Walden West
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Walden West is an outdoor camp located in the forest area of Saratoga, California where campers learn about natural items i.e. poison oak, animals, water, rocks. The camp's logo is the Banana Slug. Many fifth to sixth grade students visit Walden West Outdoor School for a week as an exciting way to learn about nature. All counselors have nature names and campers are also required to have them. High school students are also allowed to sign up and work as cabin leaders for a week if they manage to keep a straight A average. Many schools in the Silicon Valley participate in Walden West. 5th, 6th, and even 7th graders visit Walden West for one week. Many pre-high school children visit Walden West to learn about nature, socialize, and get ready for high school, where tough training and friend-making skills are important.
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[edit] Activities
Students enjoy many activities at Walden West, such as a night hike through the woods. They will see deer, bats, banana slugs, and usually hear the howl of a coyote. Many times, campers will see a raccoon or two sneaking in to steal some food during lunch. Campers are also asked to keep a journal and write about the day's adventures. Every day, campers go hike in a different part of the forest, and come back for lunch. After lunch, campers can play table tennis, hang out, play basketball, wall ball, or two square. The swimming pool is also available. However, a life guard needs to be on duty, and swimming must take place during warmer weather. The hub is the office where students get sent to if they are disrespectful. Lights are out at 9:30 PM and students wake up at 7:00 AM. Campers generally enjoy "Scooby Stories", stories that a man nicknamed Scooby writes. It is funny, about a five year old boy and Barney, the purple dinosaur. It is tweaked every time he tells it. After a week of camp, students leave Walden West.
[edit] Rule Breakers
Rule breakers get sent to the hub or staff office. In the hub, they will talk to a man nicknamed Scooby about why they're at the hub and sometimes (for severe behavior) they must write a letter home or even get sent home. They can be sent to the hub for shouting or talking very loudly when lights are out or express bad behavior. i.e. stealing, hitting, using profanity. If they are sent too many times, their parents get called in the middle of the night to pick them up. Parents can get very grouchy.
[edit] Academics
There is a different night activity everyday at Walden West.
| Day of the Week | Activity |
|---|---|
| Monday | Campfire |
| Tuesday | Astronomy |
| Wednesday | Night Hike |
| Thursday | Quiz Night |
| Friday | Students won't be there |
[edit] Monday
During the campfire, counselors lead the campers to the amptitheater, the area where students eat lunch and watch senior counselors run around acting for shows they have created, mostly about nature.
[edit] Tuesday
During astronomy, Walden West brings out telescopes, and point them to the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter. Campers also use binoculars to look at planets and constellations. Campers also learn about constellations. To make the constellations easier to see, the staff points to the constellations using laser pointers. However, the planets and constellations are not always visible.
[edit] Wednesday
During the night hike, campers hike at night, where they may see bats, and will usually hear coyotes and see large amounts of deer. They will travel over creeks, and walk over logs. Students also put black sand on themselves so animals will not trace their smell. This way, the students can observe the animals in their natural habitat. Counselors will teach students the importance of making a compost pile, creating good soil and not dumping garbage.
[edit] Thursday
During quiz night, counselors just quiz campers, like it's a quiz show. The teams will be determined by cabin group. Questions will be about anything they should have learned during the week.
[edit] Friday
On Friday, campers pack up and get ready to leave, so there will not be many activities.
