2021 summer camp week 1

July 5 - 9: Earth, Body, Community

The first week of summer camp started with immense excitement and gratitude. We were thrilled but equally nervous to kick off the summer camp for this year especially because of everything that happened last year. It felt different but it felt good to finally welcome back youth into our space after a long break. 

What the daily routine looked like?
Each day of the camp began with a morning circle of introductions, followed by some garden time activity. Then began the meal prep time! This was by far the most enjoyable time of the day for the youth. The feeling of cooking and sharing meals together can't be put into words.  
After lunch and clean-up, the youth spent time with the chickens and relaxed in the garden before leaving for the day.

Some of our garden time activities for this week were:

• Garden tasting tours
• Planting, harvesting, and weighing produce
• Learning about bee ecosystem
• Hand-pouring lavender balms
• Exploring worms
• Making teas and popsicles
• Playing with the chickens

We were honored to welcome Ebony Welborn and Savannah Smith, founders of @sea.potential, as guest educators at camp last Friday! Sea Potential’s mission is to cultivate Black, Indigenous, & People of Color (BIPOC) representation in maritime, in part by fostering youth appreciation and connection to marine ecosystems.

As far as the adults are concerned, we were overwhelmed with emotions to see our young campers bond and have fun together. We learned through the process as this was our first time hosting camps after a long gap. But we sailed through, thanks to our devoted volunteers and staff who showed up day after day.