QUEENS — Science can be fun.
Kids are exploring wetlands, their ecosystem and biodiversity in a local park that has been transformed into an outdoor laboratory for a summer camp in Southeast Queens, organizers said.
The half-day camp is held at Idlewild Park Preserve, a 240-acre wetland north of JFK Airport that's home to animals such diamondback terrapins, fiddler crabs and ospreys.
The area also contains "freshwater and tidal wetlands, woodland, meadow and grassland dune-scrub habitat," according to the Parks Department's website.
Kids will be "learning about the secret life in the saltmarsh and the delicate balance between plants and animals,” said Barbara Brown, chairwoman of the Eastern Queens Alliance, a local nonprofit which organizes the program and advocates for the restoration of wetlands in the park.
“They also discover important links between the health of the marsh and the need to protect it,” Brown said.
Brown said that kids “have fun doing it” because all workshops are hands-on and most of the classes take place outdoors.
This year’s workshops explore the theme of “connecting with nature” and are led by Angelise Radney, a St. John's University graduate who majored in environmental science, Brown said.
The six-week program, which started this Monday, offers workshops in groups of up to 12 children and will run through Aug. 14.
Environmental Science Camp is held at Idlewild Park Preserve from 9 a.m. to noon. The Idlewild Environmental Science Learning Center is located at 149-20 Springfield Lane in Rosedale, Queens. For registration forms go here. For more information or to reserve a place call 347-824-2301 or email IdlewildESC@easternqueensalliance.com.
Classes for kids ages 6 to 8 take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays ($32 per week; $175 for entire program), workshops for kids ages 9 to 12 are organized on Tuesdays and Thursdays ($24 per week; $130 for entire program). Seats are still available.
