"Bouffe-Nature" day camp

Bouffe-Nature day camp, co-managed by CRE de Laval and Groupe Promo-Santé Laval, offers culinary workshops and nature-discovering activities for kids aged 6 to 12.

The camp, which promotes healthy lifestyles and sustainable development, welcomes between 28 and 36 kids per week. During a typical week, each group takes part in nature discovery workshops, artistic and sporting activities, water games, park outings, culinary workshops and other activities taking place indoors or outdoors (Papineau woodland). Public health measures regarding COVID-19 are respected throughout the camp.

Program

Cooking workshops

Every day, kids take part in culinary activities and discover new foods and flavours. Recipes and activities are carefully selected by a nutritionist of Groupe Promo-Santé Laval. Workshops are given by a culinary specialist. Moreover, the educative garden will be tended to by the kids themselves! They will discover how to grow fruits and vegetables and how to properly take care of a garden.

Ecology workshops

Discovering Papineau woodland.

Everyday, our campers set out in the forest, right next to our building, to learn about nature and discover ecosystems. Bois Papineau is a natural reserve, which means it has a conservation status to protect the cathedral-like old-growth forests. There are also many wetlands, various forest types and many paths to hike in in this amazing urban forest.

The nature workshops held in the morning are always animated by a trained naturalist. Every day, the kids will visit the forest, do some birdwatching, treasure hunting, play games, look for critters, visit wetlands, and so on. Possibilities are endless really. The idea is to learn and discover nature, while having fun and enjoying the summer vacations.

Examples of nature activities :

Birdwatching with binoculars.
Hiking in Bois Papineau
Treasure hunting
Catching insects to observe their colors and behavior (and a quick release!)
Tree identification
Water cycle experiments
Animal track discovery

Themes!

Do you know how to sort waste?

Each week, activities are inspired by a specific theme. As an example, here were the themes for the summer of 2021:

June 28 to July 2 : Animal Kingdom

July 5 to 9 : 20,000 Leagues under the Sea

July 12 to 16 : The Olympic Games

July 19 to 23 : The Treasure of Rackham the Red

July 26 to 30 : Journey around the World

August 2 to 6 : Aspiring Spies

August 9 to 13 : The Enchanted Forest

August 16 to 20 : Conquering the Universe

More information

Bouffe-Nature day camp is also…

A place where we promote healthy living habits for kids
Cooking, ecology and artistic workshops and sports games
A garden for and maintained by the children
A place to play outside whenever the weather allows it
Swimming (if health authorities allow it)
A fun weekly theme
Summer pictures on our Facebook page
A weekly follow-up email

During the camp, your kids will have the pleasure to discover Papineau woodland. And guess what? You will be able to go back with them! Indeed, Papineau woodland is accessible for the population, summer and winter!
*Please note that considering the current pandemic, we are constantly following the latest news regarding health measures and changes can come up at any given time.