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Conservation Camp for Kids
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Camp is a typical rite of summer for many U.S. kids, but there’s one unique getaway that focuses on something more than canoeing and crafts. Reed Galin reports about how experiences at conservation camp will last longer than just a few days. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Near Fort Myers, FL)Mealtime at this summer camp is about more than what you eat; it’s about what you don’t eat, too.
Martha Pierce, Camp Director, Riverside Retreat: “Oh, my. Oh, my.”
Every bite of leftover food is counted.
Nathan Rueb, Camper: “When we first started out, I was like ‘Whoa, 25 pounds?’”
The idea is to build awareness about how much goes to waste at an average meal.
Megan Bowen, Camper: “It’s kind of insane how much we really just take for granted and just throw out.”
Jah’nae Dunlap, Camper: “People shouldn’t waste food because prices at the store are just getting higher and higher.”
Martha Pierce, Camp Director, Riverside Retreat: “It’s down to five pounds.” (Kids cheer)
Twice a year, the United Methodist Church’s Riverside Retreat in Florida holds camps with a special emphasis on conservation and getting closer to nature.
Martha Pierce, Camp Director, Riverside Retreat: “And they used to use the leaves as an insect repellant.”
Rachel Tennyson: “I hate mosquitoes.”
Campers reuse plastic bottles throughout the week.
Jesse Norman, Camper: “So we’re not, like, polluting the environment.”
They can plant cypress trees along the Caloosahatchee River, or look for string ferns along a nature trail on the camp’s 150 acres.
Martha Pierce, Camp Director, Riverside Retreat: “This plant only grows in areas where the atmosphere is clear and clean.”
Stephen Foster, Camper: “I live in the city, so it’s not too much you get to see. So I’m glad to be out here.”
Mary Hucker, Camper: “With the computer and cell phones and everything, definitely kids my age don’t get out and get to enjoy the stuff that goes on out here. And, it’s a shame.”
Camp director and naturalist Martha Pierce started the program three years ago, because she believes many of today’s youth have a “nature deficit.”
Martha Pierce, Camp Director, Riverside Retreat: “If we continue not to care because we’re too selfish, our grandkids won’t have this. And we will have robbed them of the most precious thing we have.”
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The Conservation Camp is offered twice a year. Martha has had some kids come back and bring their own water bottles, a sure sign the message is getting through.
For more details about Riverside Retreat, call 1-866-862-2677 option #4.