MRR-logo-color-WEB-200px

Watershed Expeditions at Home

We Are Here to Support Your Family!

Missouri River Relief is dedicated to supporting families in our communities. That is why we have decided to offer our virtual camp experience again this year. Watershed Expeditions at Home is the tried and true response to the necessary cancellations of our in-person summer camps during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Watershed Expeditions at Home is a combination of Camp in a Box and Virtual Camp that brings the fun of a camp to your home! This balanced approach promotes creative thinking and outdoor activities that campers can complete without leaving their local neighborhood. 

Camp Details

  • 4 Weeks in July 2021
  • 4th-7th Grade
  • 10 Activities & 4 Virtual Camp Experiences
  • Tuition: $50 per student - Financial Aid is available!
  • Registration and Financial Aid CLOSED on  June 25th, 2021.

Education Programs

Professional DevelopmentField Trips & PresentationsSummer CampsPast Education ProgramsBig Muddy Speaker Series

Resources

Missouri River Information PacketsMissouri River Virtual Field Trip 

Volunteer with Our Education Programs

Our education programs provide a variety of opportunities for volunteers to connect to the Missouri River. Are you interested in volunteering? E-mail our Education Director, Kristen Schulte

We All Live in a Watershed! 

We invite you to join our experienced instructors for a month-long watershed expedition. No matter where you live, you live in a watershed. A watershed is kind of like a bathtub or a sink. It’s an area of land that drains to a single body of water such as a lake or river. Watersheds come in many different sizes. A few acres might drain into a small stream or wetland, or a few rivers might drain into a large river, like the Missouri River.  

We are all connected by watersheds, and now more than ever, we need connections with the environment and other people. Watershed Expedition does exactly that! Campers will have the opportunity to connect and socialize with peers. They will explore their local watershed and investigate how actions of people who live in a watershed affect the health of the waters that run through it. They will learn to tell the story of their watershed and how to help protect the health of their watershed.

"Watershed Expedition  is a varied, fun, and high-quality program that so far hits all the right science for 10 year-olds"
-Excited Grandparent
"The final week included a river project, so I took our daughter to the river where she photographed all the trash. We had a great conversations on how that affects the animals. Then we made a poster. Today the staff asked her for it and they're going to use it in real life. That made her day!"
-Proud Parent
"With our daughter doing online school it's been hard to motivate her to do online extra curricular things like piano lessons and Girl Scouts meetings, but every week she looked forward to Watershed Expeditions at Home" 
-Impressed Parent

Learn More about Watershed Expeditions at Home 

What is Camp in a Box?

  • Camp in a Box provides fun, meaningful activities for campers. Camp in a Box includes 10 activities over the course of four weeks that are science based, screen-free, encourage outdoor time, and minimize demands on parents. 
  • Each camper that registers will receive a Camp in a Box in the mail the first week of July with all the materials and instructions for individual watershed exploration. In the box, campers will receive written instructions on how to do each activity. 
  • Camp in a Box will include everything you need to keep your camper engaged: activities, crafts, and STEM projects. Instruction for these activities will be age-appropriate and connected to a theme for each week. 

Includes Materials for 10 Science and Nature Activities 

  • Watercolor Paints & Brush
  • Watercolor Paper
  • White Crayon
  • Sun Print Paper
  • Nature Journal
  • Colored Pencils
  • Heavy Duty Trash Bags
  • Gloves
  • Sew a Critter Supplies
  • Boat Building Supplies
  • Backyard Birding Poster
  • Bird Seed
  • String/Rope
  • Wooden Skewer
  • Comic Strip Paper
  • Envelope & Stamp
  • Pencils and Eraser
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • Plus, a Missouri River Relief t-shirt, water bottle and sticker!

 

 

Campers beware: grown-ups will be tempted to borrow these Camp in a Box supplies!

What is Virtual Camp? 

  • Virtual Camp is the digitally-interactive aspect of Watershed Expeditions that brings the peer social experience of being at camp directly to your home. 
  • Virtual Camp will be conducted entirely through Zoom video chat. Our instructors will lead your camper through a variety of activities that take place during pre-determined Zoom dates and times. Please see below for more information about when each session is happening.
  • Zoom session sizes will remain at a 1:10 ratio to ensure each camper will receive an adequate amount of attention.

Our goal is to bring our incredible staff, instruction, and the community you love at Missouri River Relief to your home! We believe our families and campers need camp more than ever. Please consider enjoying this program with siblings or registering with friends and participate as a small group in your neighborhood.

Who Can Participate in Watershed Expeditions?

Watershed Expedition is designed for rising 4th-7th graders. Also, this is a virtual camp so regardless of where you live, you can participate! 

When is Watershed Expeditions?

Watershed Expeditions will happen in the month of July from July 5th to July 30st 2021. Our virtual camp will meet once a week via “Zoom” video chat and at registration, you will have the option to select your preferred date from the following options:

Rising 4th-7th Grader - Session 1

  • Wednesday Morning: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CST
  • Dates: July 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th

CLOSED: Rising 4th-7th Grader - Session 2

  • Wednesday Afternoon: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CST
  • Dates: July 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th

CLOSED: Rising 4th -7th Grader - Session 3

  • Thursday Morning: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CST
  • Dates: July 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th

 

What Will Campers Do During Watershed Expeditions?

Each week’s activities will focus on a certain topic pertaining to explore the campers local watershed.

Week 1: Exploring Your Watershed (July 5th-9th)

    • Camp in a Box Activities: Botanical Sun Print, Scavenger Hunt, and Bird Feeder
    • Virtual Camp Activities: Welcome, Expectations, Watershed Olympics, Get to Know Each Other, Share Discoveries and Community Time.

Week 2: Making a Difference in Your Watershed (July 12th-16th)

    • Camp in a Box Activities: Local Neighborhood Cleanup, Boat Building and Message in a Bottle (i.e. Pen Pal with Another Camper)
    • Virtual Camp Activities: Watershed Olympics, Meet a Trash Warrior, Message in a Bottle Collection and Community Time.

Week 3: Telling the Story of Your Watershed (July 19th-23rd)

    • Camp in a Box Activities: Comic Strip, Watercolor & Nature Rubbing, and Sew a Critter
    • Virtual Camp Activities: Watershed Olympics, Meet a Watershed Artist, Discuss Watershed Project, and Community Time.

Week 4: Connecting Others to Your Watershed (July 26th-30th)

    • Camp in a Box Activities: Watershed Project
    • Virtual Camp Activities: Final Watershed Olympics, Share Watershed Project, Reflection, Celebration and Community Time.

What is the Watershed Olympics? Watershed Olympics is a series of team building activities used to enhance social relations and often involve collaborative tasks.  Each week’s activities will build on each other. 

What is Community Time? Each week we have built in the opportunity for campers to “hang out” with each other; to share discoveries, tell stories about their adventures, or ask for additional feedback on their activities. Community time provides a unique opportunity for all the campers to be able to socialize and make new friendships. 

What is the Watershed Project? During the Watershed Expedition, campers will identify an issue that in some way affects their local watershed. Campers will then learn how to use art to tell the story of their issue and each student will have the option to share their story in our last virtual camp. At the end of Watershed Expeditions campers will understand watersheds near and far. 

What if My Camper Does Not Like “Art”? We are using the word “art” very loosely for this project. Campers will be able to select their own medium which could include video, photography, graphic design, paint, comic strips, or sculpture. Guidance and encouragement will be provided to each camper throughout their project. 

What is Included in the Tuition Cost?

Tuition costs $50 per camper and includes instruction and supplies for 10 activities over the course of four weeks, access to weekly virtual camp “Zoom” video chat and priority access to Camp Director, Kristen Schulte, for any questions.

How Are the Camp in a Box Activities Arriving at my Home?

Camp in a Box will be shipped to the address provided in your registration form. Our shipping fee is built into the tuition of the program. We will ship all Camp in a Box supplies the last week of June. Please allow 3-5 business days for shipping.

Registration Process

If you are applying for financial aid, please refer to the "Financial Aid" section below. The registration deadline for both enrollment and financial aid is June 25th, 2021.

Registration is CLOSED. Complete the online enrollment process here or by calling 573.443.0292 by June 25th, 2021. Please have your payment information ready when enrolling.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is CLOSED. Financial aid is available to qualified participants. To apply for financial aid, complete the financial aid form here and click the "Submit Form" button by June 25th, 2021.

We will begin awarding financial aid at the end of June 2021 and then continue making awards on a rolling basis until all available funds are awarded. Once you are notified of your financial aid award, you will be given a deadline to accept the award. Please Do NOT register before you are notified of your award.

 

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact our Education Director, Kristen Schulte at kristen@riverrelief.org or call 573-443-0292. 

Ready for Action?

This website is created and maintained by Missouri River Relief, P.O. Box 463, Columbia, MO 65205
MRR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Federal Tax ID (EIN) 03-0425187
© 2023 Missouri River Relief | Website development and design by Pixel Jam Digital
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram