Every summer for 10 years, kids at Earth Charter Indiana’s Climate Camps have spent a week picking up litter, having fun in nature and learning about Indy’s plants.

“The idea [was] that we would get kids out into nature, teaching about climate change,” said Jim Poyser, director of advancement for Earth Charter Indiana. “Climate change, nature, connection and the arts.”

Last year, the organization added a Bus Camp. Kids ride IndyGo buses to all the sites they visit, learning about public transportation.

Earlier this summer, Mirror Indy spent a day with the camp, starting at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center. 

We got off in Indy’s Riverside neighborhood and walked to the boat launch at the White River. Friends of the White River hosted the campers for an hour-long float. They asked questions, as guides pointed out native plants and animals. We spotted a bald eagle, an egret and a great blue heron. 

See photos captured by photojournalist Ted Somerville during our adventure.

– Sophie Young, Mirror Indy service reporter

A clarification was made on Sept. 12, 2024: This article has been updated to clarify Bus Camp was added as one of five Climate Camps that Earth Charter Indiana runs.

Jim Poyser, the director of advancement of Earth Charter Indiana, leads Climate Camp participants to a bus that takes them to the Riverside Park boat launch for a rafting trip down the White River on July 17, 2024. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Poyser chaperones Climate Camp participants at the Transit Center before they take the bus to Riverside Park for a rafting trip down the White River. “The bus is the medium by which we get to places like the White River,” Poyser said, “to float and appreciate nature and talk about conservation.”
Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Climate Camp participants ride the bus from downtown to Riverside Park on July 17, 2024. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Climate campers wear crocs on the bus.
Campers take turns reading the history of the White River.
Climate Camp participants walk to the Riverside Park boat launch. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Jim Poyser picks up trash while chaperoning campers to the Riverside Park boat launch for a float trip hosted by Friends of White River. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Climate Camp participants walk through the woods at the Riverside Park boat launch to get to the bank of the White River. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Climate Camp participants paddle down the river, accompanied by Poyser (second from right). Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
A Friends White River patch on a life jacket,
Rafters take a quick break on the river.
The rafters begin their float trip on the White River. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Eddie Gill, outdoor education director for Friends of White River, gives safety instructions to the Climate Camp group before their float trip. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Scott Salmon, executive director of Friends of White River, pulls a raft into the river. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Climate Camper participants paddle with their guide, Kay Hawthorne, the environmental justice director of Friends of White River. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy
Friends of White River leaders and Climate Camp participants walk to the White River with a raft for their float trip. Credit: Ted Somerville for Mirror Indy

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