's comprehensive nature program is one of the best of its kind in the country. Each summer a great majority of our boys participate in some aspect of the program; through occupations, participation in the daily "What is it" contest, special nature trips, or just stopping into the Nature Lodge to see the constantly-changing exhibits. Several afternoon and day trips are offered each week for butterfly collecting, and observation of mountain ecology. Longer nature trips go to the Adirondacks and caving areas in New York, Lake Champlain fossil-collecting areas, and the Connecticut Lakes.
Many boys enjoy making collections, and we encourage them to do so. The emphasis is not just on accumulating specimens, however, but also on taking care with field recognition, preservation, identification and labeling, and (through careful observation) acquiring knowledge of the specimen's role in nature. Boys interested in working on Boy Scout merit badge requirements in the area of nature may do this under expert supervision. Pemi is an active member of the highly-regarded Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in nearby Holderness, and many cabin groups have the opportunity to visit there.
Environmental Education at Camp Pemi
The Nature Program's national pre-eminence in the field of environmental education is reflected in the Nature Instruction Clinic which Pemi hosts every year before the start of the camp season, and to which other camps send their staff for training and certification. Larry Davis, now in his 40th year as Director of Nature Programs and Teaching at Camp Pemi, oversees the clinic. This past year, University of New Haven granted college credit for the clinic, testimony to the rigorous level of training that is offered and indicative of the high standards of the Pemi Nature program.
Typical Nature occupations choices include:
Butterflies & Moths, Orienteering, Swamp Ecology, Wild Foods, Ponds & Streams, Rocks & Minerals, Dying and Weaving, Wilderness Survival, Mushrooms, Junior Nature Book, Lapidary, Insects, Forest Ecology, Environmental Conservation, Nature Photography, Environmental Sculpture, Bird Watching, Junior Environmental Education.
