Photo: Wolf Trap camp out, Gary Pan
Each spring and fall Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts hosts two campouts for Fairfax County 5th and 6th grade students sponsored by Friends of Wolf Trap. The campouts give young people an opportunity to develop meaningful connections to the natural world, learn outdoor skills, make new friends, and have fun. Scout youth leaders organize the camping while other partners teach activities such as archery, fly casting, pollinators, gardening, birding, and more.
For the past five years, ASNV volunteers have led an introduction to birding class which teaches birding basics and how to use binoculars, followed by bird hikes. The class is based on bird data and knowledge of the park’s trails compiled during ASNV’s two-year bird survey. Between 2013 and 2015, survey teams visited the park 270 times and identified 128 species. Now, thanks to the Friends’ generous gift of 20 pairs of binoculars, campers and others can try to find those species.
Ten to twelve-year-olds have sharp eyes and acute hearing! This year’s young campers helped find Barred Owls, 4 hawk species, both vultures, warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, 3 wren species, 3 sparrow species, lots of migrants, and many year-round woodland birds including 5 woodpecker species, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Northern Cardinal.
If you are a birder and would like to help with this enriching program, watch our newsletter and website for a volunteer request in 2020.