The Rushford Environmental Education Camp is for youth who are 11 to 13 years old and 14 to 17 years old. The two programs are offered in seperate weeks. Rushford is located on the Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area two miles southwest of Rushford Lake. Camp Rushford is one of 4 camps that are a part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservations Summer Environmental Education Camp Program. For more information on these camps please see http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/29.html The 4,500 acre Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area provides unlimited space for outdoor learning amid natural hardwood forests, conifer plantations, fields, streams and marshes. Campers also have the opportunity to explore the bog for which the area is named. Camp Rushford is the only DEC Camp specifically designed and built as a conservation education camp. The two main buildings are constructed of logs salvaged from the Adirondacks after the blow down of 1950. Rushford opened as a boys' camp in 1952 and began co-educational operation in 1983. A week at Camp Rushford promises hands-on learning and fun. Campers participate in a discovery group while at camp, completing six lessons ranging from group dynamics to field, forest, and pond explorations, to a study of human impact. Group members learn science, solve challenges, play games, keep a journal, catch salamanders, net butterflies and discover the interconnectedness of life on earth. College-educated counselor staff guides all activities, encouraging participation and respect among group members while interpreting the natural world for campers. Additionally, campers choose from a variety of optional activities throughout the week that introduce them to outdoor pursuits and pastimes. Experiences include early-morning polar bear swims, learning to fly fish and canoe trips to the Hanging Bog.