AK Youth SUP & Water Safety Camp at Kincaid Park

Embark on a world-class, authentically Alaskan outdoor summer camp in the calm lakes around Kincaid Park, fostering exploration of water safety, nature and wildlife. Delve into the world of all things water science and paddling safety, Alaska-style, while making friends and acquiring essential Alaskan outdoor safety skills.

What We'll Do:

Alaska outdoor science and education for Alaska kids! Our youth summer camps focus on learning foundational outdoor skills, environmental science, and wilderness safety. Our Youth Paddling Week is one of three distinct summer camp themes offered to ages 10-13. Most Alaskans spend at least some time recreating, subsisting, or working on, near, or in the water. This camp is designed specifically for our young Alaskans in mind, to give them solid foundations and awareness of Alaskan water safety skills.

Led by our passionate outdoor educators, our small group camps provide a cozy environment for making new friends and enjoying outdoor adventures together.

Details

Max. Enrollment: 10 participants Min. Enrollment: 6 Participants

Cost: $525 Deposit: $131.25

Where We’ll Go

Drop-off and Pick-up: Kincaid Sand Dunes Park Trailhead [8200 Jodhpur St, Anchorage, AK 99502]

Field Visit Days: 3-4 days/week we will load up in the van and spend the day at a local lake in the Anchorage area, or we may go further afield to observe glacier-fed streams and rivers and alpine lakes. Where we decide to go is up to instructor discretion and depends largely on environmental conditions and the makeup of our group.

Field visit days, we will leave promptly at 9:30am from the parking lot and return between 4:30-5pm. Our instructors will communicate with families on which days we’ll be doing a field visit, and where we are going, and text when we return, via our “remind” communication app.

When

Camp Dates: Session 1: June 24-28, 2024 Session 2: July 8-12, 2024

Days: Monday-Friday Drop-off Time: 9-9:30am Pick-up Time: 5-5:30pm (early drop off available from 8-9am, $15/day)

Daily Itinerary

8-9am: Early drop-off 9-9:30am: drop-off 9:30: morning meeting, depart in van for trailhead, or prepare to play/explore the park 12-1:30pm: lunch time/we eat typically when we’re hungry, but we make sure to take breaks during the day. 1:30-5pm: continue with outdoor lessons/paddling or other activities, return to Kincaid parking lot pick-up spot. 5-5:30: pick-up

**Lesson plans and itineraries are subject to change based on group needs and other factors out of our control, like environmental conditions. The only times that are fixed are drop-off and pick-up; all other times are flexible and up to instructor discretion. **field-visit days will follow a similar schedule but will adjust to account for the driving times and corresponding logistics.

Weekly Itinerary

Monday: Wilderness First Aid skills, paddling skills and safety intro

Tuesday: More paddling skills at local lake

Wednesday: day hike out to observe alpine tarn/lake, or glacial stream/river to discuss water ecology, discuss paddling hazards and safety in moving water

Thursday: More paddling skills at local lake, as time allows, lecture on more advanced systems like team and self rescue techniques and more advanced paddling techniques

Friday: Final day! Group debrief and discussion, what are the next steps? Fun and camaraderie: kids will make their own play for our “Theater in the Woods” and act out what they learned over the last three days.

What we’ll learn:

Each summer camp theme is scaffolded to adapt to each cohort’s age level. Every summer camp includes education in wilderness skills, including but not limited to wilderness first aid, gear management and personal organization, personal and group outdoor leadership and teamwork skills, and of course, bear and moose safety skills.

Water Ecology Youth will learn all about stream ecology; from microscopic invertebrates to megafauna. We will spend the week discovering what is necessary to sustain healthy streams, lakes, and oceans. We will also learn about all the bacteria and critters that make water filtering and purification necessary for healthy drinking water!

Water Safety Foundations In the calm waters of local lakes, we will talk about what it means to explore Alaska's waterways safely and develop the foundational knowledge essential in good decision making while recreating in water-based activities. Youth don't have to go in the water to learn about it - kids can choose to take turns going on the water with a guide, or they can stay on shore. All participants will be wearing a PFD while near any water source. Water safety in Alaska is probably one of the most important foundational skills youth can start developing from a young age. This week, we will invite special guest speakers to come talk to the kids about water safety from the Alaska Office of Boating Safety and local enthusiasts who adventure in Alaska's waterways.

Fishing As time permits, this week we will learn about fishing - tying flies, casting, rod and reel, and the types of fish we can find in different bodies of water in Alaska.

At Into the Woods AK, we help kids work on creative problem solving and developing critical thinking skills in the outdoors setting. Part of this is allowing them to overcome challenges and failure, rather than just giving up! Please support your child by letting them pack their own bag, know what is in it, and take ownership over their learning. Most importantly, please allow them the opportunity to experience set-backs, learn from them, and overcome them.

Gear and Clothing - What to Pack:

Inclusions: -Curriculum supplies for learning (magnifying glasses, wilderness first aid learning supplies, art -supplies, clipboards, etc.) -Water and Some snacks -Transport on field visit days to and from trailhead -Stand up paddle boards, packrafts, paddles, PFDs -practice water filters

What to Pack: See our website for a full packing list. We are outdoors all day - please have your kiddo come with appropriate outdoor shoes and clothing for the day.

Water, extra clothing layers and appropriate outer layers, big lunch with lots of snacks, swimwear and extra outer/comfy layers, a towel, water shoes, snorkel, PFD if you have one. A backpack the size of a school backpack or an 18-30 liter day hiking backpack are good sizes, for walking around, and a big duffel to hold all the water gear.

All participants are expected to wear appropriate clothing for conditions. We will send out a packing list and “what to wear and how to wear it” guidebook to all participants prior to camp start date.

Need gear or clothes? We may have equipment and clothing to lend out on a first-come, first-served basis.

Participant Requirements

Who is it for? This program is offered to ages 10-13; we may divide into smaller groups during the day per the discretion of the instructors.

Enrollment requirements: -Must be able to follow directions from instructors and listen respectfully to instructors during outdoor classroom lecture sessions. -Participants must arrive ready to go with appropriate gear for the weather conditions of the day, with adequate food and water. -We expect all of our participants to be safe, kind, and respectful to themselves, their friends, and the environment.

A note on special needs and Into the Woods AK: Our summer camps programs are not ideal for kiddos that require 1:1 instructor:student ratio Please keep in mind that we are not trained as special needs educators, and while we can accommodate many different learning styles, we are not well equipped for children that need a 1:1 guidance. If a child runs away, is non-verbal, has difficulty differentiating safe situations/actions from unsafe ones, and/or has trouble adhering to safety instructions from instructors, we are not the best-suited program for your child.

We strive to provide a fun, engaging, and of course safe environment for all kiddos at our camps. Some youth may not have as much fun if they need a lot of structure and consistent activities and transitions throughout their day - for example, sometimes our snack times or lunch times may not happen at the expected times, coming across a mama moose and calf on the trail will change our route and lesson plan itinerary, or our instructors will recognize that the group needs to play more, or relax more, or to move on to something else, or will make a call/quick adaptation to the plans for safety or environmental reasons.

Please Note:

This itinerary and what we learn each day is subject to change based on environmental conditions and our unique groups' particular logistics and needs. Our focus is to have fun, play, and make friends - and hopefully learn some solid wilderness skills and inspire youth to learn to be advocates for our beautiful wild spaces along the way!

This program is 100% outdoors! On rainy days we may have a shelter where we can hang out, however, we also use “bad weather” to teach youth how to manage gear and even have fun with the rain!

Prohibited at all of our tours, programs, and courses: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, e-cigarettes or vaping-type products, firearms or weapons of any kind.