Family Nature Summit Discovery Trail

From the moment my son was named runner-up in the Craig Tufts Education Scholarship, I knew our family was in a for a treat.  By far my favorite activity of the whole week – and we had some outstanding opportunities – was participating in the service project tradition of Family Nature Summits. They leave the places they visit a little nicer than they found them. Our family had the honor of helping to build the Discovery Trail.

Family Nature Summits has a long history of providing families with opportunities to learn about nature all over the United States. This summer we headed to Tahoe for five days of fun at the Granlibakken Conference Center & Lodge. Our rooms were nice and the food was amazing. Each meal eaten outdoors under the blue sky.

My preschooler took part in the Early Discovery Program from 8am-Noon with 5 little friends and two of the best teachers ever. They made Fairy Houses, went on hikes, played in the river and did nature crafts. The kids learned all about the world around them. My 2nd grader was Junior Naturalist from 8am-3pm. He certainly played the part! He took his role very seriously and sopped up everything from water quality lessons to kayak trips to nature hikes and picnics outdoors.  Even Moms and Dads have activities and outings to choose. We went birding in the wee hours of the morning, took kayak trips, went on hikes, practiced orienteering and bear safety, and learned about the ecology of Lake Tahoe.

Many families return year after year. I know, because everyone is assigned a scarf color based on their years of attendance. We were the yellow scarves signifying our 1st year status. This afforded us special welcomes and lots of hand-holding when it came to figuring out our schedules. We felt very welcome from Day One.  You will, too, if you decide to attend. I imagine the first year is special for everyone.

I wrote previous posts about our trip here:

• Time Off in Tahoe
• Where to Begin? (My Junior Naturalist’s Top Ten experiences)

There are even more reasons to attend the Family Nature Summit next year at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.  Sign up for their newsletter list to get registration information. Also, please read more about the naturalist Craig Tufts and consider donating to the very worthy fund building in his name.

*My son placed runner-up in an essay contest to attend this Summit for which he was awarded free registration for himself and ONE parent. We paid all travel expenses for the family, plus registration for myself and daughter. In other words, no compensation was received for this post or any of the posts which came before and are sure to follow!