Kids & Family
Senior Giving Back To Community With Free Summer Camp
Jerry Hossli, certified Master Naturalist, is a teaching a free eight-week summer camp for kids at the Oak Park Arms Senior Living
The Oak Park Arms is having a free summer camp for children aged four to twelve, focusing on nature. It takes place Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to noon, beginning Tuesday, June 25, and continuing for eight weeks, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.
Classes will be taught by Oak Park Arms resident Jerry Hossli, a University of Illinois-certified Master Naturalist with assistance from volunteers from Trailside Nature Museum, 738 Thatcher Ave, River Forest. In addition, Oak Park Arms residents will be on hand to assist.
Topics include:
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- June 25 - Cicadas and program introduction
- July 2 - Trees and Plants of Illinois. Campers will plant a plant to take home.
- July 9 - Climate and Environment with a special watershed demonstration
- July 16 – Pollinators
- July 23 – Birds
- July 30 - Insects/Spiders
- Aug 6 - Prairies of Illinois and how Native Americans planted.
- Aug 13 - Illinois State Symbols
Jerry Hossli has a deep and abiding reverence for nature. He values and cares for living things from the smallest mite to the tallest tree. A naturalist comes to not only knowing the creatures and features of his environment but treasuring them in thought and action. He is committed to preserving and protecting the planet and its natural resources.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hossli spent his youth fishing in a nearby creek and catching crabs. He remembers being extremely comfortable and happy outdoors.
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He attended Chicago’s Columbia College and graduated with a degree in communications. He became a writer who worked in marketing, advertising, and copywriting. Eventually he founded his own communication company and created websites and did public relations for a host of companies.
“I was on the road doing training programs on advertising and communications,” Hossli said. “I enjoyed it, but I was getting away from my interest in nature.”
His deep and passionate interest in nature continued to beckon. He took classes and internships and eventually, he reached the titles of Master Gardener, Master Composter, and Master Naturalist, all from the University of Illinois Extension.
He founded a successful landscape business and had help from other Master Gardeners. At the same time, he volunteered at Trailside Museum of Natural History in River Forest. Trailside has a gardens and trails featuring native animals, educational exhibits, and guided hikes with a Victorian mansion at the center.
“I love working at Trailside,” he said. “I create power points, give talks, teach how to create a rain garden, and hold soil workshops. Recently we made rain gauges, and the participants were able to take them home.”
What are the talents of a naturalist? Jerry Hossli answers that question: sharp observation skills, sensitivity to nature, sharp memory for detail, and motivation to understand how things work.
Nature is complex, and Hossli “gets it.”
Camp size is limited to 40 children, and the registration deadline is June 18, 2024.
Oak Park Arms Senior Living is a rental retirement community that provides senior housing in the form of independent living. A licensed home care agency is onsite to provide support services for seniors. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month, or longer.
For more information and to register, visit https://www.oakparkarms.com/nature/ or call 708-386-4040.
