Nature Study in Summer Camps for Girls 



Eleazer Johnson Dole 

 The Tall Pines Camp, Bennington, N. H. 



To correct a possible misconception let us at first emphasize 

 the fact that a simimer camp is not merely a playground. It is 

 or should be a place for recreation and play, but it is also essentially 

 an educational institution, such an institution as educators have 

 long theorized and dreamed about, but have rarely succeeded in 

 realizing. It is not a school, for formal instruction has no place in 

 it, but it is a place for education in the literal sense of the word. 

 The children are busied chiefly with out-of-door activities, such as 

 hiking, games, riding, water and athletic sports, and nature study, 

 with a portion of each day set apart for spontaneous play. 

 Such institutions present several unique and important problems 

 for the expert in education; unique because such camps are 

 comparatively new, and important because they are bound to play 

 a more and more prominent part in the training of children. In 

 such activities as those mentioned above, the normal girl should 

 acquire an interest in and love for out door life. Perhaps she will 

 not show a love for nature, but if she does manifest a love for the 

 type of life which the camp offers, the genuine love for nature will 

 come later when the child is more mature. Now there is very 

 little difficulty in developing an interest in camp life. Every 

 normal girl already has it. But there are certain very good prob- 

 lems which the nature study instructor has to face in the develop- 

 ment of his particular phase of camp activities. 



It is the writer's opinion that nature study is one of the most 

 important phases of summer camp work and he has an equally 

 strong belief that too much emphasis can be, and generally is, 

 placed upon it. Those of us who have tried to teach nature 

 work have too often had the disappointing experience of having 

 the children manifest very little interest in the lesson, or even turn 

 away from it altogether. If we have wondered why, and been 

 honest with ourselves, we have generally concluded that the 

 trouble was with the lesson. In m,ost cases it was too formal 

 and reminded the children too much of school. In the case of other 

 camp activities, the child learns to do things by doing them. She 

 learns tennis by playing it. She learns hand work by doing it, 

 and learns to swim by swimming. This is not possible with 



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