Growing Something Special: 40 Years of Kids Camp | National Kidney Foundation of Michigan

To celebrate 40 years of Kids Camp, the NKFM partnered with YMCA Camp Copneconic and our campers to create something that will grow for years to come: a beautiful pollinator garden near the Wellness Center!

This project was truly a group effort. In the months leading up to the installation, the NKFM worked closely with the Camp Copneconic team to determine what kind of garden would work best for the space, what size would be manageable, and what would be most approachable for the camp to maintain year after year.

Together, they chose a pollinator garden filled with perennials, plants that would return each year and provide a welcoming space for pollinators!

Over two days, NKFM Early Childhood staff, Camp Copneconic staff, Kidney Campers, and Camp Counselors came together to create a lasting space for campers and future generations to enjoy.

Kids Camp volunteers standing behind raised garden beds with a Kidney Camp sign Adult volunteers tackled the heavy lifting, including the planning of the site, moving soil and mulch, and building the raised garden beds. This prepared the space for campers to bring the garden to life the next day.

Campers and volunteers seated at outdoor tables under a covered porch Campers then took over the garden! They helped plant flowers and other plants for pollinators, and painted the garden beds, decorative rocks, created plant labels, and decorated bee hotels.

One camper was especially excited to plant for the first time, exclaiming, “I’ve never planted a plant before!”

The campers’ creativity can now be seen throughout the garden, including the artwork painted along the sides of the garden beds.

The hope was not only to beautify the garden, but to inspire campers to discover the joy of gardening and bring that love of growing things home with them. At the center of the garden is a sundial, intentionally chosen to represent the passing of time and NKFM’s 40-year partnership with Camp Copneconic. Together, we celebrated 40 years of Kids Camp by planting something that will continue to grow long after this summer’s campers head home.

The garden will continue to grow and change with each passing season, just as Kids Camp has grown over the past 40 years.

Campers and volunteers cutting colorful paper handprints at an outdoor table

Camper in gloves getting orange paint applied by a volunteer beside raised garden beds

Raised garden beds with flowers, a yellow watering can, and a pollinator habitat sign

Camper in gardening gloves digging in a raised garden bed among flowering plants

Painted rocks with campers' names on paper plates beside three painted bee houses

Campers painting rocks at a table with cups of paint and bug-print tablecloth