Camp Charlie

Through camping and hands-on outdoor activities, families gain practical experience in a welcoming environment—especially those who may be new to camping or lack the equipment or experience to venture into the outdoors on their own.

Camp Charlie is a community-led, community-sponsored program, with Georgia Wildlife Federation providing equipment, expertise, planning assistance, and support along the way. Camp Charlie weekends have been held across Georgia, including at the Okefenokee Swamp in Charlton County, the Wharton Center in Towns County, and GWF's Alcovy Conservation Center in Newton County.

Camp Charlie, developed by the Georgia Wildlife Federation in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is a planned weekend of camping and hands-on outdoor activities focused on family learning and fostering respect for the natural world. The program primarily targets families who would like to experience the outdoors, but who may lack the knowledge, skill, equipment, and self-confidence necessary to go-it-alone. Camp Charlie will connect people to the outdoors, beginning at home, in natural areas that are accessible to them, but of which they may not even be aware.

Camp Charlie will build a conservation community by fostering partnerships of individuals, local organizations, educators, natural resource professionals and community leaders. There are many acres of public lands, from National Wildlife Refuges to county parks and regional Wildlife Education Centers, managed by natural resource agencies and non-profit conservation organizations. This offers immense opportunity to develop partnerships to host Camp Charlie throughout the state, in every eco-region, from the mountains to the coast.

Camp Charlie is named in memory of Charles Newton Elliott and Dr. Charles H. Wharton. Both men had a genuine love of the outdoors and recognized the importance of connecting people of all ages with the natural world.