Coasters Camp meets Friends of Trees
By Chris Cook, Bike Camp Instructor
On July 13th, our Coasters Camp, ages 6-8, had the opportunity to visit one of our summer-long community partners, Friends of Trees. Each week one of our bike camps meet a rotating selection of Friends of Trees staff, and this week we had the wonderful opportunity to work with Dave and David, who are volunteer coordinators.
We met at Irving Park, which was the longest ride to date during the week, and included a few little hills and busy streets to navigate our way across, such as a sidewalk drill across Fremont. After some free time on the play structure to unwind from the road, Dave and David introduced themselves and led a discussion, with a lot of kid participation, about the structure and benefits of trees. We then started an activity in which each camper found their favorite tree in Irving Park and collected information about it, including its name, a bark rubbing, a leaf rubbing, and a map of its location in the park. Among our camp’s favorites were sycamores, white oaks, and a giant sequoia.
As we ate lunch, Dave read a story about trees to a very captivated audience. Dave and David gave everyone buttons and stickers before they left. It was soon time for a game of zombie tag, this camp’s favorite game by far. With plenty of time left in the afternoon, we got back on the road to head to Sabin School for a game of lava monster. While we had ridden over many smaller hills up to this point, heading back to the shop from Sabin meant we had to tackle a steep section of Alameda Ridge. We took off down 19th and up Mason, and we had such a great success rate that we dubbed that hill “Mount Cycling Cheetah” after our camp’s mascot. Even though we had taken a very steep route home, we arrived at the bike shop with enough time to spare for a snack before parents arrived to pick campers up at three.
We finished out the week by riding to New Seasons for a tour on Thursday, with lots of free samples, and riding to Overlook Park on Friday before looping back to Irving for paletas from Icicle Tricycle.
We enjoy connecting our bike campers to our fabulous partners, while helping to build a healthy community. From learning safe riding skills, to playing bike games in the park, our camps provide a strong foundation for a lifetime of two-wheeled adventures.
For an inside look at this bike camp, please click here to view our Flickr photo album.
Photos by Nickey Robare