Published: May 19, 2008 05:44 pm            

Outdoor education program touts environmental awareness

AVON, Ind. — Jameson Camp’s goal is no longer just to give youth with social and emotional handicaps a positive and fun summer experience. It’s now also to help develop them into stewards for the environment.

That’s Chris McConnell’s hope. He joined the staff of the 100-acre camp, in western Marion County, as director of outdoor education. In that regard, his plans for the program include a little of everything, “To get the kids more experienced in the woods — getting them more involved in the environment and helping them realize there is a lot to do out in the woods,” he said.

Most of the children who attend Jameson Camp are inner-city dwellers with little sylvan experience. That’s part of the reason McConnell, who’s been at Jameson since February, has found the position so rewarding.

“It’s given me an opportunity to start something from the ground up,” he said of the outdoor education initiative. “The kids are definitely a different clientele from those I worked with (as a naturalist with the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department). They don’t have as much outdoor experience, and it gives me an opportunity to introduce environmental education to a whole other community.”

Each year the older children, who serve as camp leaders, choose a theme for the summer. This year they picked recycling, calling it “Recycle and Protect to Show Respect,” having been awarded a grant from the United Way’s Youth as Resources. McConnell has been developing a program based on that, the centerpiece being (naturally) a recycling program. He says he wants to extend it beyond the usual materials like glass, aluminum, and plastic to other items like shoes and hazardous wastes, and why they don’t belong in a landfill.

Another of McConnell’s objectives is making such education a year-round hallmark of Jameson Camp.

“My hope is to make it a big part of camp, and in the off-season make it a huge part — seeing two or three school groups, even five, a week, as well as scout and home school groups, and really make this a destination for environmental learning,” he said.

McConnell is already garnering an enthusiastic response from area teachers — both those who’ve visited and others he’s met with.

“They’re excited about the opportunities we have to offer,” McConnell said. “We’re looking to give school systems one more opportunity to increase their learning about the environment by coming here.”

Jameson Camp has earned a solid reputation among Marion County schools.

“They know if they have a child that needs extra support, they’re going to look toward us,” said Program Director Tim Nowak. “We’re looking to increase that awareness.”

Primarily their reach is central Indiana, but word has spread to other corners of the state. About half their camp population has been to Jameson before.

“There’s a good handful of kids who keep coming back year after year from areas such as northwest Indiana, even an hour or two away, because they know we’re good at what we do,” Nowak said.

Applications from both campers (ages 7-17) and staff volunteers are still being accepted. College students majoring in psychology, social work, and education are encouraged to apply. For more information, call 241-2661 or visit the website at www.jamesoncamp.org.





Wade Coggeshall writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.

        

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