St. John the Baptist Church in Plum transformed its school building’s basement into a rainforest for its summer vacation Bible school this week.
Part of the Holy Family Parish, St. John the Baptist, has been hosting vacation Bible school since 2001.
This year, 86 campers — 4-year-olds to fourth graders — took part, all of whom donned green T-shirts that read “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God,” this year’s camp theme.
Seventy-five volunteers, from 12-year-olds to adults wore bright orange T-shirts. Some of them were past campers. Volunteers in seventh and eighth grades worked to earn service hours toward their confirmations.
The Rainforest Falls theme allowed Lynne MacConnell, who has volunteered for more than 20 years, to put her crafting skills to use as she helped decorate the basement to match the theme.
Because they have hosted vacation Bible schools for decades, MacConnell was able to reuse resources from past camps to help create an immersive forest experience for the kids.
Many of the “bridges” were created from recycled wood pallets. Water was simulated with colored paper and streamers, while grass and leaves were cut out of paper, MacConnell said.
The camp began Monday and runs through Friday.