Summer vacation may be ending, but outdoor adventure is not going into hibernation at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary. The Galion-area nature center has opened registration for a slate of fall camps designed for children from preschool through the teen years, along with an evening family program. The offerings range from an afternoon exploring autumn colors to after-hours adventures when the Sanctuary takes on an entirely different feel.
The programs continue the Sanctuary’s year-round approach to nature camps. Rather than limiting camp experiences to summer, Ohio Bird Sanctuary schedules programs in fall, winter and spring as well, with age groups ranging from 3 through 15.
Fall Starts With the Youngest Explorers
The first of the seasonal programs is Mini Fall Colors Camp on Saturday, September 12, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM. Designed for children ages 3 to 5, the camp requires each child to attend with a parent or guardian. Registration is $15 for Sanctuary members and $20 for non-members. It is an introduction to fall at a place particularly well suited to watching the seasons change. The Sanctuary includes 90 acres of meadow, riparian habitat and old-growth forest, with four miles of trails winding through the property.
Also taking place September 12 is a separate Aquatic Adventures Day Camp from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. That program takes participants into the Sanctuary’s creeks to explore aquatic life while learning about water conservation through activities and games.
The Sanctuary After Hours
Older campers will get an experience visitors do not normally have, seeing the Sanctuary as daylight gives way to evening. Intermediate Evening Camp for ages 12 to 15 is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The cost is $35 for members and $45 for non-members. Elementary Evening Camp follows on Friday, October 2, also from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM, for children ages 6 to 11. Registration is again $35 for members and $45 for non-members.
Both evening camps give participants a chance to experience the Sanctuary after normal visitor hours, including time around the fire making s’mores. The setting offers plenty to explore. The Sanctuary’s public facilities include five live-bird display areas, a songbird aviary, an octagonal flight cage and its distinctive Treehouse Classroom, reached by a treetop bridge through the woods.
Leaves Get Their Own Day
On Saturday, October 24, children ages 6 to 11 can take part in Learning Together: Leaves from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The three-hour program costs $20 for members and $30 for non-members. By late October, the wooded Sanctuary provides a natural classroom for a program focused on one of the most visible transformations of the season.
Fall Camp Becomes a Family Affair
The season concludes with Fall Family Camp on Saturday, November 7, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Unlike the age-specific camps, the November program is open to all ages. Member admission is $12 for adults and $10 for children, while non-member admission is $15 for adults and $12 for children. The family program extends the Sanctuary’s fall schedule well beyond the traditional summer-camp season and into the shorter days of November.
More Than Three Decades of Connecting Children With Nature
The camps are part of an educational mission that stretches back nearly four decades. Ohio Bird Sanctuary was founded in 1988 as the Richland County Raptor Center, initially operating from the private farm of Chris and Gail Laux. The organization moved to the former Boy Scout Camp Avery Hand property in the 1990s and opened its developing facility to the public in 1999, including for summer camps and special events. It eventually acquired 90 acres at the site.
Today, the Sanctuary combines education with wildlife rehabilitation. Its goal is to return injured and orphaned native birds to the wild whenever possible. Birds that cannot be released may remain as educational ambassadors, and the Sanctuary currently lists 87 permanent residents including raptors, vultures and songbirds.
The Sanctuary’s stated mission centers on creating opportunities for people to learn from and interact with nature in ways that encourage compassion for the natural world. For this fall’s campers, that mission may mean examining a leaf, exploring a creek, walking through the woods as evening arrives or simply sitting beside a fire with a s’more while the Sanctuary settles in for the night.
Ohio Bird Sanctuary is located at 3774 Orweiler Road near Clearfork Reservoir, just a few miles east of Galion. Space in the fall camps is limited, and advance registration is available through the Sanctuary’s Nature Camps page.
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