A Gundalow River-Rats camper shuttles a load oars for boat trips out of Creek Farm. Photo credit: Michael Sterling Photography.
“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” – Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows). The Gundalow Company ‘River Rats’ and Discovery camps embrace the idea of spending time where the water meets the land. During these week-long day programs, campers explore Sagamore Creek and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests’ (Forest Society) Creek Farm property and sail aboard the Gundalow PISCATAQUA.
Creek Farm provides a perfect place for campers to play, learn, and gain confidence in the natural world. The youngest campers enjoy shoreside scavenger hunts, kayaking in the salt water pond, and getting muddy looking for animals in the intertidal zone. The older campers catch crabs off the dock, hike the shoreline, row in a Piscataqua Wherry or sail the Merry Mac sailboat in the calm waters of Sagamore Creek. In the spirit of conservation, these camps stress the importance of taking care of the environment and campers do trash clean ups, make posters about marine pollution, and increase their awareness and love of our rivers.
This summer, the Gundalow Company partnered with several other local seacoast groups for their camp programs including the Boat Shop at Strawbery Banke. During this camp, kids learned to sail the PISCATAQUA in the mornings, and built their own boat models at the Boatshop in the afternoons. On the final day, campers brought their customized models to the pond at Creek Farm to test their work. Not only did the boats sail, but campers spent the afternoon swimming after their models making adjustments to their sails and rudders and cooling off. It was the perfect end to a great week of camp.
“The rich environment of Creek Farm captures our camper’s interest – here they can run, explore, play, make new friends, and learn the importance of stewardship, as we often say: if you experience it, you will care about it, and if you care about it, you will protect it,” says Gundalow Company program manager Gretchen Carlson.
Creek Farm is a promising location for outdoor education with partner organizations in the Seacoast and greater Portsmouth area. To learn more, contact the Forest Society at 603-224-9945 or email Alayna Signorello, Creek Farm Education Coordinator, at asignorello@forestsociety.org. To visit Creek Farm, check out our Forest Reservation Guide showing a map for the Little Harbor Loop Trail. To learn more about the Gundalow Company and their camp programs, visit: www.gundalow.org.
