COMO, Miss. - More than 300 kids in the Memphis-area have a chance to experience the great outdoors thanks to a special camp at Sardis Lake in Como, Mississippi.

Welcome to Camp Phoenix, where young campers from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis get away from the dangers of city streets to learn about nature.

"They want to know about snakes. They want to know about the animals they can find here. They want to know about fishing and all of the activities they're involved with," said the camp's Unit Leader Earl Lanier.

Camp Phoenix sits on 175 acres on Sardis Lake in Mississippi and offers plenty of entertainment for its campers. But, it's not always love at first sight for all camp-goers.

According to Dave Keigan with Camp Phoenix, "A lot of times, they come in and aren't excited about the cabins and they'll be saying, 'can I call Mom or can I go home?'"

But their opinions most-often change when it's time to go home.

"By the end of the week, they're asking when they can come back," said Keigan.

With a long list of activities, it's easy to see why kids learn to love Camp Phoenix.

"We have a lot of different activities as in drama, sports, swimming, canoeing, archery and crafts," explained Camp Counselor Darrielle Garrison. "Basically when they come to camp, we try to expose the kids to different things they don't see in their daily lives."

Garrison is a former camper at Camp Phoenix and enjoyed his time there so much, he's now a camp counselor.

"I never knew how to shoot a bb gun or bow and arrow but when I came down to camp, the counselors taught me to do different things," said Garrison.

There's no air conditioning and no television; it's not a life of luxury, but a week full of learning, and not just about the great outdoors.

Garrison noted, "If a kid only sees one community every day, they never know how life truly is."

Whether it's life lessons or lessons on nature, Camp Phoenix is serving as a refuge to many Mid-South kids, even if it is just for a week.

LINK | More on Camp Phoenix

LINK | Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis