Campers climb up into the forest with their counsellors

Porcupine quills, a magic stone hunt through the forest and blue chalk drawings in the rain are some of the things that enchanted the children who took part in our ‘In Touch with Nature’- 5-Day Summer Camp this July. Our Education Department interns acting as camp counsellors led three groups of campers made up of some 125 primary school children between 13 and 31 July. The children enjoyed treasure hunts, hiking, interactive drama performances, chalk workshops and little farmer’s experiences. 

Here the children are learning about insect species commonly found in Hong Kong

Even though the weather wasn’t perfect the whole time, our counsellors and campers were not discouraged and they had a great deal of fun. One child said the Lower Farm treasure hunt was: “The best and biggest treasure hunt I have ever done!” Camp C had to hide in the bus during their chalk workshop when the rain started pouring down. We discovered many talented actors and actresses during the drama performances and the children were amazed at the beauty and friendly temperament of the python at one of our special animal encounters.

Children decorate their pots before planting them with cuttings 

The children played little helpers in the drama, Dream of The Fair Forest. The story followed Susan who is searching for some lost magic stones. She led her team of helpers into the forest on a hunt to find them and as they followed the clues they encountered many wonderful things 

A memorable moment came when one child, exhausted from hiking up a hill, was enchanted by the view once he reached the top. “It’s all worth it!” he exclaimed. Another child jumped with joy when he discovered a quill from a porcupine on the side of the road. He couldn’t wait to show his friends. Some other children experienced harvesting vegetables for their own lunch for the first time. One child said: “I’ve never tried okra before but it tastes so good. I’m going to show my mum next time I go with her to the market.” Even the drizzling rain didn’t stop the children from wanting to carry on painting the road with coloured chalk. “Can we keep drawing please?” they asked. One child held an umbrella to shield her friend who carried on drawing; others shared the remains of the blue chalk amongst each other, while another held up two umbrellas, one in each hand, to stop the rain from spoiling drawings already made. It was a heart-warming scene.

See how creative and beautiful the chalk drawings are!

It took us by surprise when one camper, a bubbly outgoing little boy sat down inside the Art House on final day. We asked what was wrong. He said: “I’m feeling upset because today is the last day and I have to wait another year before I can come back.” We had lots of requests from parents to hold the camp again next year.

Here the children are making delicious salads from fruit and vegetables they harvested from the Eco Garden

It was short but sweet: all the children had a wonderful time over the five-day programme. What’s more important is that they were able to take something back with them. And we don’t just mean the bat boxes they made or the pot plants they painted. They also took home something else very precious: it could be a new friendship, a new-found confidence, some new knowledge, something they discovered about themselves or an experience of the wonders of nature. They took home something that touched their hearts.

'In Touch with Nature' Winter Camp for Children will be held in December 2015, please sign up for "Friends of KFBG" and receive the updates on all our upcoming events!.