Week 1 of SPREE summer camp started off with a fun theme of "Special Agent Training!" Kids at both camps spent the week of June 3-7 learning how to care for the River and environment, defeat some SPREE villians, and how to catch some crawdads in the River and Creek! 
Monday: What is a Special Agent?
Campers received a mission from Chompers, head of the SPREE Force, to learn to become special agents during camp this week, as well as learn some facts about water in Denver to get an idea of what challenges they may face over the week. Campers started by thinking about all the different ways they use water every day. There are more direct and indirect uses than you might think of at first! We also talked about the many different ways people in Denver need and use water- in homes, businesses, farms, factories, etc. We acted out how it can be challenging to share this limited resource, and discussed ideas on how to make it work. Next, campers learned that this water actually comes from the River right next to camp- the South Platte! We learned that the River starts in the mountains, and the water in it actually runs all the way to the Ocean!
For our special agent skills course of the day, we got to get introduced to the many Agents of the SPREE Force and learn about the special skills they each have. Then, we practiced some skills of our own through activities and games. We made disguises, practiced getting to know each other and being a good teammate, and honed our observation skills. 
Finally, it was everyone's favorite part of the day- critter crawl! We learned about what critters can be found in the River and Creek, how they indicate water quality, and we got to get in the water to catch some! We were challenged by Crusher the crawdad- and right hand man of Chompers, to each catch and hold a crawdad this week!
We all wrapped up the day with the start of our Special Agent Code of Conduct list that we added to throughout the week as we learned more and more!

Our first week of 2018 summer camps was a blast! Over June 4-8, both of our camp locations had the theme: Special Agent Training! Our focus was on being becoming special agents of the environment and the community. 
Monday was the introduction to being a special agent. We learned and developed many skills including, teamwork, observation, and becoming an expert in your surrounding environment.
On Tuesday we went more in depth in learning about the waterways and water systems in Denver. We had some very special guests to give us a demonstration- Denver's storm drain cleaners! They have the very important job of making sure the storm drains stay clean and safe so that the city doesn't flood!

On Wednesday we focused more in on some special agent skills! We analyzed our fingerprints, investigated animal tracks, made nature disguises, and made pompom launchers!

Next, on Thursday, we learned about some more of Denver's own local special agents- Park Rangers! And, we worked on becoming experts in the park spaces around camp as well. We went on nature hikes, learned how to pick up trash safely (and how to help prevent it from getting into the park and river), and even made trash/doggie bag dispensers!
Friday was field day and graduation day! We explored a new nearby park, went on a scavenger hunt, did a relay race, played games, and much more!
We wrapped up our week with a graduation ceremony celebrating all the new things we learned and discovered this week.