“CAW, CAW, CAW!!!”

Hello forest friendly families,

I hope you are all doing well and taking GREAT care of yourselves!

It is with continued sadness and yet great hope that I write this message. We begin planning for our KIDS Campference in October and at that time, BC Parks was keeping Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park’s Picnic Shelter closed until further notice. In addition, we were still under orders from the BC Centre for Disease Control to limit social gatherings of any size with anyone other than the people you live with, including all “Gathering and Events”. With that information, we decided to cancel our 6th Annual Vancouver Island Nature Education Campference…FOR KIDS which would have run from Friday, June 11th to Sunday, June 13th, 2021.

That was the sad part. Now here’s the hopeful part…

I hope that we can all gather again in the forest and on beaches next year. I hope that the change that we see in the world and in our lives today brings newfound awareness for the protection, conservation and appreciation of our natural environment. I hope that when we start “physically nearing” again, we come together stronger, healthier and more connected as a unified community of people who respect and value this big, beautiful and miraculous Earth we all call home. And most of all, I hope that we can all gather once again in nature and when we do, we come together and celebrate our collective PLAY at next year’s KIDS Campference!

The KIDS’ Campference is an event that gives back to the many Vancouver Island and Vancouver families who believe in and support nature education programs for children, and it is also Hand-In-Hand Nature Education’s largest annual fundraiser. Each year we are able to raise thousands of dollars for our In-House Subsidy Fund, providing financial assistance to low income families who are interested in registering their children in our Nature Education program. In the past 5 years, these funds have helped register many low-income families in our program at little or no cost. Being that the KIDS Campference is now cancelled for a second year in a row, we unfortunately won’t have the opportunity to raise enough funds for the many inquiring families in need. We understand and appreciate that these are hard times for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation to our In-House Subsidy Fund, we would be most appreciative and super grateful! Anything and everything helps. If you’re interested in making a donation, please send an e-transfer to jarrett@hand-in-handeducation.com and in your notes, please write: 6th Annual Vancouver Island Nature Education Campference, In-House Subsidy Fund. Having said that, I’d like to thank the many families that had already made thoughtful and generous donations.

Please give yourselves a BIG forest friendly hug from us all, keep well and be in touch.

And always remember…GO NATURE!!!

 Jarrett Krentzel

Jarrett Krentzel | DIRECTOR