Tunde Otto is educating all the outdoorsy kids at her summer camp, Links-to-Nature, at Norval's Willow Park Ecology Centre (WPEC).
The annual program gives children a chance to learn about, experience and care for local nature through everything from hikes and habitat exploration to gardening and more.
"[Parents] understand the curriculum. They know that it's an enrichment program," Otto said. "Each day they're learning something about how the world works, mostly around how nature works and ecology."
She added, "Sustainability is something I started (focusing on) when I began the camps. And I started calling it sustainability because I wanted that language to be more in the lexicon."
With the help of volunteers, she has been incorporating the history of Norval into her lessons. But not just history. She has married the concept with her sustainability ethos to show that there have been plenty of sustainable energy use in Halton Hills.
"Because we are thinking also about Norval as a topic, then we can look at water energy because Norval was originally a mill town. It had as many as six mills on the Credit River," she told HaltonHillsToday. "It ties in perfectly. So renewable energy isn't a new idea - it was the original idea. That's kind of a cool thing to think about."
The summer camps run like clockwork. Mondays are about caring for the plant. Birds are the theme for Tuesdays. The newest offering, Norval's history, takes place on Wednesdays. Kids focus on water habitats on Thursdays. And the week is capped off by learning about biodiversity.
Earlier this week, the kids all learned how to plant a garden, among other treats. They dug up soil, put it into small pots and planted cabbage, tomato and mint plants, to name a few. The children were balls of energy in the tucked-away, cozy, outdoor setting.
There's still room for those interested in joining the fun. Parents can sign up their kids on the WPEC website.
WPEC will mark its 25-year anniversary with a celebration at noon on Sept. 24 in the ecology centre.
