Nature is Pure

By Green River Preserve on July 11, 2014

There’s a game that we play here at GRP called Camouflage. It’s like a short range game of hide-and-seek, but it requires more skill from both the hider and the seeker. The seeker stays in one spot while the hiders disappear into the forest while still remaining within eyesight of the seeker. The trick to hiding is remaining still and noting the nuances of the land around us, and the trick to seeking is the ability to spot anything that seems out of place. In this game, we must be aware of the world around us. We become one with the woods. This game is representative of many of the daily activities here at camp.

Venturing into the forests and hills of Green River Preserve affects campers in a variety of ways, and this range of influence is one of the most remarkable things about the home we have here. The influence of nature is stronger than the influence of the world of cars and buildings. When campers hike to the top of the Balds, they feel an additional sense of achievement over the enjoyment of a beautiful view that could be seen in photographs. When they share their songs and stories with each other, they laugh louder than they would at movies or TV shows, because they know and care about who their peers are and also what their peers want to be.

Nature is pure, and so it purifies each one of us at GRP. At the end of the day, we are more exhausted than we would be in the city, but we are also calmer as we slowly fall asleep while listening to the rain. Nature gives our campers freedom, a freedom from time constraints and social constructs and a freedom to breathe.

Audrey (ATI1)

Green River Preserve
Green River Preserve

Green River Preserve is a non-competitive, coed summer camp connecting children with nature. Located on a 3,400 acre private wildlife preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, this extraordinary natural setting inspires campers to have a greater understanding of themselves, their environment, and their fellow man. Designed for bright, curious, and creative children, our program nurtures character development and fosters skills like perseverance, curiosity, communication, optimism, creativity, and GRIT.