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Anyone can read a book about ecology or see a film about wild animals. But, today's children are missing contact with the outside world. Children learn more rapidly through natural curiosity, experimentation and discovery, rather than a classroom lecture. That's just part of the benefits that nature and the outdoors impart onto kids. And much of this can be done with guided purposeful hands on play.
The Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition is working to develop an Environmental Literacy Plan for Wisconsin that will address the environmental education needs of Wisconsin's
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pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade schools and will pay special attention to creating more opportunities to get kids outside. The Plan will recommend a comprehensive strategy to ensure every child graduates with the environmental skills and knowledge needed to contribute to a sustainable future.
Many parents believe that children need to spend more time outside in nature. They are looking for summer programs to supplement these state goals. Environmental Summer Camps are just one way parent can do this.
Wisconsin has a strong environmental education foundation already established, with active schools, supporting organizations, and abundant opportunities to get outside in rural and urban settings. The Environmental Literacy Plan will build upon these strengths, and suggest priorities for present and future attention. It will lay out the next steps towards fulfilling on our State's commitment to ensure all people in Wisconsin are environmentally literate.
State Superintendent Evers has formally asked the Coalition to develop the Environmental Literacy Plan for Wisconsin. A Steering Committee meets each month to draft the Plan. The Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition Steering Committee is made up of representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, Wisconsin Environmental Education Foundation, Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Environmental Science Teachers Network, Milwaukee Public Schools, the Green Charter School Network, and the US EPA's Environmental Educationand Training Partnership. The broader Coalition is kept updated on progress, provides input and feedback to guide the plan development, and ultimately, willplay a key role in implementing and evaluating Wisconsin's Environmental Literacy Plan.
Wisconsin's Environmental Literacy Plan will be compliant with the pending national No Child Left Inside (NCLI) legislation. The No Child Left Inside Act requires States develop, implement, and evaluate a State Environmental Literacy Plan in order to be eligible to receive funding associated with the Act. Currently, the bill suggests an appropriation of $100 million to support the State Environmental Literacy Plans. You can learn more about the national NCLI Act and its various provisions and requirements here: www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=948.
Much of the information was supplied by "EE IN WISCONSIN", A guide to Wisconsin's environmental education organizations, programs, materials, and professionals. For more information about Wisconsin's NCLI Coalition, contact Jesse Haney (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
If you are looking for Summer Camp for your children, please see SummerCampAdvice.com a FREE reference. Selecting the right summer camp is so important so be sure to do your homework, it will pay off in the end.
Anyone can read a book about ecology or see a film about wild animals. But, today's children are missing contact with the outside world. Children learn more rapidly through natural curiosity, experimentation and discovery, rather than a classroom lecture. That's just part of the benefits that nature and the outdoors impart onto kids. And much of this can be done with guided purposeful hands on play.
The Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition is working to develop an Environmental Literacy Plan for Wisconsin that will address the environmental education needs of Wisconsin's
permalink=”http://www.swiftnaturecamp.com/blog”>
pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade schools and will pay special attention to creating more opportunities to get kids outside. The Plan will recommend a comprehensive strategy to ensure every child graduates with the environmental skills and knowledge needed to contribute to a sustainable future.
Many parents believe that children need to spend more time outside in nature. They are looking for summer programs to supplement these state goals. Environmental Summer Camps are just one way parent can do this.
Wisconsin has a strong environmental education foundation already established, with active schools, supporting organizations, and abundant opportunities to get outside in rural and urban settings. The Environmental Literacy Plan will build upon these strengths, and suggest priorities for present and future attention. It will lay out the next steps towards fulfilling on our State's commitment to ensure all people in Wisconsin are environmentally literate.
State Superintendent Evers has formally asked the Coalition to develop the Environmental Literacy Plan for Wisconsin. A Steering Committee meets each month to draft the Plan. The Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition Steering Committee is made up of representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, Wisconsin Environmental Education Foundation, Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Environmental Science Teachers Network, Milwaukee Public Schools, the Green Charter School Network, and the US EPA's Environmental Educationand Training Partnership. The broader Coalition is kept updated on progress, provides input and feedback to guide the plan development, and ultimately, willplay a key role in implementing and evaluating Wisconsin's Environmental Literacy Plan.
Wisconsin's Environmental Literacy Plan will be compliant with the pending national No Child Left Inside (NCLI) legislation. The No Child Left Inside Act requires States develop, implement, and evaluate a State Environmental Literacy Plan in order to be eligible to receive funding associated with the Act. Currently, the bill suggests an appropriation of $100 million to support the State Environmental Literacy Plans. You can learn more about the national NCLI Act and its various provisions and requirements here: www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=948.
Much of the information was supplied by "EE IN WISCONSIN", A guide to Wisconsin's environmental education organizations, programs, materials, and professionals. For more information about Wisconsin's NCLI Coalition, contact Jesse Haney (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
If you are looking for Summer Camp for your children, please see SummerCampAdvice.com a FREE reference. Selecting the right summer camp is so important so be sure to do your homework, it will pay off in the end.

Hey!


Jacob here, I will be in the Nature Center this summer teaching you all about the big beautiful outdoors.. I like to fish, hunt and play sports. This is my first summer at camp but at school I’m studying youth programming and camp management. I love being outside and making new friends... ( this is my new friend here in the picture :) It is going to be a great summer!

 

Environmental Science Camp was held in early September for the 5th grade class of the Minong and Solen Springs Schools. Over 40 children participated at this event. It has been nearly 20 years since the schools have come out to Swift Nature Camp to have their Science Camp. During the 3 days and 2 nights campers participated in some of
classes just like camp. They had Bart the Wildlife Rescuer come out with his animals as well as the local Fire Department and Cliff the Dog Sled Musher. Additional classes included looking for weevels in the milfoil plus taking out the nest and doing a life cycle of bugs and animals off the fishing dock. Alot of stuff lives there! . One really cool classes offered was a canoe class were kids went out to Picnic Island for a cook out . They even had a guest who did Taxidermy in front of the crowd to a big bass. Each night we had a campfire with all the standard camp songs. it was a great taste of camp life for each of the children , with many of them want to return in the summer... This was much like SNC Camp for First Timers .
Most of you campers knows this furry..not so much guy. Yep it is Apollo the bearded dragon. Some might think he was named after the space program. However, I think it was a Greek God. Currently lives with us but if you would like to adopt him till next summer give us an email and we can work it out. Want to learn more about Apollo...click below
Apollo is depicted as a beardless young man (ephebe). His attributes are the tripod, omphalos, lyre, bow and arrows, laurel, hawk, raven or crow, swan, fawn, roe, snake, mouse, grasshopper, and griffin.
Although often associated with the sun, Apollo was not originally a sun god. In Homer, Apollo is god of prophecy and plagues. He is also a warrior in the 
Trojan War. [Gods in the Iliad shows which side the gods favored.] Elsewhere Apollo is also a god of healing and the arts -- especially music (Apollo taught Orpheus to play the lyre) -- archery, agriculture . His arrows could send plague, as happens in the Iliad Book I.
Summer school, all-year academic school, summer sports programs, and electronic media have become the elements of children’s summer activity in recent years. Children are kept occupied with indoor play activities. The playground has come indoors and narrowed in focus. The flickering light of computer monitors and handheld game screens has replaced sunlight and fresh air.
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Modern times have come to call for change in the way we prepare our children to live life in the world they will inherit. Our kids simply must find a way to reconnect with our natural environment as they grow up. The global effort to restore ecological balance will need aware participants at every level. Environmental awareness always begins with a personal sense of connection to nature.

Parents can bring back awareness of nature to a child’s experience. Summer camp has been around since the 1920’s and is still an effective way to bring back balance to a child’s life. Trained staff members of modern summer camps can guide kids back into an alliance with nature through the pure fun of camp activities. The challenges of summer camp activities are fun rather than stressful, making them even more effective for learning how we are a part of nature.

Most directors of quality modern summer camps have developed policies that encourage camper experience that reconnects the camper to nature without sacrificing the great fun and memorable friendships that are the classic benefits of summer camp. One such policy is simple and sweeping: beginning by not permitting cellular phones, BlackBerries, pagers, radios, iPods, cassette or CD players, laser pens, TVs, Game Boys or digital cameras. Children forget that life is possible without these ubiquitous accessories. Not including them in the camp experience brings children a revelation: they find out that they can actually have fun and enjoy themselves living without those things.

A camp that combines traditional camp activities such as hiking, canoe trips and horseback riding with modern ways for campers to learn about nature will succeed in instilling environmental awareness in campers. Learning is potentially much more effective because it is associated with fun and friendships.

Summer camps have added modern awareness of health and nutrition to the established means of meeting physical needs such as good hygiene, exercise, and teamwork. Modern summer camps can offer a healthy menu that still includes foods that kids enjoy. A salad bar at lunch and dinner that includes a choice of fresh vegetables and salads is an example of this. Vegetarian meals should be made available to campers who have that preference. Fresh fruit can be made available all day for snacks. Nutrition is a part of a modern summer camp’s “green” approach to total wellness that includes providing means to develop of a camper’s positive self esteem, build friendships, and promote having FUN.

When they are discussing a possible choice of a camp with a camp’s directors, parents should ask about the sustainability of that camp’s own day-to-day ecological practices. How do they conserve energy and water and recycle? What is the camp doing to take responsibility for its own environmental footprint?  Learning is a combination of information and participation. If a summer camp’s practices don’t reflect their talk, campers aren't going to absorb important messages about their own relationship with nature. Summer camps are becoming aware of the effects they are having on their immediate environment. Camp directors should be looking at the big picture and showing care for the earth as well as their campers.
As you may have heard, the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (WAEE), in partnership with the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters (WLCV), is advocating for EE by way of a "Wisconsin Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights".....read more what you can do
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This resolution, if passed, will help pave the way for environmental education, clean water, soil and air, and help foster environmental stewardship in today's children. 

Now is a good time to show your support for this effort - here's how:

1. Attend Lobby Day - March 16th, 2011

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters (WLCV) has declared the Wisconsin Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights a legislative priority for 2011-12. You can show your support and speak directly with legislators about this issue at WLCV's Lobby Day on March 16th. For more information and to register for this exciting and empowering day, visit: Lobby Day 2011.

You are also invited to attend:
WAEE's Lobby Day Breakfast 
Immediately preceding WLCV's Lobby Day
9-10am March 16th, 2011
Monona Terrace Room M/Q
Madison

RSVP to WAEE Advocacy Chair, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

There's more you can do:

2. Sign on as a Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights Supporter.

3. Contact Your Legislator to let them know EE is important in Wisconsin and mention the Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights. 

4. Forward this information to your colleagues.


What is the Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights?


Children who have the opportunity to explore, learn and play in Wisconsin's outdoors are more likely to be healthy, to do better in school, to experience improved creativity and concentration, and to discover the rewards of outdoor stewardship. To that end, we believe the children of Wisconsin have the right to experience each of the following (draft) activities during their youth:

 

Every Wisconsin child has the right to:

• Follow a trail, whether by hiking or biking.
• Visit a working farm.
• Eat healthy and sustainable food.
• Splash, swim and play in a clean Wisconsin lake or river.
• Catch and release frogs, fireflies, and insects.
• Tap a maple tree.
• Explore wild places close to home.
• Eat a fish they catch.
• Discover Wisconsin’s diverse wilderness – prairies, forests, wetlands, and beaches.
• Share a hunting experience with a great mentor or teacher.

Why is it important to get involved?

In order to pass this resolution, we need your help! Over a thousand bills and resolutions come across our legislators desks each year but only about 30% are passed. Those that pass do so thanks to people like you. Legislators tell us they are significantly more likely to consider a bill or resolution if they've heard about it from their constituents. 

Is the timing right?

Now is a great time speak up for EE: the Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights is a non-budgetary resolution and may be just what legislators are looking for to stand behind (rather than the politically charged "budget repair" bill). However, in order to be heard above the current turmoil and get legislators' support, it's critical the EE community comes forward to declare "EE in our state is important". 

Questions?

Need more information or want to learn more about how this venture got started and where it can take us? Visit the Wisconsin Children's Outdoor Bill of Rightswebsite or contact us - we're happy to discuss this exciting project with you:

WAEE 
Betsy Parker, Networking & Advocacy Chair
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(608) 209.2909

During our winter stay at camp a local camp neighbor, Delon came by with his snowmobiles and offered to take Forrest and I on a nature tour. It was exciting we had a sunny day with balmy high 20 temps. As we zoomed past Picnic Island ( see video) our first stop was to look for the eagles. They were both their and sitting near the nest. It is about this time that eagles start to lay their eggs. So a good sign that we will see eaglets this summer. From their we went off across the lake and to a snowmobile trail system that covers most of the state of Wisconsin. As we traveled we saw many deer trails cutting through the woods. Often they would cross the snowmobile trail, they seem to like snow that is packed down and easier to walk on. As we looked deep into the woods, we saw deer looking at us being careful not to move so as not to be seen. In all we saw... click to read and see more photos
, over 10 deer in our 20 some mile travels. We even came across a deer rubbing post, a place where deer rub their new velvet antlers. As we watched for tracks we saw many, many, many tracks of wolves. The packs near camp are growing judging by what we saw. The most interesting thing we happened across was a small dead deer. It was fresh and we could not determine how or why it died, must have been illness or starvation. Being that nothing gets wasted in the natural environment, the next day we returned and nearly 1/2 of the deer had been eaten. From what Delon says, he went back 3 days later and nothing was left but a few hunks of hide carried off into the woods. Nature is all around camp yet in winter many animals have left or are hibernating, yet the tracks of the snow make for an excellent way of story telling.
 

Ninety percent of all forest-related fires in Wisconsin are started by humans. Education is a key prevention tool to develop an informed and caring citizenry that will take action to prevent useless fires and who support the use of prescribed burning as a management tool. This was the main point to the lessons recently taught at Swift Nature Camp.
Swift nature Camp invited the Minong and Solen Springs 5th grade classes out for 3 days and 2 nights of Science Camp. it was the last day when students had 2 fire presentations. The first was held by the local DNR, where they spoke how important it was to protect against wild fires and how they put them out. THe second presentation was by the local fire department and how they protect the local residents with their fire equipment. These 2 classes were very informative and kept the kids involved.

 

The U.S. Department of Education has released more details about its new Green Ribbon Schools recognition program. The deadline for nominee submissions is scheduled to be announced in early 2012. The program anticipates recognizing as many as 50 schools by the end of the 2011-12 school year.
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The program, which marks the first time the federal government has launched a comprehensive green schools initiative, will recognize public and private elementary, middle and high schools that save energy, reduce costs, protect health, feature environmentally sustainable learning spaces and offer environmental educational programs to boost academic achievement and community involvement.  

Unlike other environment-related programs impacting schools, the Green Ribbon award will acknowledge high levels of achievement under three areas, rather than one:

1) environmental impact and energy efficiency;

2) healthy environment; and 3) environmental literacy.  

Congressman Sarbanes, sponsor of the No Child Left Inside Act, praised the new program. "Robust environmental education will prepare students to be 21st Century innovators – developing technologies that are crucial to the future health of the environment and the American economy," Sarbanes added. “I am thrilled that the Department of Education has brought this new focus to environmental education.” To read the Congressman’s full press release, click here

Don Baugh, Executive Director of the No Child Left Inside Coalition also lauded the program as a step in the right direction. “Recognizing schools for their environmental education achievements is an important part of the effort to advance the environmental literacy of our youth,” said Baugh. “Equally important is ensuring that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides support for schools to provide the high quality environmental education needed to prepare our students for college and the jobs of the future. We commend Secretary Duncan and Congressman Sarbanes for their leadership on this critical issue.”

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Winter

25 Baybrook Ln.

Oak Brook, IL 60523

Phone: 630-654-8036

swiftcamp@aol.com

Camp

W7471 Ernie Swift Rd.

Minong, WI 54859

Phone: 715-466-5666

swiftcamp@aol.com