When asked what she enjoyed about spending a week in the outdoors, Lena Bradley, a 12-year-old Carrick resident summed it up nicely:

"I don't have to be in the house and I get to be with my friends."

That is precisely the idea behind Adventure Camp, a week of excursions that expose city kids to the pleasures of kayaking, fishing, rock climbing and other outdoor activities. The program brings kids ages 12 to 15 from urban neighborhoods around the city to state parks in Western Pennsylvania.

Initiated by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the camp is in its third year in Pittsburgh, and nine other camps have started in cities across the state including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Scranton, Erie, Johnstown, York, Warren, Bethlehem and Allentown.

State employees who participate in the camp said the idea behind the program is to introduce urban kids to the region's state parks and engage them in outdoor activities that they can enjoy throughout adulthood, hopefully taking advantages of the resources in Western Pennsylvania.

"So much of our population is in urban areas and our parks are in rural areas," said Miranda Crotsley, chief of outdoor recreation programming for DCNR. "We had not done a lot of outreach to introduce kids to our outdoor resources."

Crotsley said she expects the program to continue growing across the state because the feedback from kids has been positive. The Pittsburgh camp attracts kids who return each year.

"The transformation of the kids from Day 1 to the end of the week is phenomenal," she said. "It's the first 'wow 'em' sort of experience."

A group of 12 Pittsburgh kids, including Bradley and her 13-year-old sister Raina, recently spent a week exploring Moraine State Park and McConnell's Mill State Park. They fished, kayaked, played disc golf, rock climbed, swam, hiked, rode bikes and learned the art of bike maintenance, and feasted on lunches of rigatoni and meatballs and ham, potatoes and corn, with pie and brownies for dessert.

Staff members from DCNR and the city's Parks and Recreation Department supervised the kids -- instructing them how to climb rocks, fish and kayak in Moraine's Lake Arthur -- and engaged them in various team-building exercises.

The group also spent time at city parks including Schenley Park and Riverview City Park, where they rode horses and played kickball. At the close of Adventure Camp, a ceremony is held where each participant receives a certificate of completion.

DCNR works with partner organizations each year to recruit kids from the city's various recreation centers. This year's Adventure Camp partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department and Venture Outdoors, a local non-profit organization that promotes outdoor activities.

The partner organizations also provided food and transportation and coordinated some activities.

Kids in this year's Adventure Camp came from city neighborhoods including Carrick, Beltzhoover, Brookline and Hazelwood. Some kids including the Bradley sisters were repeat participants, but several other kids said it was their first visit to a state park.

One young man said it was his first time in a state park -- first time he could remember, anyway.

"I think it's nice," said 12-year-old Gage Burke from Beltzhoover, as he stood on Lakeview Beach at Moraine State Park. "My dad said I came here before when I was 3, but I don't remember. I might try to come back."

The program also attracts volunteers who help out with the various activities. Dick McCrumb, a retired bathroom fixtures inspector, spent the week at Adventure Camp hiking with the kids, touring the mill with them at McConnell's Mill State Park, and teaching them the finer points of reeling in fish.

The Portersville resident said this year marked the first time he volunteered and he plans on doing it again. He stood to help a couple of mildly frustrated kids work their fishing reels properly before fishing in Lake Arthur.

"This is where the fun starts," he said.

"I'm about to quit," said 12-year-old Ryan Wierzchowski, as he tugged on his reel.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it," said his twin brother, Zachary, who stood nearby.

Ryan, however, quickly caught on, and the Carrick twins headed toward the lake with their sister Ashley, 13.

Adventure Camp is largely funded by state grants. Money also was raised this year in a cooperative effort with Macy's department stores. DCNR sold Macy's coupons and part of the proceeds went toward funding the camp.