04/15/24 - 66 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/msuwtctm
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Feature- Careers Shaped, Friendships Forged In The Outdoors World Of ECO Camp
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Would she be an environmental attorney 10 years down her road of life? An educator? Researcher? Or, perhaps a crusading journalist, leading the good fight to save land and water?
At the age of 17, high school student Lorinette Williams (photo at right) wore the hat of a hardened news reporter almost too well, grilling fellow camp mates at a mock news conference. The future of our state parks and forests was the topic, and she was asking the questions. Miss Williams pulled no punches. (Click here to see article with more photos) Assertiveness, confidence, an unquenchable thirst for answers, these are the character traits the student’s mentors had been polishing over the course of a one-week camp stay. Throw in the ability to make friends with others from all walks of life. Add in a willingness to try anything new outdoors and you have just a few basic elements of that highly successful DCNR experiment known as Environmental Careers Outdoors (ECO) Camp. “Before Eco Camp, I truly enjoyed the beauty of nature,” said Lorinette of Cresco, Monroe County. “Being raised on the island of Jamaica, I have always enjoyed the beautiful waters. It could be as simple as watching the ocean or listening to the crashing of the speeding waters against giant rocks at a waterfall, I loved it!
“And though I’ve always enjoyed the beauty of nature, ECO Camp allowed me so many ‘first times’—the white-water rafting, hiking and even biking on a trail. Never in my life had someone introduced to me to so many different activities associated with nature.” And that, says DCNR Acting Secretary John Quigley is exactly the intent. “With interest comes respect and a quest for learning, and with that education comes a willingness to protect and preserve our natural world,” said Quigley. “For eight summers now, ECO Camp has been most successful at honing an awareness of the outdoors and the variety of related careers available to young people.” It certainly worked with Lorinette: “At the conclusion of ECO Camp, I had no doubt in my mind that I should support our state parks and forests, and introduce as many people as possible to the many opportunities they provide. Now, I try to limit using water bottles, and I cannot help yielding to the temptations of picking up trash that I see when in the forest or elsewhere.” Like her 20 other camp mates, Lorinette will take something very special back to her fall classes from a summer week spent in clean mountain air: “If there is one thing I took away from camp, it is that I should never allow opportunities to pass me by, no matter how off-track they are from what I plan to do in life. As one of our speakers mentioned, ‘happy accidents do happen.’ ECO Camp was the beginning of lifelong friends joining together to help our community. I will never forget that quote so true that was carved into the sundial at our mansion, ‘Time takes all but memories.’ Those memories always will remain in my heart.” ECO Camps were offered June 21-27 at Kings Gap Environmental Education and Training Center, near Carlisle, Cumberland County; and July 12-18 at the Kirby Episcopal House and Chapel, Glen Summit, Luzerne County. These camps are a worthy investment in the future of our youth and our natural resources, and DCNR staffers proudly support them,” Quigley said. “Campers in the past have represented a unique pool of intelligence, spirit and commitment to environmental improvement.” And what exactly does Miss Williams plan to do with her intelligence, spirit and commitment a few years down the road, when her “Kirby House” stay and senior year at Pocono Mountain East High School are but pages in her scrapbook of life? Never searching for answers, the St. Andrew native answers quickly and matter-of-factly: “I am looking forward to attending Wilkes University to major in biology,” said Lorinette. “In ten years, I will be a general pediatrician working toward gaining a specialty in pediatric neurology.” Confidence. It’s infectious at ECO Camp. So, too, is encouragement to pursue choices. That’s what the camps have offered no less than 300 young men and women since 2002 as they bring students together with the men and women who start their days as foresters, biologists, park managers, wildlife and waterways officers and geologists.
Hailing the ECO Camp program as among DCNR’s “strongest success stories,” Acting Secretary Quigley said, “As the program wraps up its eighth year, we are seeing past campers emerging as future stewards of this state’s bountiful natural resources.” One only has to look back to the summer of 2008, when then-17-year-old Tara DeVore bid farewell to her parents in New Oxford, Adams County, and took up residence with other ECO campers at the Kirby Episcopal House and Chapel. Last year a new camper, this summer a seasoned ECO Camp student leader, and this fall, a college freshman—at Pennsylvania State University’s Berks Campus where she’ll major in environmental resource management. “I wanted to return as a counselor because I enjoyed camp so much last year, and I knew if I had the opportunity to come back I must take it,” said Tara during a break from her Kirby House counseling duties. “It was also my mentor, forester Andy Duncan, who told me I was crazy if I didn't come back, that I was perfect for the position. I wanted to experience what it would be like to be a counselor and to connect with kids on a different level than I did last year. I just wanted to go back and make camp fun for the people who were coming in this year.”
And what did this 18-year-old—who “always is outdoors doing something, usually exploring Pennsylvania’s state parks” – take away from her second ECO Camp stay? “Being a counselor changed me, in that I learned more about leadership, responsibility, authority, what it means to run a camp, and just overall bonding on a different level than last year. “I got a great experience and the chance to meet new people, all my age and all from different parts of the state. We had campers this year from different backgrounds and cultures—a Jamaican, two Cambodians and several of Mexican heritage.” Always, camp emphasis is on drawing diverse groups of student from Pennsylvania’s largest cities and its smallest villages. Inquisitive minds and a love of nature are the catalysts that consistently meld students of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Ario D'Amato left his Conygham, Luzerne County, home armed with an awful lot of questions. He found the answers at ECO Camp. “Before the camp I really was not much of an outdoorsmen,” said the 17-year-old senior at Hazleton Area High School. “I have always enjoyed nature and have been interested in it, but my family has not really done any camping or fishing. I am probably the most eco-friendly person in my family. “That camp changed the way I look at forests and rivers, and much more, because of the many hands-on experiences it provided,” Ario said. “I now feel much more enthusiastic about exploring more of our state parks and learning more about the environment of Pennsylvania.”
In a future now sure to be spiced with more outdoors pursuits, Ario sees college—perhaps Penn State or Syracuse University, and “eventual work in an environmental field. “I never realized the diversity of jobs available in DCNR, but, because of this camp, I may now consider them. Before camp I was unsure of what job would be the best fit for me. I’m still unsure, but this camp has showed me what’s out there and has narrowed it down for me.” Like so many of his fellow campers, the high school senior touts the living and learning experience as truly unique:
“The number one thing I took home from camp is the memories of the wonderful people that I met and befriended. I have stayed in touch with them after camp and hope to continue our friendship as we go along in our lives. The experiences I had with them are ones I always will remember.” The ultimate goal of each camp is to introduce 20 to 25 students to conservation and environmental careers, and encourage their pursuit. From stream sampling of fish and aquatic life, to forestry skills, daily activities are planned to get students out in the field to meet and observe environmental professionals. It’s also an excellent place to have fun. Some campers immerse themselves in scouring rocky ledges for fossils at Beltzville State Park; others savor the adrenalin rush of Lehigh Gorge’s whitewater. Usually, area state parks supply the venues, their natural resources, and the excitement. Throughout their week, campers have the chance to ask plenty of questions and are exposed to a wide range of career experiences, including water quality assessments, geology field studies, and overnight camping experiences. There are daily opportunities to meet and talk with conservation professionals about career opportunities. Offered without charge, instruction and activities are overseen by specialists and officials of DCNR’s bureaus of state parks, forestry, and topographic and geologic survey. Selected students usually are from grades 10 through 12. After the camps, attendees will have a chance to seek internships, and mentoring and job-shadowing positions, and return as future camp leaders. For ECO Camp enrollment applications and information, write to ECO Camp Coordinator, Bureau of State Parks, Environmental Education and Information Division, P.O. Box 8551, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8551; or telephone 717-783-4356. Reprinted from the August 26 issue of DCNR's Resource Newsletter |
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8/31/2009 |
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