There’s a place where kids can dig through the dirt and even hold a butterfly in the middle of South Florida’s greatest garden. 7’s Lynn Martinez shows us this nature camp in today’s Parent To Parent.
WSVN — Imagine a place where giant trees canopy the sky, waterfalls run and a butterfly can land on your shoulder.
It’s not make believe, it’s all here at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, an 83-acre outdoor museum.
Kiki Mutis of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden: “We have a collection of tropical plants from all over the world, Africa, South America, Asia.”
And that’s just the beginning of what kids learn about during the six week summer camp, where kids become junior naturalists
Kiki Mutis: “Each week has its own theme.”
Campers study native and tropical plant life, from the edible garden, to digging in the dirt on a different kind of scavenger hunt.
Kiki Mutis: “Soil is actually life-giving and within that soil, there’s also thousands of creatures, without which we could not survive.”
From the ground to the sky, the butterfly conservatory is a magical place where kids get a personal and up-close experience during the butterfly release.
9-year-old Juliet: “It was really big and it was grabbing onto my hand and it felt really weird.”
Kiki Mutis: “To me one of the most empowering things about a nature camp is having kids overcome their fears, overcome their fears of the little creepy crawly things.”
They will get a chance to see giant moths and even learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.
Kiki Mutis: “It’s a place where we’re doing science, conservation and education.”
Parents like the fact kids are getting fresh air and learning about nature at the same time!
Elizabeth: “It’s close by and it’s beautiful and it’s outdoors.”
And campers say you can’t beat the adventure.
9-year-old Nico: “Maybe you can have a butterfly on your shoulder or something like that.”
The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and snacks are provided.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden:
10901 Old Cutler Road
Coral Gables, FL 33156
Tel: (305) 667-1651
www.fairchildgarden.org