Beyond Park Boundaries

Written by Joshua Sweet
Student Conservation Association

John Muir wrote that “in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” But what about those who reside in a classroom rather than in nature?

ROOSEVELT, ARIZONA – While participating in an internship with the Student Conservation Association I have been given many outstanding opportunities. The most noteworthy task I have been charged with during my internship is to provide outreach programs at a neighboring elementary school. I have gained insight into historical interpretation and outdoor education, in addition to being provided with a gateway into working with the National Park Service. This has granted me with knowledge that will positively build upon my past experiences.

Each week during a six week session the park rangers from Tonto National Monument visit Dr. Charles A. Bejarano Elementary School in Miami, Arizona. We provide the three fourth grade classes with valuable information pertaining to environmental and outdoor themes. Topics will range from local geology and wildlife to ancient Native American culture and architecture. This outreach curriculum contributes to the already vibrant programming provided by the staff at the monument including night hikes, photography tours, heritage days, and Junior Park Ranger activities.

My first program with the students focused entirely on aspects of outdoor survival and the importance of being prepared while participating in various outdoor pursuits. We covered essential overnight and day pack items that relate to navigation, signaling, shelter construction, fire, water, food, and first aid. Students participated in hands-on learning experiences during which they were able to use a compass, signaling mirror, and a crank flashlight. In addition, the fourth graders witnessed demonstrations on how to tell direction using only shadows on the ground, and how to use a flint stick to ignite a fire.

The focal point of the next lesson was snakes of the desert. During this program I was able to observe interagency cooperation as the U.S. Forest Service in Tonto Basin allowed me to borrow their resident king snake to give the classes a more vivid picture of this remarkable reptile. The fourth graders learned all about the life of a desert king snake during the hour long assembly. By the end they were curious to learn more about other desert reptiles, including the infamous gila monster.

In the coming weeks we will visit the classes for two more presentations based on the archaeology of Tonto National Monument. Outreach programs such as those we have provided at Dr. Charles A. Bejarano Elementary School are a perfect example of how agencies such as the National Park Service can stretch the boundaries of a park. By continuing these programs the park rangers have the ability to reach young children and educate them on principles of environmental responsibility and preservation for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

Since joining the staff at Tonto National Monument in November, I have had many exciting assignments that range from performing backcountry maintenance with law enforcement to leading three-mile hikes to a prehistoric cave dwelling. Moreover, I have developed two presentations, focusing on subjects of my choice, for the fourth grade classes. These programs are great models of how the National Park Service can expand educational experiences beyond park boundaries.

Final Evaluation Process

The closing portion of my internship deals with the final evaluation process. The purpose of these procedures is to leave a guidebook for those who may hold the position in the future, and to assess the current state of programming. The evaluation is to encompass the entire nature and camping program that I have planned and implemented over the summer of 2009.

The evaluation begins by covering topics related to environmental education. This curriculum covered topics such as local wildlife, ecosystems, gardening, and identifying animal tracks. The program outline then shifts to a summary of the outdoor education programs of the 2009 summer. Focus areas included hiking, camping, outdoor survival, as well as teambuilding. All of these activities were presented to campers during hands on programs where they were given the means to actually participate in various environmental and outdoor pursuits.

Although the program was very successful, I next broke down different areas that could use improvement and gave my own programming recommendations. The first dealt with the possibility of taking the campers on outdoor excursions to any one of the surrounding national parks. I also recommended that the camp use greater historical interpretation because of it’s location along the final stretch of the Lewis and Clark Trail. Lastly I gave sight to the fact that with the new addition of our geocache unit we are prepared for the future of outdoor recreation and should take advantage of this. All of these assets can be added within camp programming and advertising to create a much stronger program.

This evaluation also states why it is important to have a significant environmental and outdoor education curriculum at our summer camp. Similarly the program links together the connections that these programs have within the Jewish religion. The final conclusion then lies out that the goal of this program is create a love and respect for the outdoors and the world around us.

Included is a picture of the forest in Lake Sylvia State Park, and below is a link to the Camp Young Judaea West website.

www.cyjwest.org

--

Joshua Sweet

Camp Young Judaea West Nature Spedialist

Fontenelle Nature Association Summer Educator

(402) 651 0610

joshua.sweet@ymail.com

Teva Service

In addition to my major in parks and recreation management, I am also pursuing a religious studies minor with an emphasis in Jewish studies. This played a big role in the reason why I applied for, and eventually accepted this internship with Camp Young Judaea West. Part of my responsibilities as the nature and camping specialist were to help to create a Jewish service that could relate our religion to Teva (Hebrew for nature) and the outdoors. At camp we have an outdoor sanctuary overlooking the Pacific Ocean known as the “Bears’ Den,” and this is where I have requested that such a service be held. After collaborating with the unit head responsible for planning our Judaic services we have decided to have a traditional service at the “Bears’ Den” while including exerts that I have picked out to be read in addition to our customary prayers. Listed below are a few of these quotations that I have chosen to use, and many of these exerpts relate to environmentalism, sustainability, and green ethics.

Upon creating the first human beings, God guided them around the Garden of Eden, saying: "Look at my creations! See how beautiful and perfect they are! For your sake I created them all. Make sure you don't ruin or devastate My world. If you do, there will be no-one else to repair it."

- Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be, and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, and I firmly believe that nature brings solace to all troubles.”

- Anne Frank

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai said, 'Three things are of equal importance - earth, humans and rain'. Rabbi Levi ben Hiyyata said, '...to teach that without earth, there is no rain, and without rain, the earth cannot endure, and without either, humans cannot exist'.

- Genesis Rabbah 13:3

Master of the Universe
Grant me the ability to be alone;
May it be my custom to go outside each day
Among the reeds and the grass,
Among all growing things;
And there may I be alone to enter into prayer,
Talking to the one to whom I belong.

May I express there everything in my heart,
And may all the foliage of the field awake at my coming
To send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer.

So that my speech is made whole
Through the life and spirit of all growing things.
Which are made as one by their transcendent source.

- Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav

Attached to this post is a picture of the lean to shelter that I helped the campers to build in the forest. We made the roof out of moss to help protect us from the rain.

Listed below is a link to the COEJL website which is just one of many organizations that acts to link environmentalism and Judaism.

http://www.coejl.org/index.php

West Coast Typhoon

In the wake of our outdoor education field trips I can now reflect and evaluate each trip. All of the campers on each trip had an amazing time, and I have heard nothing but positive feedback from all the unit heads. Measured by these standards the trips were a huge success and can now be used to help attract future campers, as well as to enhance the experience of campers that attend each summer.

However the purpose of the blog is to write in a constructive manner in which I can provide others with helpful information. So I will refrain from writing about the successes of our field trips, and instead I will focus on what went wrong and how it was dealt with. This will ensure that my posts can be beneficial to future trip planning.

To begin with the younger campers encountered the largest issue due to transportation. We had only ordered two buses and since the oldest group was leaving in the early morning and the other was full of the 6th and 7th graders, the youngest group was left without any transportation. This was only discovered by our logistics staff one day beforehand and we had to act quickly.

Our original plan to take this group to Fort Clatsop was canceled, and instead we embarked to Cape Disappointment State Park. This park is only 20 minutes from our camp and made it possible to drive the kids in the rental vans that our camp keeps for emergencies. After canceling our reservation at Fort Clatsop I contacted Cape Disappointment to find out if they had a similar Junior Ranger Program. They informed me that they had canceled such programs last summer, but still had left over supplies that our staff could use to lead the program on our own. We did just that, and when I returned to camp I made Junior Ranger certificates myself to compensate for the awards that the kids would have received at Fort Clatsop.

The 7th and 8th graders also faced an issue as both groups got lost on the separate hikes that I had planned for them. I sent them with plenty of gear, maps, food, and water so they eventually found their way to the assigned areas without any severe problems. This problem could be avoided in the future if those who led the trips had visited the park with me when I had done the site visits earlier in my internship. Nevertheless the campers had a great trip and enjoyed seeing this beautiful state park.

In addition the oldest group was met with certain difficulties, but was most prepared due to the fact that I accompanied them on their overnight trip. Both hikes we embarked on were in the area that had been hard hit by a typhoon in 2007 where destructive winds hit the coast at over 120 miles per hour. This has left the trails littered with fallen timber making them very difficult to navigate. Each time we became stuck in a blockaded area, I left the campers with the other staff members while I investigated an equivalent route and never disappointed them.

To make matters more complicated the poles used to support the rain flies on each of our tents did not work properly. After explaining to Eureka Outdoor Gear that we could not wait 2-4 weeks for an inspection and replacement due to the fact that we only have a week and a half left of camp, they agreed to overnight us the necessary replacement gear. This will guarantee that the other campers will get to go on overnight adventures before the end of camp without worrying about the wind and rain.

Attached to this post is a picture of one of the areas on our hike at Lake Sylvia State Park that was hardest hit by the 2007 typhoon. Logging companies have recently begun to take advantage of harvesting the fallen timber.

Below is a link to a website that explains further the storms that hit the coast of Washington and Oregon.

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2007/alm07oct.htm

Outdoor Ed Field Trips

So our outdoor education field trips to Fort Clatsop, Ecola State Park, and Lake Sylvia State Park are right around the corner. Early Tuesday morning each age group at camp will leave for one of these locations and all of them except for the oldest group will return Tuesday night. The older campers will stay the night and return back to camp Wednesday night. In order to ensure that all of these trips go as planned I am reviewing the fifteen pre travel steps as laid out in Chuck Browns’ PRM 150 course.

I have spent the past six weeks working on aspects of the trips such as routing and scheduling, groups, rationale, locations, participants, accommodations, communication, and budgeting. These parts of our trips have been outlined in previous posts, and have been prepared for quite some time now. Recently I have been meeting with the various unit heads and senior staff members to go over the remaining facets such as activities, staffing, equipment, food and water, transportation, as well as safety and risk management.

Activities for the younger kids who will be attending Fort Clatsop include a hike from the fort to the ocean, exploring fort exhibits, and participating in the National Park Service Junior Ranger Program. Those heading to Ecola State Park will enjoy a much more difficult seaside hike past the Sea Lion Islands, and an afternoon swimming in the Pacific Ocean. As for the oldest group who are traveling to Lake Sylvia State Park, we have planned several extensive hikes throughout the area which will lead them to lookouts amongst the Olympic Mountains. They will also be able to swim in the nearby lake, and participate in team building activities throughout the entire campout.

Due to the fact that the staff assigned to each age group will be traveling with their own campers, the main issue of staffing relates to safety and risk management. The youngest campers will be in the hands of the National Park Service Rangers, a guide that the camp has used in the past, as well as staff certified in first aid and CPR. The group traveling to Ecola State Park will be accompanied by an EMT in addition to several staff members certified by the Red Cross. The oldest campers will embark on their excursion accompanied by myself and a former Israeli Army Officer. In addition, all of the campers and staff members are covered by the camps’ insurance policy.

All of the equipment we will be using is brand new, and was covered by the grant funds that I allocated earlier in my internship. The younger groups will be sent with hiking essentials such as a base camp first aid kit, bug spray, sunscreen, compasses, binoculars, a dry bag, and tarps. However the older group will be sent with these items in addition to much more extensive gear such as a camping kitchen, tents, flint sticks, campers tools, propane, cookware and mess kits, extra stakes, stake mallets, lanterns, rope, glow sticks, biodegradable soap, toilet tissue, and coolers.

Food and transportation were fairly easy tasks to plan for thanks in part to our camp caterer and office manager. They have arranged for a charter buses to take our campers to and from our outdoor education locations. In addition our camp caterer has arranged for all of the necessary food to be available for us to take with us on our trips. All of our sites are developed campgrounds or parks and have clean running water.

The final step in the pre travel procedures is known as triple check. This will include checking the latest weather forecast before departure as well as going over these steps again with all of the staff involved. This is to ensure that the trips go as planned, and that all of the staff are on the same page.

Attached to this post is a picture of an A-frame immediate action shelter that the campers built during one of my activities in the forest.

Listed below is a link to one of the books that Chuck used in our class text called Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming. Chapter 9 of this book includes pre travel steps, responsibilities of a trip leader during the trip, and evaluation procedures.

http://nirsa.humankinetics.com/showproduct.cfm?isbn=9780736052504

Camp in Full Swing

Camp is now in full swing, and all of the programming implementation has been going great. All of the kids that have visited my program area have enjoyed every minute of our activities, and brag to the other campers about their experiences. Among their favorite activities include making plaster prints from deer tracks, one match fires, low ropes, and building a massive lean to shelter. I am so glad to finally be putting all of the equipment that I ordered with the grant funding to good use. In addition all of the supplies have really helped out the other programming areas at camp.

On Wednesday the board member that has approved our grant will be visiting camp to specifically see how I have been using the funds. This makes me a little nervous, but I am sure he will be impressed based on the reactions from the campers who have been at my activities. I plan on letting him observe and participate in a number of my programs, as well as read an article that was written by Leah on the various aspects of environmental education that I cover in my activities.

The field trips that I am planning for the campers at Fort Clatsop, Ecola State Park, and Lake Sylvia State Park are also approaching fast. The younger kids will embark on their day trips on June 30th whereas the older kids will be spending the night at their site until July 1st. I have put together packets for each of the unit heads with all of the logistics laid out in detail including food, transportation, park information, and trail maps.

On a different note, I wanted to write about an aspect of Camp Young Judaea West that I find quite interesting. In my many years of camp experience at a number of different summer camps I have never seen a camp operate whereas campers have the option of extending their stay while already at the camp. The campers here choose between staying for one, two, or three weeks and it is up to the staff to try and entice the short term campers to stay for the full three weeks. This is intriguing because of the fact that the number of campers in each unit from week to week can technically be unknown. These decisions also seem to be made at the last minute, and can make the difference between a full cabin and having empty bunks.

I have included a picture of one of the deer track plaster prints that a camper made.

Below is a link to a website that explains how to make plaster prints from wild animal tracks.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/194867/making_plaster_prints_of_wild_animals.html

Capitol State Forest

Wednesday night began the most challenging adventure my internship has yet to present me with. It was my duty to visit the Capitol State Forest outside of Elma, Washington to determine if this would be a good location for an overnight camping trip with the oldest campers. At first this did not seem like something that I would have any trouble with, and took on the responsibility with confidence.

Due to the fact that many of the staff were needed to prepare for the arrival of the campers, and others were needed to great the campers at the Seattle airport I would spend the night at the forest on my own. I arrived at Capitol State Forest around 11pm on Wednesday night and was immediately intimidated by the area. The forest was huge and very thick, and the campsites were extremely under developed. In addition there was no ranger station and no trail maps.

I was unfamiliar with the area so I set up lanterns outside my site in hopes that someone may stop by that would be able to give me a better idea of where I was in location to Capitol Peak. In addition I was unsure about the wildlife in the area, so I set up a campfire in order to get a better idea of my surroundings. Fortunately I was not visited by any large animals during the night, but I did hide my food away from my tent just in case. Only one group of visitors stopped due to the flashing lanterns I set up, and they were of no help. To make matters a little more complicated I had to use all of my drinking water to put out my fire before going to sleep.

The morning came and I was surprised to find that my entire campsite was littered with shotgun shells and ATV tracks. The recreational users in this area were obviously very irresponsible. After packing my gear and preparing to use the GPS to find a trailhead that would take me on a good tour of the forest it began to rain. This was a good thing that I had expected so I collected rainwater from a nearby runoff.

This was the perfect opportunity for me to test out a technique that I had been curious about for some time. I have been told that it is possible to boil water in a paper cup over a fire, and the paper cup would not burn. This is due to the fact that the boiling point of water is lower than the ignition point of paper products. To my surprise this technique actually worked better than I had ever hoped. I have attached a video to this post that I took while boiling the water.

Now that I had enough clean drinking water I could continue hiking around the state forest. The forest was littered with trash, gun ammunition, and overused recreational sites. While I was at the forest I decided to hike to the top of Rock Candy Mountain, but I had already made up my mind that this was not the site for our campout. Due to the fact that I was wearing a newer pair of hiking shoes I also ended up with some terrible blisters on my feet by the end of my eight mile hike.

My pick up ride came around 5pm and I begun to explain some of my concerns for the campsite to the other staff members. Although this was a very challenging overnight trip I enjoyed the test very much. We still needed to find a site for the older campers to have their overnight so on the way back to our camp in Ocean Park we visited Schafer State Park and salmon hatchery, and Lake Sylvia State Park. The hatchery did not have long enough trails or big enough campsites, but Lake Sylvia turned out to be the perfect site. We found a developed group campsite that overlooked the lake, and a nearby trail that provides a view of the Olympic Mountains.

I have also included a link below to a youtube video that better explains the paper cup camping experiment.

http://factoidz.com/how-to-boil-water-in-a-paper-cup/

Low Ropes/Bear Encounter

I believe that no camp is complete without some sort of low ropes course to work on team building activities, and to teach campers about the importance of working together. Camp Young Judaea West does have the longest zip line in the Pacific Northwest which compensates for an amazing high ropes activity, but no low ropes exists on the property. In order to enhance my nature and camping program I decided to build our own course than can be navigated with standard compasses.

My first idea was that the course should exist in a remote area of the forest that would require a moderate hike into the forest. So I began hauling the wood that I have chosen to use to build the course out to a clearing that I found near a dried up creek bed. However on my second trip to this area I encountered a huge problem.

As I rounded the corner on the trail that I was following a massive black bear ran out of the brush about ten feet in front of me. The bear stopped about twenty five feet from me, turned around to look back at me, and then proceeded to follow the creek bed. I have never seen an animal in the wild as large as this bear, and I cannot get over how fast this gigantic creature was. After speaking with the property manager and a nearby neighbor I found out that this bear and two cubs have been living in the area for quite some time. Although bear attacks are rare, most are initiated when a person comes between a female bear and its' cub.

Due to this humbling experience I decided to move our low ropes course much closer to the road that goes through our area of camp. Although this makes for a smaller and less remote location I must have the safety of our campers and staff in mind. I have built three stations in this area which are nicknamed the islands, the spider web, and the crows nest. These activities are strategically placed so that each can be navigated to in a cardinal direction using our compasses.

Each of these activities are easy to make with a little bit of wood and imagination. The crows nest is the easiest to make and only requires a single piece of wood or small piece of fabric. With the wood or fabric flat on the ground we explain to the campers that they are all on a sinking ship in the arctic, and the crows nest is the only place that will not sink into the ocean. Campers will all have to fit onto the crows nest without any of their feet hanging over the edge otherwise sharks may get to them. To create an additional challenge, have the participants flip over the wood or fabric to the opposite side without anyone stepping off into the sea.

The spider web activity is made by using two parallel trees or by planting two long wood planks into the ground. You would then tie string randomly between the two planks or tree until it looks like a spider has spun a web between them. Campers will have to find a way to get each of their team members from one side of the web to the other without touching the rope. An additional challenge includes telling them that they can only use each hole in the web one time.

Lastly, the islands activity requires one long sturdy piece of wood, and three wood platforms to be used as ports. Campers will have to get from the first island to the third island while only being able to travel when walking over the long sturdy wood piece. Only one camper is allowed on each port at a time, and the activity requires a great amount of teamwork because with only one long piece of wood campers can only travel between two of the ports at a time. An additional challenge can be created by instructing the participants that once they have reached the final island they can no longer help their teammates.

I have included pictures of the low ropes activities I constructed.

Here is a link to information on bear attacks and ways to avoid them.
http://www.arcticwebsite.com/BearSurvival.html

Sustainability

I have been very intrigued to notice how common many sustainable practices are around our camp and nearby Washington cities. Many pathway lights are equipped with solar panels even though I have yet to be able to see the sun through the clouds. However all of these lights are powered at night by the minuscule amount of light that they are able to process during the day. In addition, light timers, which automatically turn off the lights after the timer runs out, are used in rooms that don’t necessarily need to be lit all day long.

In addition we have initiated recycling practices and placed recycle bins around the camp facilities. In order to conserve food the campers will have a competition based on which age group can waste the least amount of food. We have also ordered water bottles for each camper to cut down on dish washing during meal time as well as the use of disposbale cups.

While being the nature specialist at camp I have repeatedly been asked questions about the yellow flower buds that are growing all around our camp property. This flower has not been as prevalent in past years, but this year is hard not to notice. After a little research I have found out that this flower is in fact the Oregon state flower known simply as the Oregon grape. The flower buds are edible however as the name suggests, if you wait until the fall the plant will produce a delicious fruit. Interestingly enough, this fruit is in fact a berry and not a grape. The Oregon grape is also an indicator of a healthy forest floor in northern coastal regions. In addition this plant can be used in tea, and has a medicinal purpose acting as an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. I have included a picture of the Oregon grape plant in this post.

Other sustainable practices and Leave No Trace ethics that we will cover with the campers include staying on the main trails, packing out your own trash, leaving what you find, being careful with fire, respecting wildlife, and being kind to the other visitors.

The website below has information on all sorts of medcinal plants:
http://www.altnature.com/gallery/

The website below has information on the state of Washington sustainable practices:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/Sustainability/

Programming

Now that we are only five days away from the campers’ arrival it is time to put all of the finishing touches on our pre camp work. Over the next few days I will be going over ever aspect of my program area to ensure that it is all ready for implementation. In this post I will summarize all of the activities that my program area will be responsible for. I have purchased all of the necessary gear and products for these activities through the grant fund that our agency received this year. I have had experience leading and participating in each of these activities in such classes as PRM 340 Outdoor Survival and PRM 303 Program Planning.

In terms of hiking in general campers will be educated on leave no trace ethics, and will examine the effects of trail erosion while on various trail explorations. They will learn about both forest and beach ecosystems taking into account the animal and plant wildlife inhabiting our area of camp. The campers will also fill in animal tracks with plaster, and after the plaster hardens they will be able to have a replica of an actual animal footprint. In additon campers will be taught the basics of ground to air signaling based on smoke from fires, and recognizable codes that can be formed on flat surfaces.

Navigation is an essential part of camping and outdoor education. In order to teach the campers useful navigation skills, I will use a number of different methods to ensure that they are able to do so on their own. We will begin by learning how to utilize a standard compass including how to orient a map, travel a heading, and take a bearing. Once the campers get the hang of these techniques we will then use a GPS unit to seek out geocaches that I have hidden in the forest surrounding our camp.

In case such tools are not available, campers will also be taught how to use the shadow tip method to determine which direction is north. This is done by placing a stick in the ground, marking the end of its shadow, and then returning at least twenty minutes later to mark the new end of the shadow. Once this is done the campers will place their left foot on the first mark, their right foot on the second mark, and the direction they will now be facing is always north. In addition we will teach the students that in order to locate the north star they should follow the front two stars on the bowl of the big dipper, as well as which side of a tree moss typically grows on.

The next aspect of outdoor education that the campers will learn about is shelter construction. In order to prepare for their group camping trips we will first make sure that each camper is able to assemble and disassemble the Eureka Tetragon 7 tents that we have purchased for these occasions. Campers will then be educated on how to set up an A-frame, immediate action, and lean to shelters using only the forest products around them.

Campers will also be taught to start a fire in a number of different ways to be used for signaling, warmth, cooking, and light. Basic fire pit construction methods such as making a log cabin or a teepee will be used followed by lighting techniques. These will include using flint sticks, and steel wool with batteries. In addition we will challenge the older campers to begin one match fires. In addition I will demonstrate to the campers how a paper cup filled with water can be put into a hot fire without burning the cup at all.

Along with simple and fun trail games, campers will also participate in a number of team building low ropes activities. Poison peanut butter is a favorite of mine which involves teamwork to cross an imaginary canyon filled with sticky and deadly peanut butter. Another activity known simply as the spider web challenges teams to cross from one side of a tree to another while passing through gaps created by tying rope between two trees. Another game called the crows nest forces campers to all fit onto a small space on top of an object that they will then have to flip over without anyone touching the ground. Finally the disabled human knot is a well known game whereas teams must untangle themselves while holding hands, although some of them will not be allowed to speak whereas others will not be allowed to see.

I will also be collaborating with the arts and crafts director in order to form joint activities between our two program areas. Although we have yet to meet, I have come up with just a couple basic ideas that can be expanded on later. I believe that the younger kids would enjoy finding a bug in nature, and then trying to recreate that bug using arts and craft supplies and recycled materials. For the older kids I would like them to use these same arts and crafts and recycled materials to build a boat or floating object. We will then see whose boat is able to last the longest when they are actually put into the water. In addition feather painting can also be used to create very interesting patterns and designs. I would also like to have the kids cut out pictures of animals from old National Geographic magazines and put together paper food chains. If anyone has any other ideas for arts and crafts projects that are related to either nature or outdoor pursuits please let me know.

Attached to this post is a picture of my new office which consists of a trailer full of all of the gear that I have spent the past four weeks ordering for the camp, a gazebo tent which is extremely hard to set up by myself, and my personal tent.

Here is a website where you can find additional team building and low ropes activities

http://teamcraft.com/ropes_activity.html

Washington & Oregon State Parks

So now that I am on site in Ocean Park, Washington and I am finished allocating all of the grant funds it is time to put all of the gear I have ordered to good use. However before I begin to put the finishing touches on my programming ideas, I will need to determine which sites the campers will be using for day hikes and overnights in both Washington and Oregon. This will allow me to develop my programming around the specific natural and cultural resources available at the sites that I choose.

Unfortunately my search began by ruling out the three closest national parks including Olympic, Mount Rainier, and Mount Saint Helens. This was either due to transportation issues, access fees, or reservation complications. I was then reduced to looking into the local state parks in the area which actually turned out to be very interesting.

All of the sites in the area were either part of the Lewis and Clark expedition, or were old World War II and Civil War memorials. Due to the fact that last summer I spent time working along the Lewis and Clark trail at Fontenelle Forest Nature Association in Bellevue, Nebraska I decided to also rule out the military sites. In addition, I find Lewis and Clark to much more relevant to my nature and outdoor programming than military sites that were hardly even used.

So today I embarked on visitations to various state parks that were in a two hour radius of our camp. I needed to find day hike areas for the third, fourth, and fifth graders, as well as an overnight camping area for the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The senior staff at camp decided that we should split the younger campers into two groups so I determined that Ecola State Park and Fort Clatsop State Park in Oregon were best suited for our younger campers to visit. Camp Disappointment, where Lewis and Clark ended their amazing journey across the United States, was alos ruled out as a possible site visit due to the fact that some of the campers had visited in past years.

Ecola State Park was appealing due to the amazing views provided along the trails. I have included a picture from one of the lookouts in this post. In addition this state park allowed for swimming in the ocean which is something that is prohibited at our oceanside camp due to harsh rip tides. However Fort Clatsop State Park, Lewis and Clarks’ first permanent site along the Pacific coast, was my favorite visit of the day due to the helpfulness of the park rangers. The rangers arranged for our campers to go on a fort to sea hike, and to become junior rangers on the day that we will be attending. While I was at Fort Clatsop for lunch I was brave enough to try some of the local berries that were absolutely delicious. I have also provided a picture of these berries in this post, and if anyone knows what they are please let me know.

Finding a site for the older kids was much more difficult as I hoped to find an area that would challenge their abilities and put the outdoor survival skills that I will teach them at camp to good use. If this trip goes well it will become a permanent part of our summer programming, and could be used to entice camper retention. I determined that the best area for this would be Capitol State Forest which is located directly in between Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks, and operates under multiple use recreation policies. On a clear day the campers will be able to see both national parks from the top of Capitol Peak.

I did however, run into a major problem. Capitol State Forest policies allow for absolutely no reservations, and are based solely on a first come first serve basis. I could not plan a trip if I was uncertain we would be able to obtain the necessary campground space for our activities. So I contacted the regional education and enforcement forester working with the department of natural resources in Washington. In exchange for our campers volunteering a little of their time for Friends of Capitol Forest doing a simple community service project in the park, he would be more than happy to help arrange for us to obtain the necessary campground.

Below I have included links to Washington State Parks, Oregon State Parks, and Lewis and Clark trail points of interest:

http://www.parks.wa.gov/

http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/index.shtml

http://lewisandclarktrail.com/

Trends in Outdoor Recreation

Sunday I will leave for Ocean Park, Washington where I will spend the next five weeks of my internship running outdoor education programming at Camp Young Judaea West and various Oregon state parks. The other day I spoke with my internship supervisor who informed me that the program I am developing will be used as a marketing tool for the camp in the future. In addition she hoped that the grant funds that we have received would be allocated in a manner that could work to attract future campers.

After asking the advice of my fellow parks and recreation students in this regard I have decided to allocate part of our funding towards a GPS unit to be used by the campers for Geocaching. Geocaching with a handheld GPS unit is one of the fastest growing trends in outdoor recreation. I have already located at least ten caches in the area of our camp, and with the unit we will also be able to plant more of our own geocoins. We will be ordering the Garmin eTrex Venture from a local retailer just outside of Ocean Park, WA.

By providing such a unique form of outdoor recreation programming to campers I hope that this can help to achieve the goals laid out by my supervisor. Geocaching is an activity that few camps are able to provide to their campers, and I believe it will enhance their outdoor education. In addition this will provide Camp Young Judaea West with an advantage of competitive differentiation over other camps that market to our same target population.

Listed below is the web address for more information on Geocaching. This site includes information on how to participate in Geocaching, trackable items, GPS units and other gear.

http://www.geocaching.com/

I have also attached a photo of the Garmin eTrex Venture as it is highly recommended by outdoor enthusiasts.

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After hearing from my peers that bird watching is also in fact one of the fastest growing trends in outdoor recreation I have downloaded a bird identifier application and purchased binoculars from Coleman Outdoor Gear.

Grant Budget

So I am now finished preparing the grant budget for the Camp Young Judea West camping and nature program, and am ready to submit it to my internship supervisor for approval. Believe it or not it has been very difficult for me to allocate all of the grant funds as I have never had a budget this large and am used to buying economy priced items. I am feeling more and more comfortable each day with my work for the camp, and am enjoying purchasing all of the equipment that I wish I had.

Through my work I have been able to take note of how important funding can be when related to outdoor recreation programming. Without the proper funding outdoor recreation can still exist, but I believe that the quality of our outdoor pursuits will benefit greatly from the expenditures that we have been able to obtain through our grant funds. It allows us to visit various state parks, provide additional assets to the camp as a whole, as well as enhance the learning of the children that will participate in our camping and nature program.

While my position is definitely outdoor recreation based I have also gotten a glimpse of what it is like to be part of the non profit recreation sector. After finding out that our organization is tax exempt and a non profit religious organization I have been able to take advantage of discounts only available to non profits. In particular I have been purchasing a great deal of equipment from Coleman outdoor gear due to the fact that non profit organizations purchasing gear from Coleman do not have to pay shipping, tax, and also receive and additional discounts on all items. Additional businesses that give discounts to non profit organizations include Cabela’s and Eureka Tents.

Now that my responsibilities with preparing the grant budget are finished we will begin ordering the equipment from the various recreation suppliers. In the mean time I am also beginning to develop programming ideas for daily camp activities. I intend to put all of our purchases to good use by teaching the campers about orienteering, observing wildlife, one match fires, alternative fire starting methods, and other outdoor survival activities. Using the natural environment around us we will also be participate in many different low ropes and teambuilding activities, hiking and camping, and emergency shelter construction.

Below I have attached a link to the Coleman Non Profit Site:
http://www.coleman.com/nonprofit

Below I have attached a link to a website that sells embroidered camping gear such as backpacks, water bottles, carabineers, and other outdoor products:
http://www.generalscampgear.com/

Senior Internship Post #1

On May 1st I began my senior internship with Camp Young Judea West. From now until June 4th I will be working to develop a camping and nature program for the camp which is located on the Pacific coast in Ocean Park, Washington. In its five years of existence, the camp has never previously had an off site camping program or a developed environmental education program. Recently Camp Young Judea West received a grant that will help them to develop such a program, and it is part of my responsibility before camp begins to allocate such funds and plan for implementation.

Transitioning from school to my senior internship began very rough. While trying to balance finals, my job, and my new internship it was very hard for me to keep on top of all of my work. Now that the semester has slowed down and the end of classes is near I am having a much easier time multitasking between my responsibilities. In addition my job as a religious school teacher and youth group adviser has now ended for the year, and I have had much more time to ensure that I am able to dedicate all of my free time to working on my internship. This is very important because of how vital advanced planning will be for this sort of work.

This transition has been somewhat what I expected, and I am enjoying being able to finally put the information I learned in class to work in a real life situation. My classes in program planning and outdoor pursuits have prepared me for the work that I am doing before camp with budgeting and planning outdoor pursuits education. I have also been involved with many different summer camps over the years and I am well prepared for what lies ahead of me in the next twelve weeks.

So far I have begin putting together a budget that will encompass a number of trips to nearby state and national parks, as well as outdoor education programming. When I finish I will send this to my internship supervisor for her opinion and approval. I have also done a location analysis on the nearby state and national parks to get an idea of the various natural resources in the area along the coast of Oregon and Washington.

Listed below is the link to our camps website
www.cyjwest.org

Listed below is a link to my location analysis through Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117952324210243571429.0004696de9f3ee0dc362f&z=6

Joshua Sweet
Camp Young Judea West Teva Director
Vice President of the Parks and Recreation Student Association
(402) 651 0160
Joshua.Sweet@asu.edu