Camp Trillium: An Interview with Katie Burrows
One of our core mission pillars here at LC Nature Park is education, and there is no better example of how we meet this pillar than our Camp Trillium.
Camp Trillium is a week-long day camp. We offer 2 sessions per week for 6 weeks throughout June and July. Throughout the summer more than 200 kids from Kindergarten through 7th grade come out to the park to learn about nature, science, and art. They make friends, get dirty, and discover a passion for the world around them.
LC Nature Park couldn’t have so many different kids out to camp if it weren’t for our dedicated Camp Director, Katie Burrows. With another successful summer behind us, I sat down with Katie to discuss Camp Trillium and our plans for the future.
Hi Katie, can you start by introducing yourself?
I’m Katie Burrows, Director of Camp Trillium! We just wrapped up our fourth season of camp, serving over 200 school-aged children from Fort Wayne and surrounding communities. Registration for the 2025 season will open on February 1st!
What do you feel sets Camp Trillium apart?
Camp Trillium is able to offer a one-of-a-kind outdoor experience to campers due entirely to the magical property on which we are located. While we integrate Science lessons about habitats, animal classifications, native flora and fauna, and more, the most memorable and impactful learning moments of the season occur as campers explore LC Nature Park. These are the moments that can’t be captured in a curriculum binder, or even replicated week to week. Whether it’s a screeching hawk that follows a group, a fox that crosses our path, a close encounter with the elk and bison or the discovery of a water snake in the creek, campers fall in love with nature because of the excitement and unexpected adventure that it delivers each day. Nothing cultivates a sense of wonder and awe about the natural world more than simply getting the time and freedom to explore it at one’s leisure.
Can you share a memorable experience from this summer that exemplifies the impact of Camp Trillium on the campers?
Every session, campers get to enjoy an afternoon at the creek. This is unstructured time where campers explore and immerse themselves in the creek environment. We’ve seen campers choose to build dams, catch crawdads, pour creek water over their heads, take mud baths, balance on logs or just enjoy the simple pleasure of repeatedly plopping rocks into water. Campers are having fun, but as adults, we see them developing their skills of curiosity, questioning, risk taking, problem solving and tolerance for new sensory experiences. This summer, we had a young camper who had never held an earthworm. With the encouragement of a friend, she caked her hands in mud and accepted the worm being placed in her palm. For nearly an hour, the camper gently held this worm. She talked to it and observed it. When it was time to leave, she found a special place to put her new friend whom she had grown quite fond of. What was once gross and scary to her became beautiful and precious. Before our eyes, feelings of care, compassion and stewardship for the earth were taking seed in her heart.
What do you think campers and their families value most about their experience at Camp Trillium?
The research is strong, plentiful and conclusive that spending time in nature benefits a child’s physical, emotional, mental and social development. At Camp Trillium, we offer an immersive outdoor program that goes beyond what children are typically exposed to during ‘outside time’ in their neighborhood and community or school playgrounds. Parents who are looking to give their child a summer experience that echoes the play of a by-gone era get a kick out of seeing their sweaty, dirty, tired (and often stinky) smiling camper climb into the car at the end of the day. Getting to eat lunch in the woods under a shelter built with buddies, rolling down a grassy hill, catching minnows, making nature soup and pies in the mud kitchen and learning new outdoor games are just a few of the reasons campers name as their favorite parts of camp.
How do you see Camp Trillium evolving in the future, and what are your hopes for next summer?
During the off season, I closely follow Forest Schools and other environmental and outdoor education resources in search of new, fun ideas for games, arts and crafts and learning activities to rotate into the Camp Curriculum. This past summer, we tried an activity from The Audubon Society that showed campers how to fold paper airplanes in a way that mimicked four different types of bird wings. There were audible squeals of delight as these paper birds were launched off the top deck of the MEC. We also plan to continue to invite local experts to join in our programming. Whether it’s a local artist coming to teach landscape painting, a member of the Miami Tribe sharing the history and culture of the land, or a college professor coming to share his passion for bats, these visitors enriched our campers’ experience. Even more exciting, as LC Nature Park continues to grow and expand its educational spaces, facilities and resources, the camp programs are able to evolve right alongside it… and LC Nature Park is alive with ideas for the future! What families can count on remaining the same is our commitment to striking a balance between providing structured programming, led by warm, enthusiastic counselors, and ample opportunities for free play and exploration during the camp day. We plan to keep our camper to counselor ratios low and our group sizes small in order to ensure safety while still giving campers the independence to explore that they love.
As we look ahead to the future of Camp Trillium, it's clear that our commitment to providing an immersive, nature-based experience will only grow stronger. Katie Burrows and her team have created a camp environment where children not only learn about the natural world but also develop a deep, personal connection to it. This connection is what makes Camp Trillium, and LC Nature Park as a whole, such a vital resource for our community. As we continue to expand and evolve, we remain dedicated to nurturing the curiosity, compassion, and stewardship in the next generation. Your support makes all of this possible, and we look forward to creating even more unforgettable experiences for our campers in the years to come.