It’s amazing how many summer camp programs in the Newburyport area are “place based” – that is, they are camp experiences that just can’t be replicated anywhere else because they reflect our community’s unique topography, maritime history, and cultural heritage. From Merrohawke Nature School’s B.O.A.T. camp on the Newburyport waterfront to SummerQuest at the historic Crane Estate in Ipswich to Workshop in the Woods at Camp Denison in Georgetown, area programs tailor their activities to the amazing natural and cultural resources available here.

It’s not too early to start thinking about camps – many of these programs began accepting registrations as early as January! Here’s are just a few of the wonderful placed-based options to get you and your child excited for summer:

• New this year: Appleton Farm Camp. Ipswich’s Appleton Farms, a property of the Trustees of Reservations and the country’s oldest continuously operating farm, is expanding its educational offerings with a new summer camp program for ages 5-13. Farm Camp introduces children to the farm through games, activities, arts, adventure, harvesting, cooking, and free play in the great outdoors.
• Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, a family-friendly historic site in Newbury, hosts Farm Friends – a series of weeklong summer enrichment programs for children ages 5-12. These programs immerse children in fun farm-related activities, games, and crafts, and include visits with farm animals.
• Mass Audubon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental conservation, education, and advocacy, offers summer programming for children ages 4-14 at two area locations: Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport and Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield. Campers explore tide pools and dunes on Plum Island and paddle on the Ipswich River while having fun, meeting new friends, and learning about plants and animals.
• Merrohawke Nature School in Newburyport offers nature-based learning programs for ages 4 to teens, ashore and afloat, all with the intention of creating time and space for kids to connect to our beautiful corner of the New England coastline. Summer activities include learning primitive skills and crafts, knot-tying, storytelling and singing, fishing, hiking, tidepooling, and exploring along the Merrimack River watershed, Great Marsh, and nearby coastal waters.
• SummerQuest at the historic Crane Estate in Ipswich is a day camp for ages 5-15, promoting environmental awareness and place-based learning through hands-on, outdoor adventures. Highlights from last year’s camp session include playing Clue in the Great House, tidepooling at Steep Hill Beach, and exploring Choate island. This summer’s program promises field trips to local Trustees of Reservations properties such as Ravenswood and Agassiz Rock.
• Georgetown’s Workshop in the Woods, a summer day camp for kids ages 5-14, is a site-specific enrichment program created in partnership with the Georgetown Conservation Commission and Friends of Camp Denison, the public-use recreational area where the camp is located. Whenever possible, the program plans activities that are unique to the area, from building rockets with the Friends of Camp Denison to jamming with the Merrimac Hat Band. Highlights from last year’s summer season included kayaking with Essex River Basin Adventures on Baldpate Pond and marching in the Yankee Homecoming Parade.
  For more amazing summer camp experiences, including archery, arts and performance, and sailing, please visit Macaroni Kid Newburyport’s free online Summer Camp Guide 2016.

For more events for kids and families in the Greater Newburyport area, visit www.newburyport.macaronikid.com. Subscribe to our FREE weekly e-newsletter to have our complete calendar delivered right to your inbox: http://newburyport.macaronikid.com/subscribe/