‘Build A Fort Camp’ Teaches Safe Tool Use

For two weeks this summer, there will be a place where kids can play with hammers without getting yelled at.

Build A Fort Camp, which starts Aug. 5, will teach children 8 to 12 years old how to use building tools and make their own wooden encampments.

The camp, the city’s first of its kind, will be at Conejo Park near La Paz Road and Alicia Parkway. The cost is $75 per child.

The idea came from City Manager Bruce Channing, who worked with a similar program as a Yorba Linda city administrator.

“In our suburban environment, kids have less and less to do,” Channing said. “This is a great way for kids to have a good time and learn some practical skills at the same time.”

Participants will be assigned to small groups led by adults who will demonstrate the basics of construction, including safety. From there, the youngsters’ imagination takes over.

“We essentially sink into the ground four posts in a rectangular shape,” Channing said. “The kids are handed all the rest, and they go to work from there.”

In the Yorba Linda program, Channing said, children in the past have worked out designs that included wooden walkways to connect several forts. They also built slides that ended up in a mud pit.

All of the materials are being donated by local businesses.

At the end of the program, the forts will be torn down, but the youngsters’ experience will stay with them, Channing said.

“Some of my fondest childhood memories was building some fort in a backyard or creek,” he said. “It gives children a sense of pride.”

Parents may sign up their children at City Hall, 25201 Paseo de Alicia. Information: (714) 707-2600.