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Back to School — Back to Nature

A steady stream of parents brought their children to Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center last Saturday for its annual Back to School — Back to Nature event. The families were exposed to all kinds of information on local flora and fauna, while participating in related hands-on activities. Each vendor supplied supplies like writing instruments, composition notebooks, bookmarks, rulers and more. The event included a raffle for tickets to the Florida Aquarium, backpacks and other items of greater value every half hour.   

Organizers, who estimated attendance at more than 100, said they were pleased with the turnout and hoped those who came would return to enjoy Camp Bayou’s resources, activities and programs throughout the year.

Lois Kindle

Riverview resident Jerilee Bowden, left, and her children, Kingsley, 8, and Zander, 6, listening as Christine Cooley, of the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, identifies different kinds of bugs found in the area.

Girl Scout Troop 33309 set up this display for making a habitat for burrowing owls and gave away instructions for building one.

Rebecca Hooper, an environmental educator with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, shows the Bowden family how to make seed necklaces during Back to School — Back to Nature at Camp Bayou.

Members of Girl Scout Troop 33309, of Riverview, demonstrate how to build boxes for Florida barn owls at Back to School — Back to Nature. The children then each had a turn in helping assemble the box.

Christine Cooley, of the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, shows Lithia resident Owen Clark, 7, how old toys can be repurposed into pots for plants.

Camp Bayou volunteer Kaitlyn Allen, 16, tells 5-year-old Lincoln Mayfield and his dad how to discover ant lions in the sand during this year’s Back to School — Back to Nature event.

DANIEL ALLEN PHOTO Longtime volunteer George Shambaugh, blue shirt, center rear, takes Back to School — Back to Nature visitors netting for critters in the Little Manatee River at Camp Bayou Aug. 3.

LOIS KINDLE PHOTOS Local Girl Scouts from Troop 349 peruse the Touch Table inside the Paleo Museum at Camp Bayou during Back to School — Back to Nature Aug. 3. From left are Lucia Popovich, 12; Abigail Cardoza, 13; and Taylor Hagan, 11.