Thanks to an unnamed donor, more than 100 children attended camps at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science this summer free of charge.

Four sessions were held at the main campus at Gloucester Point for younger children, while one session was held at VIMS’s Eastern Shore Laboratory for older youth.

Sarah McGuire, education coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve at VIMS, said that "Sea Squirts" was held in late June for 15 rising first and second graders. That camp, which accommodated 15 children, involved exploring marshes and wetlands and investigating the underwater world of Chesapeake Bay.

A total of 50 children in two August sessions comprised the "Green Gurus." These sessions, for rising third and fourth graders, were a way for the youngsters to learn about ways to protect and preserve the bay environment, McGuire said, by taking part in activities like seining in the York River and creating a nature journal.

Mc...