9 thousand children had fun at the Nature Camp and got to know nature.

The Nature Camp, organized for the fourth time this year by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) subsidiary Sports Istanbul, has come to an end. The camp, which began on July 1 in Beykoz, connected children with nature for eight weeks.

Held since 2021 and gaining increasing interest from Istanbul residents each year, the Nature Camp this year hosted 9,032 children. In the day camp, children aged 9 to 15 and in the residential camp, children aged 12 to 15 enjoyed a summer filled with fun and educational activities.

During the camp, children had the opportunity to experience various activities ranging from cycling to archery, orienteering to nature survival training. Those participating in the residential camp received training in topics such as tent pitching, camping techniques, tracking in nature, and first aid. Through workshops on finding and purifying water, and building shelters, children gained experience in connecting with nature.

The Nature Camp aimed to instill a sense of responsibility, teamwork, love, respect, sharing, helping, sensitivity to the environment, and awareness of staying away from bad habits at an early age. In addition to expert instructors, pedagogues also served the participants.

80% increase in participation in 4 years
On the last day of the Nature Camp, IMM Sports Istanbul General Manager İ. Renay Onur met with the children and stated, “Today is the last day of our Nature Camp, which we have enjoyed a lot and which has been one of our most appreciated activities among parents and children. Four years ago, when we first started this camp, 5,000 children participated, and this year we increased that number to 9,000. Again, four years ago, we only started with a day camp, and now we are also hosting children in a residential format. Here, we generally try to answer the questions of ‘how to live together with nature and what to pay attention to while in nature.’ We share the content we have created with experienced teams and academics in a fun way with the children. When talking with the children, I see that for example, about 25% learned to ride a bike here; nearly half of them entered the forest for the first time in their lives. It makes us very happy to facilitate their entry into the forest while living in Istanbul. Next year, we invite all parents in Istanbul to send their children to the Nature Camp,” he expressed.

Nature camp coming to both sides of Istanbul
Onur stated that they aim to expand the Nature Camp next year, saying, “Next year, we will try to increase the number of children we host and perhaps organize this camp in two separate locations on both sides of Istanbul.”

This year, children with disabilities also had the opportunity to be part of this enjoyable experience alongside their peers, and children from the General Directorate of Child Services and the Contemporary Life Support Association also participated in the camp. İ. Renay Onur emphasized the importance of disabled and disadvantaged groups experiencing this event together with their peers, stating, “We hosted disabled and disadvantaged groups at the camp, and they experienced camp life here together with other children. We believe this is a very important event in this regard.”

Baş: “This camp will positively affect children’s health”
The special guests on the last day of the Nature Camp were children with diabetes. Prof. Dr. Firdevs Baş from Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, who attended the camp with diabetic children, highlighted the importance of the camp. Prof. Dr. Baş stated, “This year we came to the Nature Camp with 18 of our children. Engaging children in activities together ensures proper development of their diabetes care and makes them happier and more peaceful. We had such activities in various social facilities before, but this year we came to the Nature Camp for the first time. Camping in nature and staying in tents has been a wonderful experience for both us and the children. They had fun and were happy; the interaction among children will positively affect their health. Hopefully, we will come here in larger numbers next year.”