A Successful Summer of Community Camps…We Did It!
Written by Natty, Safe Routes To School Coordinator
Community Camps are officially done until next summer. Let’s take a look back at some of this year’s highlights!
The Community Cycling Center held a 100% free Community Camp for three different communities connected to three different partners: Rose CDC, Cesar Chavez school and Urban Nature Partners PDX. Not only was this the first Community Camp since Covid-19, but the first in-person engagement as a team on the road riding.
Bike Camp is a 4-week ride-along camp. We are on our bikes the whole time! Campers learn routes and how to ride as a group on the road. Each camp is unique and we try to incorporate each community’s spark– building bridges each way and gearing them up to enjoy the outdoors as families and friends on bikes.
At the end of camp each of the participants receives a bike, helmet, bike lock, bike lights, and water bottle! When all is said and done, this unique 4 week camp served 31 youth!
This year’s camp focused on FUN and creating a safe environment to learn basic bike safety skills while riding on roads. The main focus was being together again and enjoying being back on bikes. A lot of emphasis is also put into campers learning routes for their own neighborhoods. We want campers to enjoy riding during the week but we also want them to have the tools they need to be safe and enjoy riding when camp is over. Learning routes specific to their neighborhoods is a fun way for campers to build confidence with navigating on a bike so they can enjoy riding with their friends and families and share what they learned with them as well.
Where did we ride? Columbia Park, McCoy Park, Columbia Slough, Kenton Park, Oaks Park, Peninsula Park, Broughton Beach, Gateway Green, and Mt. Tabor are some of the places campers rode to this year–just to name a few!
“Everyone had a Blast! Although this was all new and challenging, one thing I saw was that the kids kept the momentum and wanted to ride far and fast!” – Hanna, Youth Programs Manager
“I love watching kids process what they’ve just accomplished when we arrive by bike at a location they’ve been to before, but only by car. (Broughton Beach is always a good one!) There’s a light that clicks on when they begin to see the endless possibilities and freedom that comes with biking around the city.” – Maddie, Camp Instructor.
If you’d like to support no-cost Community Camps of the future, consider making a contribution today.