Imagine children having fun making their beds, planning and cooking dinner, even washing dishes. Add heat, humidity and bugs to the scene for a complete picture of Camping Camp, an opportunity for 8-to 13-year-olds to experience outdoor camping.
The camp was the first ever offered by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Department of Parks devoted exclusively to teaching camping skills.
Erika Wolf, 10, of Montgomery Village was the only girl enrolled in the weeklong program, held July 14-18 at the Little Bennett Regional Park campground in Clarksburg.
‘‘I like going camping, I think it is fun,” Erika said.
She had camped out twice before. The only part Erika did not like about the camp was the bugs.
‘‘They are attracted to everyone and everything,” she said. ‘‘It was absolutely fun except for the bugs.”
Each day the campers learned a new skill — how to build a wood fire, plan menus, set up tents and prepare for medical emergencies. They also took hikes, played games and explored many of the 55 acres that make up the Little Bennett campground.
All the experiences were directed towards learning to protect the environment while developing the skills needed to enjoy the outdoors.
‘‘We are trying to teach green camping,” said Lyn Duncan, facility manager.
A look around the campsite showed examples of the environmentally sensitive way the campers were using the natural resources.
A clothesline strung between trees had plastic cups hanging from clothespins. The campers put duct tape around the cups, leaving the tape longer at the end to create a tab for hanging. They also marked them with their names so they could use the same cup each day, eliminating the need for paper cups.
There was a hand washing station — a plastic jug of water hung from another tree — and each camper was provided with a bandana.
‘‘We use them instead of paper towels,” Duncan said.
At the end of the week, campers tested their newly acquired skills with an overnight — a traditional campout that included tacos cooked over a propane stove, s’mores cooked over a campfire and sleeping in tents.
‘‘The tents have screens so it won’t be too buggy,” Gavin Sampson, 8, of Rockville, said.
Jack Virga, 12, of Germantown hopes to be a naturalist or biologist some day and came to camp feeling prepared. He watches ‘‘Man vs. Wild” on the Discovery Channel and thought he had learned about building campfires from the show, but it wasn’t quite the same in person.
‘‘I learned a bit more about campfires. [The TV show’s star] makes it looks really easy,” Jack said, after finding there was more to actually getting a fire going than he expected.
One of the few rules the campers had to follow was to leave electronic games or cell phones at home. Everyone was encouraged to bring a book to read during quiet time or while waiting between activities. And the campers learned new games.
‘‘Rosemary [Nichols], the camp[ground] manager, showed us how to play a really neat game,” Hugh Smith, 11, of Ijamsville said.
The game, a beanbag toss game called “cornhole,“ proved to be a favorite among the campers. The game, according to Nichols, is a variation on horseshoes, and takes its name because the bags are filled with kernels of corn rather than beans.
Counselor Jessica Tsai, 19, of Gaithersburg enjoyed her week at camp as much as the campers.
‘‘This week was fun because it was all about camping — fires, tents, everything you need to know to go camping by yourself,” Tsai said. ‘‘It’s good for life and the green way we are learning is good for the environment.”
