Missouri River Relief's 2nd year of Missouri River Adventure camp concluded on July 21st, 2023 after a week of new experiences and new friendships. 41 campers, all aged between 9 and 13 years, explored the Missouri River, along with parks and conservation areas that make up its watershed.
Each morning, campers gathered at Waters-Moss Memorial Wildlife Area before boarding onto a bus and heading out for the day's adventure. These field trips included hiking and caving in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, fishing and birding out of Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, experiencing the Missouri River by motorboat and so much more.
Check out our Adventure Camp photo album on Flickr!
Day one saw our campers hiking through Rock Bridge Memorial State Park and learning about the inhabitants of their local watershed--including each other!
Campers got to explore Devil's Ice Box cave and interview our local stream creatures with Michele Woolbright of Boone County Stormwater Management.
They were also able to meet some native spiders on a spider hike! Campers learned about the differences in web structure and how spiders use these webs to hunt.
On Tuesday, campers traveled to the Missouri River Center for a boat ride in one of Missouri River Relief's motorboats on the Big Muddy. The weather almost changed our plans, but in the end, everyone got a boat ride!
While on the water, campers learned about the history and ecology of the Missouri River. They examined Native American pictographs found along the river, and learned about the effects of Channelization on native species like the Pallid Sturgeon.
Campers also tracked down a painting from local artist Jane Mudd that went missing during the Great Flood of '93...in our new outdoor "breakout room" activity! Campers worked together to solve puzzles and complete challenges in order to collect the clues they needed to "breakout" Jane's painting from its lock box.
Missouri River Adventure campers and staff joined expert birder Laura Semken of the Missouri River Bird Observatory at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area for a fantastic hike to learn about bird language. Campers even called in a bright red Summer Tanager!
On the river, campers fished with Missouri Department of Conservation who supplied bait and rods for some great catfishing.
It was our hottest day of camp, but campers stayed hydrated and were able to cool off with some "river A/C."
Campers joined the Missouri Conservation Corps to learn all about invasive bush honeysuckle and got the chance to remove it along the MKT trail in Columbia. Campers had a blast, and were able to really see the impact that their stewardship can have on the land. One camper was quoted on the front page of the Columbia Daily Tribune saying, "DIE HONEYSUCKLE!"
After lunch, campers set out in teams to tackle trash in Flat Branch Creek. Upon returning to Flat Branch Park with their finds of bicycles, phones, and couch cushions, campers cooled off in the splash pad!
Missouri River Adventure Camp culminated in a Creative Art Project. Campers spent the day working on their individual projects either showing off their favorite camp memory or creating a work that shares what they learned over the course of the week.
Families and friends were invited to attend a gathering held at the end of the day where their campers could present their Creative Art Projects to their loved ones.
Campers also participated in partner bucket drumming, and visited MU Venture Out's low ropes course for a final team building activity.
For more photos from our week of camp, follow this link to our Flickr album.
Check out the following articles and features from our Missouri River Adventure Camp exploits!
Register your camper for next year's Missouri River Adventure Camp by visiting our Summer Camp page. Registration will open during Spring of 2024 with Financial Aid opportunities for those who qualify.
We would like to extend a Big Muddy thank you to our partners who help make running the Missouri River Adventure Camp possible.
