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What is it?
This one-week Arkansas Audubon Society camp offers
campers leaving the 5th and 6th grades an opportunity for field studies in the natural environment. Students study mammals, snakes, birds, insects, geology, botany and aquatic biology in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains. The professional staff includes a registered nurse and a lifeguard. Adult staff are with campers at all times to ensure their safety, including overnight in cabins. Instructor background checks are made and security is emphasized at all times.
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Why is this camp important?
It provides children with a special outdoor experience and helps them appreciate and understand the natural environment.
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Who may attend?
Any youth who has completed 5th or 6th grade and interested in learning about the outdoors. Fifty junior students are enrolled each week plus twelve senior students who have been invited back from the year before. Twelve senior students are invited to a third-year advanced ecology camp at Mt. Eagle near Clinton.
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What about safety?
The Arkansas Audubon Society rents Camp Clearfork from the U.S. Forest Service for 2 weeks each June during which time the entire camp is closed to outsiders. Our staff of over 20 professionals, many of whom are school teachers, ensures that the 62 camp youth each session are in a protected environment, well fed, and learning many new things about nature and its interactions.
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When and where will it be held?
Camp dates are typically in the middle of June. Both sessions will be held at Camp Clearfork, in the Ouachita National Forest, on U. S. Highway 270 two miles west of Crystal Springs. It is the responsibility of the parents to bring the child to the camp and pick them up after camp is over
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What does it cost?
Each junior student pays $350 to attend the camp for the week. Tuition pays for an incredible staff including pairs of instructors teaching classes with 8-10 students, a full-time registered nurse, an activities director, camp rental, food, insurance, and all the necessary equipment and supplies. The Audubon Society provides the remainder of the $450-plus cost per camper.
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What about recreation?
The camp offers recreational opportunities including team sports, swimming, hiking, and canoeing.