“Discovering” Ways To Combat Nature Deficit Disorder

(Great Smoky Mountains) – Nature deficit disorder is a growing concern among professionals and parents who are seeing alarming trends in sedentary lifestyles associated with children. Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont invites parents and children to discover ways of combating nature deficit disorder by sending their camper to Tremont’s Discovery Camp for ages 9-12.

“Discovery Camp is full of firsts for many kids – that’s why we gave it that name. It’s a place to explore science and nature while getting down and dirty with forests, rivers and critters that make these mountains home,” states Jeremy Lloyd, Tremont’s summer camp director. “This year we are hosting our first ever artist-in-residence at Discovery Camp, Hobey Ford. Hobey is an award-winning puppeteer that creates his puppets that are realistically patterned after animals. Each Discovery camper will get to make their own life-like puppet.”

In addition, Hobey will perform his newest production, “Animalia.” The performance explores the magical world of animals with Hobey’s large animal puppets which are carved from blocks of foam. After studying each animal's characteristics and movements, he designs control mechanisms to make the puppets themselves move in a life-like manner. For each performance he utilizes the entire theater as his stage.

Hobey Ford is not the only program that makesing a Discovery Camp unique. Children get to stay in the Smoky Mountains for a week learning all about the park inhabitants through stream ecology, day and night hikes, collecting insects and refreshing dips in the river. Don’t forget mountain tales around the campfire with delicious smores! Discovery camp is the way to battle nature deficit disorder and get your child in tune with nature.

For more information on how you can register your child for in a summer camp at Tremont visit www.gsmit.org, or call 865-448-6709, or e-mail mail@gsmit.org.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a private non-profit organization that operates a residential environmental learning center within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since 1969 Tremont has provided in-depth experiences to been a place where hundreds of thousands of people of all ages through residential educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.have had the opportunity to become immersed in the beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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