BREC’s Focus of the Month: Community Recreation Summer Camp!

Give your child the opportunity to Reset, the recreation way, at any of our Community Recreation summer camps at various locations throughout the parish for children ages 4-5 and 6-12. These camp opportunities are created to provide campers with an enjoyable camp experience full of exciting activities and unique fieldtrips. Each of our camps is an inclusive atmosphere that encourages developing friendships and social skills.

This summer, BREC will also offer athletic summer camps through our summer sports camp and tennis camp programs. In addition, we will also offer special interest summer camps at the Baton Rouge Zoo, Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, Farr Park Equestrian Center, Highland Road Park Observatory, Independence Park Theatre, Magnolia Mound, Perkins Road Extreme Sports Park, BREC Art Camp, Outdoor Adventure Camp and BREC’s Nature Explorers Conservation Camps.

For our teenagers, BREC will also offer Teen Get Out for ages 11-15. This camp will allow teens to learn about and explore new recreation and leisure opportunities while impacting their community. Weekly activities will include teambuilding, cooking, health and wellness, fitness activities and career exploration with hands-on experience.

BREC will also offer a Counselors in Training Program for Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center and Conservation camps. Swamp Counselors in Training sessions will continue with new opportunities for CITs to gain skills needed to work as counselors at Bluebonnet Swamp. Topics focus on camper management techniques, leadership training and activity development, as well as job seeking skills to provide valuable experience for potential employment opportunities in the future. Conservation Camps will also offer a week-long Counselors in Training program so that your young adult can learn about becoming a natural resource professional while getting job training and experience.

In addition to our many camp offerings, BREC is also proud to offer Camp Sunshine, an exclusive summer camp designed for campers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All BREC summer camps are inclusive, but Camp Sunshine is for campers who require a smaller group setting with trained staff of this expertise. Before registration is complete, our staff would like to meet your camper to determine if Camp Sunshine is the right opportunity to provide the most meaningful camp experience. Campers needing increased assistance (toileting, feeding, or more than a 1:5 staff ratio, due to challenging behaviors) may be required to have an aide provided by the parents/guardians.

Camper Assessments are made of all campers that have a disability regardless of the camp desired. Trained BREC staff will assess each camper’s needs and ability level, in order to provide the most meaningful camp experience for each camper. Campers needing increased assistance (toileting, feeding, or more than a 1:5 staff ratio, due to challenging behaviors) may be required to have an aide provided by the parents/guardians. Recreation assessments are performed in order to determine the appropriate camp setting for each camper. To schedule an appointment for an assessment call 225-272-9200 ext 1561 or email Blaine Imhoff at blaine. imhoff@brec.org.

This year, East Baton Rouge Parish residents can apply for scholarship opportunities online with a 50% payment of total session fees. BREC will provide limited scholarship assistance using a sliding scale model based closely on the 2020 State of Louisiana Poverty Guidelines. This excludes camp sessions at the Baton Rouge Zoo, Golf and Tennis. BREC requires all households to pay at least 50% of their summer camp fee session if they plan to attend at the time of requesting a scholarship application. Scholarships are available on a first come, first serve basis until funds are no longer available. If you or a business you know would like to donate funds to help send a kid to camp, please contact the BREC Foundation at 225-226-7381 or info@brecfoundation.org.

Beginning March 20 at 9 a.m., East Baton Rouge Parish residents will be able to register for all locations through WebTrac, BREC’s online registration system, from their computer, tablet or smartphone at webtrac.brec.org. Payments online can be made using a Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit/debit card at webtrac.brec.org. To pay by check or cash, residents can visit the site where they want to attend camp and register during regular facility hours of operation starting Monday, March 22. Out-of-parish residents may begin registering online or during regular facility hours of operation starting Tuesday, March 30.

If you have never registered online, BREC recommends that parents or guardians make a login request on Webtrac at least two days prior to registration. The system will ask registrants to set up a household. In order to complete successful online registration, parents or guardians who have registered online before should know their user ID and password ahead of time. If registrants are not sure if they have an account, they can send an email to info@register.brec.org and a BREC staff member will respond as soon as possible.

For more information or a complete list of all BREC summer camps, visit brec.org/summercamp.