It’s not unusual for a School’s Out Day Camp to be jam packed with activity. For a recent Day Camp, the young men at our Buffalo Club spent the day unplugged from everything and plugged into nature. Mr. Scott took the boys on a survival field trip to Mosier Gultch as part of Passport to Manhood.

“The purpose was to get them away from their normal environment and out into the woods to teach them very organically about teamwork and grit,” said Mr. Scott, Director of Operations, Big Horns Clubs. “There is a host of positive effects of exposing kids to nature, among them encouraging physical activity and reducing stress.”

The boys explain what they enjoyed from the trip:

“Getting deer antlers.” – Chandler, age 9 

“Finding all those dead animals and getting up close to see what they look like.” – Andrew, age 9

“When we were walking around and found all the cool stuff like animal skeletons and making bows.” – Jeremiah, age 11

“Making the bows and watching Scott cut down tree branches for the bows.” – Zander, age 9

“Going hiking with Scott and finding all those dead animals.” – Carter, age 9

“Finding animal bones.” – McRae, age 8

“Hiking with Scott on the mountains and getting sticks to make a bow.” – Tanner, age 9

Mr. Scott said that finding all of the animal remains presented a great opportunity to talk about respect for nature and what it means to hunt in a responsible manner.

Passport to Manhood is a program that encourages boys age 8 to 14 to develop and mature into young men.

Passport to Manhood represents a targeted effort to engage young boys in discussions and activities that reinforce character, leadership and positive behavior.