CAMP GRADY SPRUCE
What Do We Offer?
Fishing
Students will learn how to bait a hook and discover the finer points of fishing etiquette. Students will learn more about the fish’s adaptations and their life requirements. We’re on Possum Kingdom Lake……we have very photogenic fish!
Canoeing
Forces in motion! The students will receive paddling and safety instructions before setting out on a spectacular canoe adventure on Possum Kingdom Lake. Students will learn how to fit a life jacket properly and work as a paddling team. We are all in the same boat on this one!
Fire Building
Heat, Fuel and Oxygen! The students will receive fire building instruction and fire safety. Students will learn how to start a fire using primitive techniques and of course…Burn some toast!
Horseback Riding
Students will participate in an instructed horsemanship lesson led by our equestrian staff. Helmet up and head out for a trail ride! Students will learn how to navigate their horses along the trail, tack up their horses, and perform barn chores.
Orienteering
Magnetism and Polarity! Students will learn how to use a map and compass correctly. Students will participate in our poem orienteering course and create their course for other students.
Outdoor Living Skills
Magnetism and Polarity! Students will learn how to use a map and compass correctly. Students will participate in our poem orienteering course and create their course for other students.
Sensory Trail
The students will become more in tune with their senses as they travel through our rope-guided trail… while blindfolded!
Archery
Students will receive instruction concerning the proper shooting of a bow and arrow. It’s all about your stance! Students will have a friendly competition with the targets and culminate with a Flu-Flu tournament.
Conservation Projects
Blue Bird Nesting Boxes, Water Bar and Check Dam Construction, Composting, Mulching, Gardening, Replanting and Removal, Project Live Oak, and the Conservation Village. It’s all about kinesthetic learning while making our planet a better place!
Johnson's Peak
This 1.2 mile hike is considered one of the “crown jewels” in the world of Camp Grady Spruce hiking. The students will traverse Johnson’s Peak while learning about the horizontal stratification of various rock formations and the chemical components within them. Native flora and fauna will be studied as well during their hike to the awe inspiring view at the summit of Johnson’s Peak.
Devil’s Island
Journey to the Island via barge to explore the intricate interactions among native island flora and fauna. Plenty of local history will be shared during this trail as well as a bird’s eye view of the Brazos River Valley as it meanders through Possum Kingdom Lake. If you want to understand land formation and horizontal stratification of rock formations, the island has it all and more!
Man and the Environment
1.6 miles of nature investigation! Prairie Reclamation, Nutrient Cycling, Water Cycles, Sustainable Development, Bird Blind, and Natural Resources. These trails are the total package! Hike through long grass prairie or 200-year-old live oaks. Observe monarchs feeding on native wildflowers or “rattle” up some whitetails.
Project Adventure Team Building
It is all about the team! The students will work together to perform various low ropes initiatives. Through the staging and sequencing of tasks, the students will achieve greatness. Through the different stages, the students will practice sharing responsibility and leadership to get through and complete the objectives.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is a unique trail because it is more activity-based rather than a hiking trail. Students will get the opportunity to learn about our ecosystem and energy transfer processes such as the food chain and food web. Students will also get an opportunity to tend to a community garden where we will engage in conversation about food deserts, compost, pesticides, organic produce, GMOs, and how much energy it takes to grow your own food. Students will also be able to experience our mini ranch filled with goats, pigs, donkeys, chickens, cows, and a miniature horse. They will learn about adaptations specific to each animal, inherited traits and learned behaviors, and how these animals would interact within our environment if they were wild. After leaving the mini ranch students do a short trail walk where students can scavenge for signs of wildlife like animal tracks, and droppings, and learn how to distinguish which animals have been in the area based on what they have left behind.
