A ‘cool’ brush with mountain wildlife

When Miranda Servin went to camp last summer, she had an unexpected visitor: a bobcat, prowling behind her cabin.

“I didn’t see it, but some of the girls did,” Miranda, now 11, recalls of that day at the Woodcraft Rangers’ Nvision summer camp in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear. “It was kind of scary, and kind of cool.”

Not to worry: Bobcats avoid contact with humans and won’t attack groups. As an added precaution, camp counselors covered the ground with the urine of a male bobcat, a signal to the intruder that another cat had marked his territory there and to stay away.

And at the beginning of the camp session, Miranda and her fellow campers had been given safety instructions, such as to use the buddy system and stay in a group.

The surprise encounter fit right into the Woodcraft Rangers’ goal of helping kids understand, respect and adapt to the environment; at camp and at numerous after-school programs, the organization promotes personal growth and creativity for low-income children. This summer, 300 kids ages 7 to 10 will spend a week at Nvision summer camp.

As for the more usual camp activities, Miranda says, she liked “the campfire, archery, hiking and meeting new people. We roasted marshmallows and went on a scavenger hunt.”

Indeed, providing a traditional camp experience in this high-tech day and age is also a Woodcraft mission, says Chief Executive Cathie Mostovoy.

“We want them to understand that while technical things are great, you don’t need a lot of them around you. There is a lot of worth in communication, developing friendships and being part of a team,” she says. “They spend time playing camp games, singing songs and doing skits. And they learn about nature.

“At home, some of the kids can’t go outside because it’s too dangerous,” Mostovoy adds. “And for some, their parents wouldn’t even have thought of camp, because it’s not part of their culture.”

Miranda, who lives with her parents and younger brother in Monterey Park, has always been responsible and respectful, her mother Lisa says. Nonetheless, Miranda picked up some of the life lessons Mostovoy mentioned.

“We had to do some games with partners,” Miranda says. “It helps you learn how to communicate better with people and how to work better with them.”

Woodcraft Rangers is one of 60 organizations receiving financial support this year through the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign.

More than 8,000 underprivileged children will go to camp this summer, thanks to $1.5 million raised last year. The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make donations by credit card, go to latimes.com/summercamp. To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash. Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.