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by Dee Billia
"They don’t understand, we only
have one planet!" said eleven-year-old
Anna, one of a handful of young environmentalists
participating in Appel Farm Summer Arts Camp’s
GREEN Corps, a four-year-old program at this
Southern New Jersey camp dedicated to developing
and nurturing young artists of every discipline.
The GREEN Corps (Get Ready for Environmental
Education Now) was founded to raise awareness
about the delicate balance of nature — and
the challenges to the local environment — as
well as global environmental concerns. Artists
have always been at the forefront of social change,
and so it was a very short leap to incorporate
the artistic process of observation, contemplation,
and creativity into an environmental program
that connects young people with the natural world,
and encourages them to take an active role as
good stewards.
Appel Farm is located in an area surrounded
by preserved land. New Jersey, one of the most
densely populated states in the country, has
experienced rapidly diminishing open space because
of development by builders eager to provide new
housing and shopping centers to the ever-growing
population. Recognizing the need to protect natural
resources from uncontrolled development, the
state government buys land in targeted areas
and retains the right to keep them in their natural
state. The neighboring farms grow corn, tomatoes,
peaches, apples, and other diverse types of produce
that give New Jersey its name, the Garden State.
Children from across the country, and many from
around the world, come to the camp to study a
variety of creative arts that include music,
theater, dance, visual arts, creative writing,
rock music, photography, recording arts, and
more. The camp philosophy has always been one
of exploration and discovery, coupled with a
broad view that embraces the differences found
in every human being. "At Appel Farm, we
cultivate the artist inside all our campers.
It builds their confidence, while it enriches
their hearts and minds," says Jennie Quinn,
one of the camp’s directors.
Both Quinn
and Cori North, the other director of the camp,
have education backgrounds coupled with extensive
arts experience. The summer programs reflect
the structure and creativity that both bring
to bear. Appel Farm configures the camp experience
through "majors" and "minors," all
with well-defined curriculums. Each camper chooses
their "major" and two "minors," and
they are encouraged to explore art forms in which
they may not have prior experience. At the end
of the session, work is presented during Performance
Week, when the entire camp gets to view, admire,
and applaud their fellow campers. The stages,
dance studio, and art galleries are filled with
unbounded energy and excitement, and cheers can
be heard across the grounds as the performers
are appreciated by their peers.
Listening and
Observing
Led by counselor Kristin Samples, a
number of campers selected the GREEN Corps as
their "minor" during the first session
of summer camp, meeting for seventy-five-minute
sessions, six days a week. Samples has a B.A.
in art, but has worked at environmental camps
in other summer jobs, so GREEN Corps was a perfect
combination of her expertise. On one day at camp,
Samples led a group to a small lake on the camp
property. This lake is teeming with a wide variety
of flora and fauna and was also home to a family
of snapping turtles sunning themselves on a log
nearby. When the campers arrived at the small
bridge that connects to the camp theatre on the
far side of the lake, they were asked to sit
down and spend the next five minutes just listening
and observing.
Birds. Flutes. Saxophones. Hockey
sticks. More birds. Laughter. Wind rustling the
leaves. A turtle plopping off a log. What was
usually in the background suddenly took center
stage, and the campers were encouraged to listen
to the sounds of nature and correlate them to
the musical instruments that are heard daily
throughout the grounds. Any artist will attest
to the fact that observation is the first step
in the artistic process, and Appel Farm’s
curriculum asks young campers to learn this process
first — trusting that their artistic product
will follow.
The structured but flexible curriculum
for the GREEN Corps focuses on three levels of
activities and awareness: personal, local, and
world-view. The campers have nature journals in
which they write about what they observe and
hear. They identify many of the native species
of birds and create leaf rubbings.
After a second
day of listening to the sounds of a summer afternoon,
Samples asked the campers to describe what was
different in the lake from yesterday, and what
was the same. Their responses ranged from comments
about the shape of the branches breaking the
surface of the lake, to noticing that the level
of the lake had diminished somewhat. Their responses
reflected a sharpened sense of observation that
had been encouraged in prior sessions. Samples
also suggested that they take time to sketch
some ideas for the mural they will be creating
later in the summer. Eleven-year-old Jamie was
intent on choosing the most beautiful butterfly
from a collection of pictures that Samples brought
on the walk. Five varieties of butterflies will
be included in the mural that was being planned
by the GREEN Corps to raise awareness about a
serious threat to the country’s food supply — and
the young campers were excited about creating
a design that would be a lasting reminder of
their summer.
Organic Gardening
Appel Farm has
a one-half acre organic garden that supplements
dining hall fare, and all GREEN Corps campers
spend time there learning about organic gardening.
Planting tomatoes, snap beans, and corn and charting
the daily growth can be exciting for urban and
suburban kids who have limited experience with
a family garden. Duties also include pulling
the weeds that grow so quickly, a part of organic
gardening that is not so appealing to the amateur
naturalists. "Weeding is not fun, but it
makes you feel good," said fourteen-year-old
Kayla. "I feel like I am helping my community."
The campers were able to see and really connect
with where their food comes from; for many this
was a first-time experience.
Raising Awareness
Raising
awareness about larger environmental concerns
is also a big part of the program. Appel Farm
is now an officially registered environment for
Frogwatch USA, a project of the National Wildlife
Federation. Scientists are counting frogs across
the country to monitor their population, which
is diminishing at an alarming rate. They are
a "key indicator" species because
they are so vulnerable to the effects of pollution.
The frogs are counted in the lake twice a week.
GREEN Corps campers send the results to the Federation
and post the results in the dining hall. The
entire camp has become engaged in the project,
and other campers often give tips on their own
sightings to Corps members. "I like to
focus on the positive," said Samples. "Asking
what we can do to help gives the children a sense
that they are part of the solution." The
frog counting connects them to the larger world
and lets them know that they can have impact — even
in their own backyard.
GREEN Corps members have
also become involved in a project that raises
awareness about a mysterious problem known as
"Colony Collapse Disorder." Scientists are sounding
the alarm about the disappearance of at least
one-third of the honeybee population in the United
States. Without honeybees, the natural growth
cycle is severely disrupted; these natural pollinators
are the key to our food source, and now farmers
often rent colonies of these small workers of
the buzzing variety to keep their crops vital
and flourishing. The cause of this kill-off on
such a massive scale is not readily apparent,
but some of the usual suspects, like pesticides,
an inadequate food supply, and a new virus that
attacks the bee’s immune system might be
to blame (U.S. Department of Agriculture 2008).
The resourceful GREEN Corps members have been
researching the native plant species that attract
honeybees, and in front of the mural that they
are designing, they will plant a garden containing
many "attractors." Since Appel Farm
doesn’t use pesticides on its grounds,
the bees will have a natural habitat that, with
any luck, will support a thriving colony. The
new garden will be a happy addition to the rows
of bobbing sunflowers that already line the organic
garden.
GREEN Corps at More Camps
Quinn, who began
the GREEN Corps program as a workshop in 2004,
was a pivotal force in making this addition to
the roster of programs at Appel Farm. "The
workshop was so popular that we decided to add
it as a minor," Quinn said. "All
it takes is one person with a vision to get this
started. You have to tether the program to the
child’s experience, whatever that may be.
For us, the artistic process was a familiar one
with which our campers and staff already have
experience."
Other camps that want to start
a GREEN Corps should consider hiring a staff
member who is very familiar with the local area
to conduct an initial workshop. It is also helpful
to contact local environmental agencies and conservation
groups to find out about the area’s specific
concerns and ask if they offer additional resources.
Starting with small changes in awareness is best.
Small change can reap large benefits in the long
run. Projects that might be achieved in a summer
session can be as simple as making signs for
the camp that encourage energy conservation and
recycling. Contact other camps to look at the
way they structure their environmental programs.
Each camp should tailor the program to its own
mission and interests.
Samples hopes this program
will have a lasting impact. "These children
are young, and I hope this experience will affect
them later in life." The process of observation
and asking thought-provoking, open-ended questions
was the most critical factor in engaging the
campers, and one that can be applied to any situation.
Every field of study demands observation, contemplation,
and creativity. For these young people, their
experience in the arts allows them to view the
problems and challenges in the environment through
an artist’s filter and to come up with
an artistic solution. For others, creative solutions
may come through their own experience and interests.
Being Part of the Solution
When asked why they
had chosen to be in an environmental program
at an arts camp, the campers had varying responses,
but all were passionate about being part of a
solution, and for them, the green movement is
more than trendy — these young people feel
a personal responsibility for their world. They
are serious about safeguarding the planet. Appel
Farm, with a strong philosophy of activism, is
cheering them on — showing them that through
art and creativity they can be powerful advocates
and ambassadors for the environment — at
camp and long after they have returned home.
Five Steps to Creating
a GREEN Corps at Your Camp
- Hire a staff
person who has knowledge of your area’s
habitat.
- Meet with the staff of your
camp to see how they can support your
program.
- Check with government agencies,
like the Department of Environmental
Protection, to find out what the environmental
challenges are in your area.
- Enlist
the support of local conservation groups,
like the Sierra Club or the Audubon Society.
They can help get groups involved in
existing local projects.
- Start with
a workshop at your camp. Set goals that
are achievable such as creating a recycling
program or persuading the camp management
to switch to energy efficient light bulbs.
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Reference
U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research
Service. www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572
(Accessed September 2008).
Originally published
in the 2008 November/December issue of Camping
Magazine.
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