🥾🏞️What better way to learn about nature than to go out and experience it firsthand!
Elementary-aged kids in the Buncombe Co. Migrant Education Program (MEP) visited Chimney Rock State Park on August 6 as part of the annual Camp RIO. They hiked to Hickory Nut Falls, met a Virginia opossum named Valentina, and experienced the thrilling view at the top of the Chimney Rock itself. During the four-day camp, the students also visited Lake Julian, Montreat Nature Center, and Hickory Nut Gap Farm.
“This camp was so much fun,” said MEP Outreach Specialist Katie Hobbs. “Students were outside and in nature all week. We learned through experiencing our natural flora and fauna and grew an appreciation for our environment and a desire to protect it. They used interactive models to understand how people pollute our local waters and streams, and they saw farms doing the hard work to conserve our streams and environment.”
Camp RIO came about through a partnership between the Pigeon River Fund, Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation, and MEP.