Last year, GYF reached across the Atlantic and began delivering its education and recycling program to students in Accra, Ghana, in conjunction with the NYU Accra program. The following is a Q-and-A with GYF’s latest Ghana intern, Yvonna Pearson.

Tell us a little about your background. Where did you grow up, what are some things you did before you started working with GYF?

I was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and am the youngest of three children, two girls and one boy. Growing up in the suburbs of DC allowed me to become more connected with my surroundings. Whether I was going to the playground with other neighborhood children or exploring the outdoors while hanging in the pear tree in my backyard, I enjoyed taking part in the joys nature had to offer me. I attribute these early interactions to what later developed into a keen interest in how my surroundings worked. As a college student at New York University, I translated this into an internship in a research lab at Georgetown University in the biochemistry department. It was not until my second year at NYU that I was exposed to environmental science and could not get enough of the intricacies of the human impact on our environment and was motivated to become a part of the movement to lift this planet up out of the dire situation it is now in. Having now declared environmental science as my major, GYF has set me on the track to move, not only myself, but those who surround me in the same direction as well.

What has been the most gratifying part about teaching the GYF curriculum to the students?

I believe that the children I taught at La Enobal public school in Accra through GYF were the finest examples of where Ghana is now and where it will be in the future as far as environmental consciousness and development. Mostly due to the fact that the majority of the students at La Enobal public school were of financially deprived backgrounds, they did not have the exposure to environmentalism that children in more developed countries may have. But knowledge, especially such as this, should not be a privilege but rather a right. The most gratifying part about teaching the GYF curriculum to these students was having this right realized.

What part have the students reacted to most favorably?

The students at La Enobal were enthused from the moment they were given the task of becoming “environmental detectives” in the local communities. This task seemed to reach into them the most given the closeness they have to the people and places that surround them. Their eagerness to become a part of a solution to the many environmental issues about which they learned through the curriculum was also more cause to be the great detectives they became.

How can you judge whether the material is having an impact on them?

Throughout the lessons, I stressed the importance of taking charge and being a part of the solution to littering rather than a variable of the problem. After hosting a school clean-up day the children were exposed to the value of picking up litter rather than adding to the litter. I heard the impact of the material on them as I came to the school the next week and heard “pick up your trash, you must pick it up!” from a number of the students in my class!

Do you believe they will bring this information into their communities and make a difference?

 I do believe the students that I taught at La Enobal will bring this information into their communities. During the lessons, I heard the enthusiasm to improve upon their communities through their eagerness to answer questions as well as listening to examples of how they were reducing, reusing, or recycling in their daily activities. I also saw their willingness to bring about change through the more than 25 students, mostly from my class, who were eager to join the newly developed Eco-Force club, which is dedicated to the implementation of sustainable awareness through school activities.

Angelou Ezeilo speaking in Sisters Chapel

Angelou Ezeilo, Executive Director of the Greening Youth Foundation, has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Local Community Service Award by Spelman College, Ezeilo’s alma mater. In a ceremony on the school’s Atlanta campus on November 15, Spelman College President Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum presented Ezeilo with the award in recognition of the work she has done on behalf of young people and the environment with the founding of the Greening Youth Foundation.

“We are so delighted you are able to be back here with us certainly as a role model to all our students that are here, representing our tagline—a choice to change the world,” Tatum said in front of a packed house in Spelman’s Sisters Chapel. “Truly you are making that choice to change the world and enlivening our commitment to sustainability.”

In addition to a plaque, Ezeilo was presented with a mural illustrating the importance of recycling, which was done by Spelman’s Bonner Scholars Green Team, a group of exemplary Spelman undergraduates who have been working with Greening Youth Foundation to bring GYF’s environmental education curriculum to public school students in Atlanta.

“It’s such an inspiration to see a Spelman sister of mine come back as a woman and accept this award,” Bonner Scholar Delores Wilson told the audience as she presented the mural to Ezeilo. “I can only hope that after graduating from Spelman, I would impact the community as much as you have. To my other Spelman sisters, I charge you to follow in the footsteps of Miss Ezeilo.”

Fighting back tears, Ezeilo took the stage and said that it was such a great honor to return to her alma mater 20 years after her graduation and receive the prestigious award. She credited her parents, Walter and Helen Chiles, and Spelman College for playing such crucial roles in shaping the woman she is today.

“The nurturing I received here is like no other,” Ezeilo said. “I learned the true meaning of sisterhood here. I have friends all over the world, and we are still so close. The networking we formed here was so amazing. Thank you to Spelman for giving me my wings. When I left here, there was nothing I felt I couldn’t do.”

Past winners of the Spelman Local Community Service Award include Fulton County Commissioner Nancy Boxill, Judge Glenda Hatchett, 100 Black Men of America and the National Black Arts Festival.

September 29, 2011

Program Will Honor Schools for Excellence in Environmental Education, Sustainable Facilities and Healthy Practices

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today invited states to take part in the inaugural year of the Green Ribbon Schools program, which will recognize schools for reducing environmental impact on their communities, promoting healthy school environments for their own students and staff, and offering high-quality environmental education.

The program was developed by the Department with support and advice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

The award aims to encourage energy and resource conservation measures that can lead to cost savings and job creation; environmental and behavioral changes to promote health and productivity among students, staff and other occupants; and the use of environmental and sustainability education to support students’ preparedness for some of the nation’s fastest growing employment sectors

In a video message featured on the Department of Education’s blog, Duncan said, “Our goal is to encourage all of our nation’s schools and communities to work towards a future where school facilities have no adverse environmental impact, have a positive effect on students’ health, and enable students to become environmentally literate citizens who are well prepared for the 21^st century economy.”

Duncan’s announcement included details on the program’s eligibility requirements and nominating process. State education authorities will nominate schools based on their success in promoting healthy and sustainable environments and conducting environmental education. Nominated schools will also need to be in compliance with federal civil rights and federal, state and local health, safety and environmental statutory and regulatory requirements.

Duncan urged state and local school officials to review the various documents made available online today so that they might “get started right now in identifying their best candidates for the Green Ribbon award” for the first (pilot) year of program.

“Green Ribbon award guidelines focus on steps that will make our Nation’s schools healthier and more sustainable,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Quality.  “This program will help to ensure that our students are equipped to meet 21^st century demands and learn in an environment that is second to none.”

“With as much time as our children spend in school over the years, it makes sense for us to do everything we can to protect their health, encourage wellness, and make sure they are getting the most productivity out of their hours in the classroom. Green Ribbon Schools well help foster the changes needed to protect and support our students, teachers and school staff, and brighten their future in the process,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

The Department plans to provide a nominee submission deadline in early 2012 and announce the first Green Ribbon Schools before the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

More information on Green Ribbon Schools can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/

Bill to address health, economic and future conservation concerns by supporting state, local and federal strategies

Just days after American kids took to the outdoors for Halloween, two members of Congress have formally suggested we make it a year-round habit—but without the costumes and candy.

Rep. Ron Kind (WI) and Sen. Mark Udall (CO) introduced House and Senate versions of the Healthy Kids Outdoors Act today to support state, local and federal strategies to connect youth and families with the natural world, with an eye toward improving children’s health and supporting future economic growth and conservation efforts.

“The nature of childhood has changed, and there isn’t much nature in it,” said Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation’s president and CEO. “National Wildlife Federation commends Congressman Ron Kind and Senator Mark Udall for introducing legislation that will strengthen the economy by getting Americans moving through recreation and active outdoor play.”

Getting Childhood Back Outdoors

The Healthy Kids Outdoors Act represents the spearhead of a national movement to get childhood back outdoors, a pointed response to the approximately 13 million U.S. children and adolescents who are obese and the increasingly screen-bound lifestyle that got them there. Just last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics cautioned that parents should limit their young kids’ TV and other screen time, and even the amount of time they spend watching TV near their kids. A recent report from Common Sense Media found that ‘screen time’ is higher than ever for American kids despite such warnings.

Recent studies have also shown that children between the ages of 8-18 are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago, devoting an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to entertainment media in a typical day instead. By working toward partnerships to encourage outdoor recreation, Rep. Kind, Sen. Udall and supporters in OAK aim to put some of the nature back into childhood.

Nature as an Economic Driver

As American childhood—and recreation—has moved indoors, local and state economies have suffered along with it. The drop in outdoor recreation has translated into less revenue for outdoor retailers, local tourist destinations or “gateway communities,” and state fish and wildlife agencies.

On a national level, outdoor recreation contributes $730 billion annually to the economy (including $289 billion in retail sales and services), supports 6.5 million jobs and provides sustainable growth in many rural communities—one more reason to encourage it and make it accessible.

“[The bill] supports our vibrant outdoor economy, which is especially important in Colorado and to our rural mountain communities,” said Sen. Udall.

Shepherding the Conservationists of Tomorrow

One of the most important benefit of getting kids outdoors and in nature is the effect it may have on future conservation efforts.

A 2006 study (PDF) from Cornell researchers found that doing outdoor activities like hiking, hunting or camping as a kid positively impacts a person’s attitudes toward nature (and environmentally conscious behavior) as an adult, and that the most direct route to caring about environmental stewardship as an adult is participating in “wild nature activities” before the age of 11.

That report concluded that “youth spending so little time outside may also lead to a dwindling knowledge about biodiversity and… less pro-environmental attitudes and reduced participation in environmentally friendly behaviors as adults.”

By Sauda Jackson, GYF Program Manager

Who said getting dirty was bad? As a member of the Public Land Corps, that’s part of the job!

Greening Youth Foundation’s most recent Public Land Corps members spent three and a half weeks at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (CHCH) in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA, not only getting dirty but also performing important work at the site. The African-American crew consisted of two Team Leaders and six Team Members, who worked from October 11 to October 28 on an initiative called the “Cultural Landscapes Improvement Projects.” The activities of the crew included training on conservation and restoration techniques, pressure-washing and walnut shell blasting procedures for those structures, and subsequent work on park monuments and artifacts. The crew also did some exotic plant control, landscaping and fence re-building projects.

GYF has partnered with the National Park Service to restore, protect, and rehabilitate our national parks. Trails need repairing, wildlife needs protection, historic structures are crumbling, and the job market is sinking. GYF seeks to change that by providing NPS jobs for young people ages 16-24.

GYF crews have broken critical ground on many levels to increase the diversity in National Park Sites. As the only Public Land Corps in the Southeast Region, GYF continues to train and recruit young people for these positions. At Chickamauga and Chattanooga, the foundation was fortunate to partner with Atlanta Youth Build to include some of the youth from its construction and leadership training program. Atlanta Youth Build allows youth and young adults to gain job experience and leadership skills as they work toward earning their GED.

The Chickamauga and Chattanooga crew was one of the hardest working groups GYF has had this year. The young people showed up prepared to work hard and do their best. “The crew sacrificed a lot to be able to work on this project,” said GYF Project Manager Mike Fynn. “They had to drive two hours one-way to the park every morning, but their desire to learn new things, help conserve the park’s resources, and get paid doing this made it worth it. They raised their maturity level right in front of my eyes over these three weeks. That is what the project was meant to do—create exposure and generate the interaction between diverse youth and National Park sites through a combination of education, conservation training, and service work at the park.”

Cannon and monument at Chickamauga

The GYF crew was initially taken aback by the very visible remnants of the Old South they encountered at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, which is celebrated in Confederate lore because it was the site of the last major Confederate victory in the Civil War. But the crew members did a great job in learning how to work in an environment that wasn’t immediately comfortable to them—and their presence also served to expose the park staff and visitors to more diversity than they are accustomed to seeing at the park.

“We were very glad to have them—at least I was,” said Park Supervisor Jerry Godfrey. “They helped us out a lot in executing much needed work at the park. We need crews like this here to help us with some of this conservation work.”

The team member all said they are looking forward to working with GYF again.

“If we attained a constant flow of crews and teams working in all of the parks in the Southeast Region, we will change the face and attitudes of a nation of park-goers and employees,” said GYF Program Manager Sauda Jackson.

Because GYF is in regular contact with an enormous pool of diverse young people desperate for these opportunities, the foundation is eager to get more projects from NPS to put these young people to work.

Trunk show attendees model the collection. GYF Executive Director Angelou Ezeilo (second from left), GYF International Board member Christa Sanders (third from left). All photos by Stephanie Allen.

Greening Youth Foundation is bringing a sparkly new twist to fundraising! In October, the foundation hosted an intimate fundraising event entitled “Pretty Little Things: A trunk show benefit for Greening Youth Foundation.”

When GYF’s international board member, Christa Sanders, who is the Associate Director for New York University’s Globalization program in Accra, Ghana, calls and says that she has an idea to support GYF, you listen! Christa shared scrumptious pieces of jewelry that she has collected, pieces that are known by the Smithsonian and the like as the Unknown Collection (unknowncollection.com). Attendees were able to add to their personal collections pieces from all over the continent, from such countries as Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. The attendees were blown away by the gorgeous pieces, which were like works of art.

GYF would like to thank everyone who attended the trunk show benefit. The proceeds will be used to support GYF’s National Youth Corps and environmental education programs in the U.S. and abroad.  During these tough economic times, the GYF team understands how tight resources can be. As such, we take every donation and contribution made to our cause very seriously. Therefore, we continue to be lean and efficient so that a majority of the funds can go directly to our programs.

Stay tuned for our next intimate event during the holidays!

GYF interns

Ruth Kitchen works with students on building bird feeders.

By Ruth Kitchen, GYF Education Director

After an intense summer of overwhelming heat, we are experiencing the glorious days of fall, with its friendly temperatures, smells and sights. It is a time to take long walks amongst the fiery and vibrant falling leaves, to investigate, compute, explore, learn, grow and discover. Outside!

But instead, where do we find our children during this glorious time of the year?  Within four walls, behind a desk, quiet, in a straight line, and yearning to return home to play a favorite Xbox game. According to Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” “We need people who have both ways of knowing the world… Is education moving in that direction? Some schools are, but too many are putting all their eggs on one computer chip.”

Greening Youth Foundation’s C.L.E.A.N. (Children Living Energetically Advancing Nature) Program is off to a good start in our Atlanta Partner locations. Springdale Park Elementary, Centennial Park Elementary, M. Agnes Jones Elementary, Cook Elementary, Warren Holyfield Boys and Girls Club, in addition to several schools in Ghana, are embracing becoming Environmental Detectives by exploring the 3R’s, composting, tree discovery, and energy and water conservation through hands-on outdoor activities. Students enjoy taking reusable materials to make beautiful planters and birdfeeders. They meander under the canopy of different types of trees on their own school campus to incorporate literature, measurement, calculation, art, science, history, and music to freely make discoveries on their own.

Building bird feeders

Eco-Force Clubs are tending their school gardens and planting fall produce.

Grady High School students will be host to a bee keeper in the GYF Green Speaker Series in October and take a field trip to Chattahoochee Nature Center in November.

As Louv says, “Want your kids to get into Harvard? Tell ‘em to go outside.”

Greening Youth Foundation leads the way in encouraging outdoor learning through C.L.E.A.N. and Eco-Force programming at our partner locations in the Atlanta area and also abroad in Ghana.

Please consider supporting these efforts by contributing to our Public School Initiative Fund (click here to donate).

With generous support from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Corps Network has released a new publication that illustrates how to prepare young people for jobs, postsecondary education, and careers in a growing green economy titled, A Green Career Pathways Framework: Postsecondary and Employment Success for Low-Income, Disconnected Youth.

click here to download report: A Green Career Pathways Framework

The paper explores the extent to which this emerging green economy can offer a pathway out of poverty for low-income young people, many of whom have disengaged from school and are struggling to find a way into the economic mainstream. These disconnected youth — some six million strong — represent an untapped resource. Despite the fact that they have experienced difficulties in their personal lives or communities and may not have completed high school, many seek a second chance, returning to programs such as Service and Conservation Corps or other education and work initiatives in their local communities.

Given the right supports, these young people can be valuable assets for new green industries seeking to grow a skilled workforce and to the communities in which they reside. Further, youth involved in Corps and other work and service oriented programs can learn and practice skills that give them a “leg up” in terms of entering green industries or providing environmental or conservation assistance to a range of local institutions.

What these young people need to fulfill their promise and meet their life goals is an effective on-ramp to emerging green pathways. This paper offers guidance to youth programs, and those who work with and support those programs, about how to learn more about and access industry-driven green credentialing and career pathways development work within local communities or regions. It then discusses how, with this knowledge in hand, youth programs can work with employers and postsecondary partners to build on-ramps to postsecondary technical training programs and entry to green careers. The paper offers a multi-step Framework that outlines strategies for connecting to career pathway efforts and delineates a three-phase model design to inform the construction of on-ramp programming.

The Corps Network and several principal partners — Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Green For All, The Academy for Educational Development, Workforce Strategy Center and Living Cities — guided the development of the paper with additional support from numerous stakeholders.

GYF crew member uses McLeod tool

This past summer, GYF had a crew of 8 diverse youth undertake a trail maintenance and creation project at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Sandy Springs, GA. The project, a YIP Program (Youth Internship Program), was part of the services GYF offers to public land owners under its cooperative agreement with the National Park Service to introduce diverse youth to conservation careers in the form of internships, service crews and energy conservation projects.

From June 27 to August 5, the GYF crew—made up of two Team Leaders and six Team Members and managed by Park Volunteer Coordinator Dave Thomas—were involved in training in CPR/First Aid, Safe Hand Tool Use, Invasive Plant Identification and Removal, use of specialized trail building equipment such as the Clinometer, and tools such as the Pulaski and McLeod. They learned about sustainable trail design and building, including trail gradients, cross-slopes, vertical camouflaging, and stone dressage. Armed with this knowledge, the crew ended up restoring and building different portions of visitor trails that needed repair or needed to be re-routed.

Though the project included a great deal of education, there was also some fun mixed in. Through seminars on environmental education given by Park Education Specialists, river rafting and cleanup trips, field trips to neighboring NPS sites such as the MLK Jr. National Historic Site, and a day at the park helping hundreds of visitors launch and retrieve their boats and rafts at the annual Summer Splash, the crew had a well-rounded experience over the six weeks.

Courtney and Amadi at Chattahoochee

The following testimonials are from interns who served on the GYF crew:

Morrese “Mo” Green

My experience working for Greening Youth Program this summer was wonderful. While working I learned important tips that will help me through out life.  The main one being that if you take care of your surrounding environment it will take care of you. Another reason why working for GYF was fascinating is because I plan on being an engineer and the sole purpose of an engineer is to use innovative solutions and ideas that will benefit the surrounding environment. Working for GYF has taught me so much and as a result I look forward to working for Greening Youth in the near future.

Courtney Scott

Working at the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area was an amazing experience. Not only did I experience new things, but I was able to figure out so many of my strengths and weaknesses. Working on those trails was the most manual labor I have ever done in my life and I loved it! Every time I see a trail I am reminded of my summer with GYF and how vital trails can be for protecting natural environments. I also learned all the ways people can destroy the environment; I feel educated enough to pass on that knowledge and even become an advocate for it. I have always wanted to go into an environmental career, but I never knew how much there is to offer. I don’t even know what I want to do now, but I do know I want to help the environment and I hope I can be as impactful as the staff at GYF. It’s experiences like these that prepare me to make the right decisions for myself in the future. I would recommend this internship to anyone who loves being outdoors.

Amadi Ozier

My experience at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area vastly increased my awareness of our collective effect on our volatile environment. By working on existing trails within the park, I met dozens of hikers, joggers, and bikers who incorporate nature into their daily routines by persistently visiting the park. As they passed, they often shared words of gratitude and encouragement, vocalizing their appreciation of our attempts to maintain the state of the natural world. These encounters reminded me that, when I am picking up trash or removing exotic plant life or clearing new trails, I am doing it for every single one of the park’s thousands of annual visitors. I knew I was making a difference.

Miles Carrington
I had a great experience this summer working as an intern for GYF. I enjoyed the responsibilities that were given to me. This experience has opened my eyes to being green in all aspects of my life. I pay more attention to natural and how our slightest contact can have an immense effect in time to come. This experience has motivated me to minor in the Parks and recreation major at Clemson University. This small time in the summer has changed my outlook on national parks and encouraged me to bring others out to feel what the National parks experience is like.

Greening Youth Foundation had the opportunity this summer to partner with Camp Scene to sponsor 10 GYF students, who experienced a summer day camp like no other. These youth, ranging from ages 6-13, were exposed to exciting outdoor activities not typically available to them in an urban setting.

GYF’s participation in Camp Scene was made possible by the U.S. Forest Service’s “More Kids in the Woods” grant, which is intended to provide local community children more opportunities to experience the great outdoors, learn about nature, and build a lasting commitment to conservation and land stewardship.

At Camp Scene, each of its six week-long sessions focused on a different environmental theme. During two of the weeks, GYF and the U.S. Forest Service met with the campers bright and early to set the stage for their daily adventure.  Some pre-start activities included handling fossil remains, playing recycle relay, making a wetland, observing acid rain destruction, and singing sweet songs about nature.

Then they were off in the Camp Scene van to a day of true adventure. Whether it was hiking, rock climbing, river kayaking, white water rafting, scuba diving, tubing or swimming, they not only had the time of their lives but they also learned so much about their surroundings and the importance of being good stewards.

The following report was written by Mari Chiles, one of the GYF participants at Camp Scene:

I have been to cooking, science, soccer and writing camps throughout my summers, and a lot of them have been some pretty interesting experiences for me. But one camp that I will never forget is Camp Scene.

Camp Scene is an environmental camp that teaches kids how to care for and love the environment. Each summer, Camp Scene hosts six weeks of camps, each week with a different theme. Thanks to the Greening Youth Foundation, I was able to attend the camp week that focused on water ecology. But we didn’t just sit in a room and read or write about water. We did some things that I’ve never done before and would never dream of doing at camp!

Each day of the week I was there was an adventure. We kayaked six miles, went rock climbing, scuba diving and fishing for organisms in a stream and played at the beach. My favorite activity was white water rafting. My mom was afraid that all of these things would be unsafe for kids, but Camp Scene made sure we had fun and that we were safe.

One of my favorite activities of the week was rock climbing. I was nervous the whole ride to the rock-climbing center because I am very afraid of heights. Walking into the building and seeing the humungous wall with points jutting out of it and curves everywhere didn’t really make my stomach feel any better. But I faced my fear. Before anyone could climb the big wall, we had to go upstairs and try a smaller wall so that Camp Scene founder Scott Seitz could see how well we were at climbing. Not to my surprise, I was upstairs almost the whole entire time. It took me so long to finish that wall. I was amazed at some of those people who, like me, had never climbed before, but managed to get to the top the first time they tried. But little by little, I got higher and higher up the wall. Sometimes I would be scared out of my wits screaming to come down while my counselor would be telling me to go up a little bit higher. Rock climbing is a serious workout on your arms! But I pushed myself and got to the top of the wall. They even took a picture of me smiling down from the top. I was so triumphant! I was high-fiving everyone and I couldn’t wait to tell my mom and dad.

Mari (left) prepares to scuba dive

Another cool activity I got to do at Camp Scene was scuba diving. We went to a big building with a swimming pool and a bunch of gear and suits hanging up on the wall. Everyone had to jump into the freezing cold water so our instructor would be able to make sure we could swim. He made us practice breathing with the apparatus in our mouths so that we could feel what it was like to breath underwater. After that, we put on the vests and tanks and swam around. I was able to stay underwater for minutes at a time.

Remember when I said that white water rafting was my favorite activity of the whole week? Well, I am not exaggerating! It was probably one of the coolest experiences of my whole life! We white water rafted on the Chatooga River in north Georgia, almost in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Range. There are a lot of safety precautions when it comes to rafting so we had to take a whole lesson before we even got geared up. Afterwards, the 12 campers, two counselors, and Scott divided into three different raft groups and hiked off to the river with all our gear.

Rafting is pretty easy when everyone is in sync. The five campers are up at the front while our guide is at the back steering. Our guide told us many cool things about the different rapids—how to go through them and how many times to paddle. The craziest rapid on the river was Bull Loose, named that because it is a small channel of water that runs really fast and whips and kicks you like a bull! I was terrified to go on it because the other campers on my raft were telling me how scary it was. Our instructor even gave us special instructions to prevent anyone from falling out of the raft in one specific part of our rafting journey: when she yelled a specific command, we had to hunch down in between the seats. When we got to the tricky part of the river where we had to hunch down, everyone was totally under water for about four seconds! Water was running past my face and ears and I almost let go of my paddle! It was a very exhilarating experience.

White water rafting, rock climbing, scuba diving and studying and playing in nature made me appreciate the environment even more. For anyone who is a nature lover like me or loves trying new things and being adventurous, I would definitely recommend Camp Scene.

—Mari Chiles