Turtles and Frogs and Goats, Oh My! Campers Connect with Nature

The third rung of Tawonga’s Mission reflects the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world.” Camp Tawonga teaches the importance of this value by providing many paths through which campers can forge a special relationship with nature.

Campers observed turtles and frogs while paddle boating on the lake and took turns naming these creatures while making up hypothetical life stories for them. Seeing and connecting with these animals in their natural habitat helps campers to appreciate and respect the environment and hopefully inspires them to be stewards of our planet.

Moving on to the Garden, this area of Camp expanded this year, growing more plants than ever, including herbs and lettuce. In addition, the Garden now provides a home for several adorable bunnies, which are a huge hit with the campers. This summer, Tawonga’s Farm is home to chickens, as well as a mama goat, Mocha, and her baby (cute!). 

Naturalist and Garden Supervisor, Leora, led a goat cheese-making block with B-5 using milk from Mocha produced this morning.

Meanwhile, the bunk of G-6A morphed into special secret agents, taking on a top secret assignment where different staff around Camp provided clues to help them complete their mission. To fuel their energy mid-mission, Garden Specialist Jesse offered the agents fresh-picked mint from the Garden that they enjoyed raw as well as in their water bottles for a hint of minty freshness.

Understanding the uses of garden-grown herbs, making friends with our animal neighbors and becoming aware of our impact on the environment are all crucial components of living out the value of Tikkun Olam at Camp Tawonga. Each of these everyday activities encourages us to forge a stronger partnership with nature.

P.S. Later today, Camp Tawonga will be hosting some very special guests – Llamas! Stay tuned for these photos (obviously).

Who’s up?

See below for photos from goat cheese-making and visiting the Farm with B-5, paddle-boating and turtle-watching at the lake, sports rotations and story-telling song session with epic song leader Isaac Zones! 

Who’s on deck?

Look forward to pictures from the llama visit, Unit Swim, and Arts & Crafts.