5th Grade Environmental Education Camp

The best classrooms have no walls – and hundreds of southern California fifth graders are experiencing this first hand as they visit Camp Borrego, in the heart of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This environmental education tent camp offers many students their first, perhaps only,camping experience as well as their first experience in a State Park.

Throughout their three-day adventure the children are introduced to the varied natural and cultural resources of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. They are also exposed to intriguing wildlife, scientific research and new careers they might never have considered like wildlife biology or paleontology. Camp Borrego provides students with opportunities for team building and positive self-growth, as they connect with nature and their classmates.

In response to the desert’s unpredictable weather, Mongolian gers (yurts) provide weather-resistant sleeping and meeting facilities. In addition to providing shelter, these authentic gers offer opportunities to educate students and the public about the types of adaptations made throughout the world for living in extreme climates.

Other developments are on the horizon for Camp Borrego in the coming years. These include an outdoor amphitheater, dedicated on-site toilets, and solar panels to power Camp Borrego’s entire facility!

What better gift can we offer the next generation than a passion for discovery, connection to their land and heritage, and commitment to caring for their natural world? Anza-Borrego Foundation is proud to bring this experience to underprivileged youth in partnership with San Diego County Office of Education.

Please contact ABF if you would like to support 5th Grade Camp. You can also donate online.

Anza-Borrego Institute's 5th Grade Camp program is funded entirely by donations and grants. Children attend camp at no cost to their families. We are grateful for scholarship support received from individuals as well as the Desert Protective Council, private foundations, and from REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.).