July 16, 2009 -- Walking through the wooded areas on Fort Campbell isn't anything new for many of the Soldiers here, but for some of their children it is. Twenty-five children are Earth Keepers taking part in Green Camp.
"They are out here and they get to learn," said Dawn York, a watershed ecologist with the environmental division. "They saw a ring neck snake and they're not running. When we first got here one of the young ladies said, 'If I see a snake, I'm running.' She's not running."
Before they started their morning nature walk on July 14, Peggy Luensmann, biologist, talked to the children about making sure to watch out for poison ivy. It didn't take long after her arrival at the camp for her to find some. She put on gloves and picked it so she could show the children just what they would need to look for.
"Leaves of three, leave it be," said Luensmann, as the children got into a single file line to get a better look at the poison ivy without touching it.
Luensmann and York stopped the children several times throughout the walk to talk about what they were seeing. At one stop to discuss the plant growth in the area, the children discovered the ring neck snake. Luensmann picked up the tiny snake to give the children a better look and to talk more about the snake.
"Kids like animals so we focus on animals," said York. "If we can focus on taking care of the animals, then we also take care of ourselves because we are an animal. That's what it's all about."
Green Camp, which started July 11, and ends July 17, is meant to teach the children how to better care for the environment around them. The children earned the importance of recycling and ways to preserve natural resources.
"They're the future," said York. "They're going to inherit the earth and then their children will. We have to have a place for the future generations so they have to learn to take care of it."
The children aren't the only ones learning more about the world around them.
"Dawn is very knowledgeable," said Jon Miller, camp counselor and a specialist in 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. "There's a lot of information. There's a lot of stuff I didn't even know."
Miller and other Soldiers from various units at Fort Campbell volunteered as camp counselors. Miller was a camp counselor in high school and college. He enjoys working with children and feels it helps for the children to have Soldiers as their counselors.
"A lot of them probably have one parent deployed," said Miller. "They miss out on some of that adult contact I think. [The counselors] work well together to help out the kids and we can understand some of what their emotional issues might be with a deployed parent."
Various organizations across the installation came together to make Green Camp possible. Shirley West, Armed Services YMCA Fort Campbell director, explained the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade supplied the food service support and each of the brigades provided Soldiers for counselors. She also noted those who work at Camp Hinsch and various departments within Fort Campbell's environmental division and more.
The camp was free to the children and everything was paid for by the ASYMCA. York put together the curriculum for the camp based on the Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program. She credits West, Beth Moore and everyone else a great deal for helping with the camp.
The children enjoyed everything the camp had in store for them.
"We went to the Adventure Science Center," said Ellie Hansen, 10. "We got to pet stingrays and we ate at the Aquarium. It was really fun. The trips that we are doing are cool, plus it's just like an adventure all the time."
"Green Camp is awesome," said Michaela Jackson, 9. "I want to come back next year. I like the challenges and the places we go."
Social Sharing