Registration for session one of Swamp School, a week-long summer camp for kids ages 8-12, is already full. But residents will have three more opportunities to sign up for the camp: March 8, March 15 and March 22. Registration opens early in the morning – 12:00 a.m. on each of the registration days. The registration fee is $200 per child for the week.
Craig Howat, who organizes and teaches Swamp School along with fellow educator Barry Guillot, said registration typically fills up within minutes.
The popular camp involves outdoor adventures at Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, including canoeing, field games, archery and tree planting. These adventures are paired with science-backed activities.
The St. Charles Parish Parks and Recreation Department will offer four, week-long sessions of Swamp School this summer. Session one runs from June 2-June 6; session two runs from June 9-June 13; session three runs from July 14-July 18; and session four runs from July 21-July 25. Camper registration takes place on a first-come, first-serve basis at scpparksandrec.com.
The sessions run Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Campers must bring a bag lunch, water bottle, snack, closed-toed tennis shoes and a rain jacket. Campers should also apply sunscreen and bug spray before arriving at camp.
Howat said he absolutely loves being with the kids on the water, helping them overcome their fears.
“Really Barry and I focus on that – helping the kids overcoming their fear of the animals and the water,” Howat said. “Every day we have a reflection session where they get on the bullhorn and share, and, for some kids, public speaking is their challenge. We just tell the kids to face their challenges head on.”
Tackling those challenges leads campers to build memorable experiences, Howat said.
“It’s why we have so many kids that come back to be counselors,” he said. “They get in there and they love it, and they want to come back and help the other kids.”
He said he hopes kids takes away from the camp an appreciation of the sheer beauty of the Louisiana environment.
“Just being able to go outside and enjoy water sports and being able to go crabbing and go fishing, it’s a sportsman’s paradise,” he said.
Barry Guillot said eighth graders in the parish interested in volunteering at Swamp School this year can fill out applications online. The application for volunteer counselors, or Greenies, will be posted Monday, March 10 to the Swamp School’s Facebook page.
“When you talk to the older kids at Swamp School, they all say they want to be Greenies when they’re older,” Guillot said. “It’s always a cool thing.”
Guillot said Swamp School is a little bit different than a regular camp.
“It’s Swamp School, not Swamp Camp, because you’re going to be learning something,” Guillot said. “You’re going to be having so much fun like it’s a camp, but you’re going to learn so much.”
This is the 14th year of Swamp School.
“To do something that long, it’s really a passion,” Guillot said. “Your biggest hope is that you’re going to run into [former campers] at WalMart when they’re getting a fishing pole or a cast net.”
