On Tuesday, July 11, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz served up snacks and bug juice to 30 first-time Brooklyn kid-campers as they got set for two weeks of outdoor fun and hands-on learning at Camp Brooklyn. Every summer Borough President Markowitz’s Camp Brooklyn initiative sends Brooklyn youngsters to the New York countryside for their first sleep-away camp experience.

The New York Summer Camp Opportunities Provide an Edge (S.C.O.P.E.) program oversees the application process that sends Brooklyn youth ages 7 to 16 to camps throughout New York State. This year through the generosity of big hearted Brooklynites, such as, HIP Health Plan of New York, CVS Pharmacy Corporation, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Macy’s, the New York Life Foundation, US Navy Veterans Association New York Chapter, the Brooklyn Sea Shore Alliance, and Miramar Yacht Club, a record 275 Brooklyn children will leave the big city for the great outdoors.

Before shoving off for fun in the sun, campers at Borough Hall tested out tent living and were given camp survival packs by the borough president.