A Summer Camp for Nature Freaks and Much More

The summer program and workshops take place in a garden filled with fruit trees, herbs, and plants, which are home to all sort of little critters. Compost piles and worm bins offer hands-on learning how to easily avoid organic trash in our landfills. According to EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), organic waste represents about two thirds of our municipal solid waste (or short, garbage). The major part of the organic waste consists of food scraps (14%), yard waste (14%), and paper and paperboard products (29%). Besides the issue of bad odor and unsanitary nature of food scraps, another negative result is the production of the greenhouse gas methane during decomposing. Unlike composting, this process is anaerobic (takes place with little to no oxygen present) accounting for an at least estimated 20% of methane release caused by humans.

http://thegreenhousehawaii.com/thegreenhouse.html

In their first week of the Eco Explorer Camp the kids learned about all different sorts of creatures they found in the garden. While looking for Monarch Butterfly eggs, observing caterpillars on crown flower leaves, looking for chrysalis and watching butterflies sucking nectar, they got up close to pollination and metamorphosis. And I mean really close as they got the chance to watch the process of pupating - they got to bring home a caterpillar (with food supply and care instructions) to watch the whole transformation. They weeded and planted their own tomatoes, kale, sunflower, etc.

Part of every day’s routine was looking after the already mentioned worm bins. Paper was ripped into small pieces, egg shells crushed, small wood pieces, garden clippings, and food scraps collected. They harvested and tasted something homegrown on a daily basis like sugar cane, papayas, bananas, tomatoes, honey. From the leaves of the holy basil leaves and blossom they brewed their own delicious Tulsi tea. It is rich in antioxidants and supports the body’s defense system. Harvesting different things with their own hands is the perfect opportunity to get kids into trying new healthy food.

In arts and crafts, they learned how to reuse crayons, separating the wax part from the peel. Out of the colorful wax sticks they molded new shapes like “crayon cookies” and the different colors of the peels are going to be used as dye for paper making process.

All this happened in just one week and the kids, though pleasantly exhausted every day, are already looking forward to what they will explore next. More topics to be covered will be renewable energy, how to build a solar oven, paper making, and much more. All in all, it is a great program, which I really recommend for getting kids into nature.

http://lamoana.hubpages.com/hub/Getting-Small-Kids-into-E...