Students attend Sustainability Camp 2008

Page 14 - Ha-Shilth-Sa - July 3, 2008

Education Section – h-aa-huu-pa

Students attend Sustainability Camp 2008

Submitted by the Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation

May and June are field trip months for elementary schools, and the schools in Clayoquot Sound are no exception. Recently, almost 20 Nuu-chah-nulth students spent three days and two nights at the Clayoquot Field Station in the Tofino Botanical Gardens during two Sustainability Camps.

Sustainability Camp is a multi-day immersion camp program developed in 2007 by the Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation. Designed for students in Grade 5 through 7, the camp uses a variety of games, activities and discussions to help increase youth knowledge and empowerment about environmental sustainability issues.

“The environment is in the news every day, and we feel strongly that kids need to be in the forefront on these issues. When we developed the camp curriculum in 2007 and ran our first camp, we thought it would be easy because there would be a lot of similar camps already taking place in Canada and the U.S. that we could talk too. We were pretty surprised to find out that we were developing one of the first camps to focus just on sustainability,” said John Platenius, director of programs and development at Tofino Botanical Gardens.

In May and June, Nuu-chah-nulth Grade 6 students from Esowista, Tofino, Opitsaht, Ahousaht and Hot Springs Cove participated in two Sustainability Camps at the Tofino Botanical Gardens, thanks to funding from Uu-a-thluk, the Clayoquot Forest Communities Program, and the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust.

“Our goal is to reach every Grade 6 student in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Region, every year,” said Platenius. For the Ahousaht-Hesquiaht Sustainability Camp, which took place June 4 to 6, 10 kids ages 10 to 12 participated in a variety of games and activities that got them thinking and talking about issues of sustainability.

These activities focused on renewable and non-renewable resources, biodiversity and environmental sensitivity. “We were amazed at how much the kids already knew and had to contribute to current issues,” said Devon Warawa, one of the camp group leaders working for Tofino’s Raincoast Education Society, which helped run the Sustainability Camps.

The highlight for many camp participants was the solar panel demonstration led by Platenius. After an animated demonstration and discussion about photovoltaic energy (solar power) and alternative sources of renewable energy, the kids played “The Solar Car Challenge,” racing solar-powered remote control cars around a course and answering quiz questions about renewable resources and fossil fuels.

Jaylynn Lucas, 11, of Hesquiaht, said the races were fun and she learned something new from participating. “The sun and batteries can go together,” she said. But Sustainability Camp wasn’t only fun and games. The camp also focused on the importance of community building and helping others.

One rainy morning was spent picking up the accumulated litter along about a kilometre stretch of Tofino’s multi-use path. The children walked until their bags were too full to carry, and for some, this less-than-glamorous activity demonstrated what a dirty and unpleasant job it is to clean up after people.

The students’ responses included recycling, shopping for things with less packaging, not using so much electricity, and treading softly on the earth’s surface.

One Grade 6 student, Jorie-anne Atleo, wrote in a margin of her journal: “Being sustainable means being respectful of the earth and making judgements considering future generations.”

To voice their ideas, the students collectively composed a letter to community leaders. The letter addressed their concerns and solutions involving local sustainability.

“I was very proud to be able to help out in this camp,” said camp leader Ava Barany, a University of Victoria biology student working at Tofino Botanical Gardens for the summer. “Through such community involvement activities, we strengthen individual, community, and even global health. It’s empowering for youth to be active participants in communal problems of sustainability, because youth are extremely effective in cultivating awareness and initiating action.”

And, as any of these children can testify, it’s also a lot of fun.

“Yup,” Gabe Campbell, 11, of Ahousaht agreed.

If you would like more information about Sustainability Camp, please call John Platenius at (250)725-1220 or e-mail [email protected].