The Buzzards Bay Coalition and YMCA Southcoast are offering a new week-long "River Exploration Camp" full of hands-on activities for kids to explore the Mattapoisett River from its headwaters to the Buzzards Bay.

Camps will be held on July 9 to 13 for ages 9 to 11 and August 13 to 17 for ages 12 to 14. Campers will study the Mattapoisett River and learn what it takes to be a river biologist while hiking, fishing with a net (seining), water sampling, and creating a Mattapoisett River Field Guide.

Campers will start from a home-base camp on Camp Massasoit at the mouth of the river and will travel upriver to YMCA property on Snipatuit Pond in Rochester where the river begins.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition will also be offering Bay focused programming at two YMCA camps this summer as part of a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Camp Massasoit in Mattapoisett and at Camp Frederick Douglass in New Bedford, both of which serve ages 5 to 14, will engage in hands-on exploratory activities designed to connect children to their Bay.

Campers at Camp Massasoit will muck around in a salt marsh, seine in the estuary, and explore the intertidal zone. Campers at Camp Frederick Douglass will engage in water testing, search for plankton, and explore easily overlooked habitats in downtown New Bedford.

All activities are designed to tap into campers' natural curiosity and desire to explore, and hopefully create a bond with the natural environment that will last a lifetime.

The Bay Coalition encourages all of its supporters to consider the YMCA summer camps for their children to form lasting relationships with peers and the local environment. Registration forms can be found at www.ymcasouthcoast.org and more information can be found at www.savebuzzardsbay.org/Camps.