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In 1969 a Summer Music Concert was created in was called Woodstock. Joe Cocker was there! Today, many years later he is creating Rock for Nature a concert that promotes biodiversity in nature and in our farms.
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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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.
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.
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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.
permalink=”http://www.swiftnaturecamp.com/blog”>
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.
If you were at Swift a few summers back Lexie was there enjoying a more natural way of life. She even won the Ernie Swift Environmental Award for her caringness to animals. We are sorry to see her leave Americas Next Top model. Read what she has to say...
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Here is what Lexie had to say in her home town paper
"I totally saw it coming. It wasn't undeserved."
That's what Lexie Tomchek had to say after she was eliminated from competition in Week 5 of America's Next Top Model which aired last Wednesday. The Top Model hopefuls have been coached, received makeovers, and been photographed by some of the industry's most prestigious photographers in some of the most unusual settings—on a beach suspended in the air wearing bird costumes; on a moving conveyor belt while trying to strut, but mostly stumbling; and in a wrestling ring with masked hunky wrestlers playing a dominatrix, among a few other things.
But while the wild ride on reality TV is over, Lexie is looking forward to starting her career as a model. And she might just have a slight edge with a portfolio filled with professional photos from her TV days.
So, did she think she'd get this far along in the competition?
"I think once I got through casting week and into the house, everyone gets into the mindset that, wow, I can really win this thing," she said. "You kinda convince yourself that you're going to win."
She admits she had hoped to get a bit further on the show than she did, but said she's not disappointed.
"I think I made my mark," she said. "I'm happy with that."
Lexie showed a little moxie by getting into arguments with her nemesis Kacey, who remains in the competition, and by pulling a prank on the group by planting a note with silly makeovers for the girls as if that's what the show had planned.
But she said was happy with the way she came across, since some of the girls get little air time.
"I like the way I was edited and shown," Lexie said. "Pretty memorable, which was nice. It's better than going through the whole experience and never seeing yourself."
Regarding Kacey, Lexie said the one thing she regrets is talking so much about her.
"It seems as if I was obsessed with her, and I'm not," she said. "I'm apathetic towards her, I don't care, I don't get it. I don't know why she's still there."
Lexie said one of the most interesting things about her experience was being able to learn about the industry, both modeling and reality TV.
"I learned a lot about myself, like where my limits are," she said. "I've never lived in a house with 14 girls with strong personalities. I went from being someone whose life was drama-free to someone who gets in fights.
"It's not really me, so I was surprised that I was portrayed that way."
She said she was proud of herself at the good fortune to have been on the show.
"I don't regret anything. I'm happy I was a part of it, and I'm very grateful," she said. "I realize how many people would kill to be in my position.
"I think back on all the thousands of people who auditioned and then I was one of the 14 in the house."
So, does she hear from Tyra Banks, the show's host?
"Oh, yeah, Tyra and I talk all the time," she joked. "I Tweet at her sometimes and she never Tweets back, so thank you, Tyra!"
Lexie said she planned to hit the pavement this week "agency shopping" in Chicago. She said she plans to stay here for at least a year and then see where things go.
Top Reasons for Summer Camp
My son, currently 15, has attended Swift Nature Camp for four years and we are going to send him back for as long as we can. He loves it. Although, he has ADHD and is very smart, but has trouble at school with attention-seeking ploys.
The counselors and directors at SNC have a great, hands-on approach to leadership, social skills development and confidence-building......read on http://www.swiftnaturecamp.com/blog
Top Reasons for Camp
My son, currently 15, has attended Swift Nature Camp for four years and we are going to send him back for as long as we can. He loves it. He has ADHD and is very smart, but has trouble at school with attention-seeking ploys.
The counselors and directors at SNC have a great, hands-on approach to leadership, social skills development and confidence-building.
Jeff and Lonnie, along with enthusiastic counselors, provide an excellent atmosphere that encourages positive traits to rise to the surface. My son has developed greater peer understanding and empathy, greater self-confidence and trust, better leadership skills, an understanding of group dynamics and fair process and many other valuable lifelong skills.
At first I felt nervous sending him to a place I had never seen, but it was really worth it! I talked to Jeff and Lonnie over the phone before I signed him up for the Discovery Camp . A special program for the First time at Camp
Their willingness to discuss any question I had and their understanding of my fears made the decision easy. My son took the bus there, but I picked him up at the end, so I got to see first-hand all of the wonderful places he got to explore.
He was so excited about camp that I'm not sure he drew breath on the 8-hour journey home!
The SNC website tells you everything you need to know and I love how the camp is set up. The cabins are by gender and age and do activities together, including laundry (!)
In the afternoons the campers can pick from a variety of typical camp activities (arts & crafts, archery, swimming, etc.).
n top of this, the camp is dedicated to environmental awareness and nature preservation. They have a nature center with microscopes and frogs and tadpoles and lots of hands on activities. There is also a small petting zoo of well-adored animals.
Of course there is plenty of laughter, games, campfires, food, sports, fun, drama, singing, etc. that makes overnight (residential) camp an experience one remembers for their entire life.
As a parent, I appreciate that this isn't a "sports camp" or "math camp" or something ultra specific. Kids at SNC get to be kids and by experiencing all sorts of different activities and a diverse set of campers and counselors, learn more about themselves than at a specialized camp.
My son has learned so much from this camp in the four years he has been attending. We have noticed a HUGE difference in his attitude, manners and abilities. He is more mature, pleasant and competent. We would pay any price for the experiences and social education he has gained from SNC.
We used to joke that you can find math, reading, or science tutors but no tutors in social skills. Well we were wrong! This is exactly what my son needed at exactly the right time in his life.
If you are thinking about away-camp for your child, please consider SNC. Primarily I think of it as a non-competitive, confidence-building camp where kids get to be kids. I know it is the best thing we ever did for our son.
Thanks Jeff, Lonnie and all the fabulous counselors, cooks, nurses, etc. We hope our son will join your camp as a counselor when he is older (it is a new goal of his)!
You can also find more information on how to pick a summer camp at this website FINDING a CAMP
When a child goes off to camp for the first time, your courageous camper grows but so does everyone else in the family. At Swift Nature Camp we widen their horizons, help them make new and lasting friends, and discover new skills. Camp is so much more than just daycare. and you wouldn’t be considering camp if you didn’t think it would add to your child’s growth and development. Although camp can help your child learn to be a better swimmer, acquire a better canoe stoke, or learn pottery, the real benefit of camp will be when your child returns home and you see the increase in self-reliance and self-confidence. This is what camp is all about! It is so much more than fun and activities. What a gift!
Even though you know all the social and emotional benefits that a quality camp experience can give your child, don’t be surprised that you have mixed feelings about giving up your child for a few weeks. Most parents do! After all, nothing takes more trust than giving your child over to the care of other adults. Finding this trust, letting your child see that trust and letting your child go off on his or her own adventure with your blessing takes courage! It is also why we believe you too will grow from the experience of camp! It is only a stepping stone to your child leaving for college.