Every generation becomes more and more advanced—and these advancements start before a child can crawl.
We have technology to help us monitor babies’ health when they sleep, cameras to watch them in the dark.
What we don’t see is the window open for a baby to fall asleep to nature’s sounds; instead, we just plug in the sound machines and turn on the rainforest setting.
As children continue to grow, parents and kids alike feel the pressure of staying updated with technology to give their child the opportunities for growth. At least that’s how I feel with my two children.
However, all that technology does not give people the chance to experience nature’s true beauty.
Dragging your kid outside to go play is never fun. Yet on other days, I will have to drag the same child back inside for a bath that they don’t think they need as mud drips off their hands and cheeks—all the while, not being truly bothered because they were having fun playing outside.
Buffalo Audubon’s nature camp provides the outdoor experiences children need, and many more.
Year after year, we have provided top-notch nature education to children. Many of our campers attend from kindergarten to eighth grade, with some enjoying it so much they become counselors-in-training (CITs), go off to college for nature-related degrees, and come back to be camp counselors.
Take Salah Griffis, for example—a returning counselor who has been a part of camp in some way since 2013, and she is only 20 years old. The fact that a 20-year-old has spent 13 years of her life with an organization speaks volumes about the kind of impact these kinds of camps can have.
Year after year, we hear parents say similar things: “This is my child’s favorite summer camp. We can’t wait to come back next year.” This doesn’t happen by chance.
Buffalo Audubon immerses children in nature through fun games and activities. Kids make lifelong memories with their friends: running around the arboretum trying not to get tagged until they reach the Eastern Hemlock tree. Identifying a beautiful tree that, sadly, is in great danger because of invasive pests. They can be that person 60 years from now telling the next generation about how beautiful the tree was and how we need to do everything we can to save that tree species, just as generations have done to save the American Chestnut.
This year, we provide a week-long camp experience over one hundred times.
You may have missed nature camp 2026, but I can promise you won’t want your camper to miss nature camp 2027.
spend your summer outside with us!
Learn more about our nature camp or plan ahead for next year by visiting buffaloaudubon.org/nature-camp.
You can also visit buffaloaudubon.org/subscribe to get our free weekly email newsletter, “The Early Bird,” and stay up to date on next year’s camp registration, discounts, and much more!
This story originally was published in the Fall 2026 edition of The Outlook, a birding and nature magazine by Buffalo Audubon. Read more stories from The Outlook magazine online, or upgrade to subscribe and receive printed editions mailed right to you.
