Coral Reef Kids Camp starts June 3, 2024. Sign up today!
Are you looking for a fun, educational, adventure camp program for your keiki this summer? Well, look no further. The eighth annual Coral Reef Kids Camp starts June 3, 2024, at Anini Beach Park on Kauaʻi and blends children’s science with art, learning, adventure, connection, and fun!
Join Reef Guardians Hawaiʻi for an interactive, three-day program, during which keiki explore the wonders of the ocean while learning about ocean awareness and stewardship. The camp is taught by professional marine educators and skilled volunteers, both in and out of the water, and covers ocean safety and snorkeling equipment instruction.
The Coral Reef Kids Camp offers an in-depth curriculum centered on ecological, Hawaiian, and scientific perspectives. It encourages values of stewardship, curiosity, wonder, and a quest for learning. Activities include art projects, video making, games, stewardship, and advocacy awareness.
Keiki will study and explore fish, turtles, coral, invertebrates, marine mammals, plankton, and algae. Campers are invited to keep field notes of their first-hand experiences, interpret what they see and learn, and illustrate their discoveries through drawings and paintings.
Jess Rickard, Assistant Operations Manager at Holo Holo Charters and Coral Reef Kids Camp team member, says, “I hope that our kids will fall in love with the ocean and its creatures and that by fostering a positive relationship between the kids and the ocean, they will become advocates for it throughout their entire lives!”
Here’s the scoop on this incredible program:
- Open to keiki ages 8-13 who can swim and enjoy snorkeling, have completed Grade 2, and are in Grade 3 to middle school.
- Classes meet daily from 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM at Anini Beach Park by the boat ramp. There are five three-day programs to choose from:
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- Monday, June 3, 2024 – Wednesday, June 5, 2024
- Monday, June 10, 2024 – Wednesday, June 12, 2024
- Monday, July 8, 2024 – Wednesday, July 10, 2024
- Monday, July 15, 2024 – Wednesday, July 17, 2024
- Monday, July 22, 2024 – Wednesday, July 24, 2024
- Register online at https://www.reefguardians.org/education. Cost is $195 for each three-day session and includes snorkel gear, art, and science materials. Scholarships (half fee) and no-cost program waivers (free) are available (send Reef Guardians Hawaiʻi an email to info@reefguardianshawaii.org to apply).
- High School students may enroll as interns.
Before you go – a quick insider’s interview with Jess Belt:
Holo Holo: When and how did the Coral Reef Kids Camp start?
Jess Belt: Our Kauaʻi Reef Camp started in 2017 and has blossomed under the leadership of Ms. Mermaid Robin Mazor! She, her devoted staff, and their enthusiastic community of volunteers have been teaching kids about the ocean and conservation for years. We have watched some of these kids grow from their first year as 8-year-olds up to teenagers and college-bound! Robin is a natural-born teacher. She has worked in the Kauaʻi school system and was the director of the Kauaʻi Children’s Discovery Museum for 12 years.
Holo Holo: Who is on your team?
Jess Belt: The Reef Guardians Hawaiʻi organization has a lot of different projects and, thus, many diverse team members. I joined the team as a volunteer in 2018 and primarily work with the camp team consisting of Robin Mazor, Tom Woods, Renee Janton, and Kat Brickner. Still, we have many others from the community, including dive masters, medical professionals, and educators, who give us a day or two each camp session! I also team-teach at least one day each session with Aaron Swink from the state’s Department of Aquatic Resources.
Through COVID, I worked full-time for the Reef Guardians as a curriculum developer for an online learning program that mirrors and extends the programming we offer during Reef Camp. You can check me out as my alter ego, “Aquamarine,” in Ke Kula Kai Online Sea School at learn.reefguardians.org.
Holo Holo: Why do you enjoy leading this program?
Jess Belt: To be witness to the moment that a child is completely awestruck is the best feeling! That happens a lot at camp. I also love that I get to flex my science muscles on a kid level while totally geeking out with my adult comrades!
Holo Holo: Is there anything you’d like to share?
Jess Belt: If you love kids, we can always use extra hands! We need in-water “pod” leaders, “pod” helpers, and terrestrial helpers, too! If you are coming to Kauaʻi on vacation and your timing works with our camp dates, we would love to have your keiki at camp!
And that’s a wrap, friends! Join Jess Rickard and Reef Guardians Hawaiʻi for the 2024 Coral Reef Kids Camp! This is one summer program you do not want to miss!