For over six decades, the Garden Club of Gloucester has been sending Gloucester and Mathews youth to Nature Camp, a coeducational, residential academic camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia that emphasizes education in natural history and environmental studies.

The camp is intended for children who have a passion for learning and a genuine interest in the out-of-doors and the natural world, according to an information pamphlet provided by club president Anne Marshall. Campers attend class on a daily basis and are expected to complete a written project for each class. They also engage in physical activities while interacting socially and cooperatively.

This year, the club chose to sponsor rising Thomas Hunter Middle School eighth grader Calvin “Cal” Burton, 13, of Bavon for a week at the camp.

Calvin said that when he heard about the camp, he thought it “sounded cool” because it would give him a chance to discover new things. “I like to learn an...