Back to school and nature at Camp Bayou

With the fall semester starting up in a few weeks, parents and their children are now making the usual trips to the store to purchase new school supplies.

And a South Shore event offered a twist to the back-to-school formula.

Camp Bayou, 4140 24th St. SE, hosted its second annual Back to School - Back to Nature activity from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 1.

"Our main goal is to get the kids out of their homes and involved with nature," said Dolly Cummings, environmental education director at Camp Bayou. "We have groups come out throughout the year from schools and camps, and it has become apparent from what teachers tell me that they don't get out enough.

"It's also a good chance for people to find out what we do here."

Camp Bayou is a 160-acre nature preserve operated by the Ruskin Community Development Foundation as a stimulus to the area's nature-based tourism.

More than 250 kids attended this year's event, more than doubling last year's total. Parents accompanied their kids and groups from Riverview's Resurrection Catholic Church and Cub Scouts Pack 603 also were in attendance.

The event offered kids the opportunity to visit nature-themed stations and earn school supplies by getting involved with hands-on activities, such as going on an ant lion safari and fishing for water insects.

"My favorite part was the fish, the gift shop and the GPS," said Nathan Chui, 9, referring to a presentation on how to use a Global Positioning System receiver. "I would definitely come back again."

The children and their parents also had the chance to take in several environment-themed presentations from groups such as Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful and the Family Support and Resource Center in Ruskin.

"Teachers bring kids throughout the year and they always love it," said Sharon Berman, a volunteer at the event. "So do I."

Each child received a bag full of school supplies and the reminder that the best times can often be found away from a computer game.

"With this back-to-school event, we really just try to give the kids an additional reason to come outside," Cummings said. "A good reason already exists."