Cover photo by Marie Fenske Courtesy of Dishman Hills Conservancy
Spokane Public Schools’ new balanced calendar gives students a full week off in October, and Spokane Parks and Recreation built three new day camps around it. The Fall Break Outdoor Exploration series, for kids ages 9-13, runs one session per day Oct. 20-22, with each day meeting at Riverfront Park’s Washington Parking Lot before the group heads out by van.
The program includes the Spokane River Watershed Field Science camp that opens the series Oct. 20, with Spokane Riverkeeper staff leading kids to the confluence of the Spokane River and Latah Creek to search for macroinvertebrates, the small stream-dwelling creatures that indicate water quality. The Mount Spokane Forest Walk and Picnic camp follows Oct. 21, taking kids into Mount Spokane State Park’s forest with a member of the city’s Spokane Urban Forestry Team to identify trees and understory plants along the trail. Creature Curiosity at Riverside State Park closes out the day-camp series Oct. 22, when a wildlife conflict specialist from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife brings pelts and skulls for a hands-on look at regional wildlife before the group treks through the Bowl and Pitcher area to search for animal sign.
Each day runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and costs $89. Families can register for one day or all three, and scholarships are available for those who qualify. Spokane Parks and Recreation also has a two-day BASE Camp Winter Explorers session planned at Mount Spokane, Dec. 28-29, built around snowshoeing and warming-hut breaks for the same age group. More info at My.spokanecity.org/parksrec.
