Nestled along the Wisconsin River is Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center, where visitors of all ages come to explore the pine-filled trails and riverway. In this forest, learning happens from the ground up, as naturalists and educators instruct youth groups on Wisconsin’s cycle of life from soil to sky.
As the summer-camp season comes to a close, we decided to spotlight the Nature’s Navigators STEM Camp, a special pilot summer camp bringing autistic youth into nature. It welcomed a total of 17 campers into a series of day and overnight camps throughout the month of August.
This unique camp is supported by the Wisconsin Idea Collaborative Grant, meaning that participants do not have to pay dues to attend. It is part of Extension’s larger goals to increase outdoor accessibility to diverse groups and provide inclusive camp options for Wisconsin youth.
Michael Notaro is the Director of the Center for Climatic Research and one of the main organizers for the camp. He also created The Sky’s the Limit STEM Camp.
the water to be later identified.
“I developed the two camps for autistic middle and high school kids in order to help break down barriers that limit the number of autistic youth from pursuing STEM degrees and careers. The camp provides hands-on, nature-based learning to best reach diverse learners,” says Notaro.
The camp activities ranged from water ecology to robotic heat monitoring, allowing the campers to use scientific measuring instruments to collect data in real time. This experience is designed to make the campers feel more comfortable and confident doing science as both citizens and students. To break up their science investigation time, the camp offers recreational activities like archery and orienteering.
To make the camp as accessible and enjoyable as possible, the campers can choose which activities they participate in. No matter what a camper’s interested in, they are always aided by staff.
“We want to make it known that participation is optional. In that case, we have support staff in case someone wants to go off and do something else,” says Sunny Morrow, a naturalist at Upham Woods.
The unique nature of this STEM camp helps the campers practice being scientists, an experience that is new for some of the participants. In his science courses at school, camper Wyatt Morton says the teachers only provide worksheets. However, this camp allows him to get hands-on experience.
“I like doing it this way more, worksheets are boring,” he says.
The camp also allows the participants to be outside while learning about the environment with their families and camp naturalists. For some, it takes getting outside to become familiar with the plants and animals.
“When I saw them [frogs] at first, I was weirded out. But now, they literally are just cute to me,” said camper Treyden Doescher with a smile.
serious than others. In this camp, campers test the
Coke and Mentos experiment, which involves an
exchange of gases that produces this fountain eruption.
You can feel their enthusiasm as they explore the outdoors. The campers were eager to learn about the ecosystem around them, from rock formations to aquatic invertebrates. Guiding the camp are Upham Woods naturalists, who assist the participants one-on-one. Rebecca Emans is an experienced naturalist who worked with the camp this summer.
“Working with the kids, they’re always great,” she says, “Their enthusiasm is just great. I like to bring that enthusiasm into what I call Lightbulb Moments, where they have realizations or understandings that they didn’t have before.”
In addition to learning about the natural world, the campers have also gotten to know each other throughout the month. For many of them, they look forward to seeing their friends each day of camp and bonding over everything from mineralogy to video games.
Above all else, the campers feel at peace at this camp. Surrounded by supportive staff, guardians, and the smiling trees of Upham Woods, it is easy for the campers to relax. One camper, who had just been wading through the water, put it simply: “It calmed me.”
Upham Woods and Extension coordinators are hoping to continue this program, or similar programs, to welcome youths from different backgrounds access nature and STEM. You can keep up to date with their programming by following their blog.
