Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo - (Page 18)

Into the Woods: Lessons Learned from Girl Scouting by Julia Calagiovanni In the end, we conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We understand only what we are taught. —Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist Fifty girls circle a flagpole. It is a summer morning, and we squint against the sun. An honor guard hoists an American flag onto the flagpole, followed by a smaller flag with the Girl Scout trefoil. We recite the Girl Scout Promise and Law in a sing-song round. Use resources wisely, make the world a better place… For the past nine summers, I have boarded a bus and traveled to Camp Hoover, a Girl Scout camp in Upstate New York. It has everything you’d expect at a summer camp: kickball, swimming, macramé. But I found something else there, amid the tents and canoes and fire circles, that I didn’t expect. It was the place where I first understood that the environment is fragile. At Camp Hoover, Girl Scouts spend much of their time boating on and swimming in Song Lake. I had left suburbia, where my grandmother and I had to walk farther and farther to pick wildflowers because new housing developments were crowding out the wild spaces. Camp was just a 30-minute bus ride away, but it was another world: a place where nature was enjoyed and preserved. An Environmental Conscience Most girls who attend Camp Hoover come from suburban neighborhoods. Suburban living places us at a comfortable distance from environmental issues; we are insulated from the damaging effects our lifestyle has on the environment. Too many children grow up dependent on technology and its comforts but unaware of the environmental costs. Gasoline is a magical substance that flows freely from a pump, apples are always shiny and bug-free, and trash disappears weekly. They learn, later, that many conveniences have environmental costs, but they’re not sure how to live without them. Camp is a kind of “outside” they’ve never seen before. Some are surprised to learn that you can swim in a lake or roast marshmallows over a fire. They aren’t used to tramping over dirt paths in the woods or using latrines. In this new environment, they needed to learn different rules. As a program aide, or junior counselor, I had to set an example for the campers. I was careful not to step on vegetation or pick absentmindedly at the grass. I tried to explain my actions, but I too had some learning to do. How could I communicate what I knew about preserving the environment to eight-year-olds who were experiencing it for the first time? The trick was to teach as the opportunities arose. One day, one of our lifeguards pointed out a water snake in the lake we swim in. She ordered everyone out of the water and explained that we were disturbing “Salvador’s” home, that we needed to respect his right to swim through the water. That simple example helped March/April 2008 18 imagine

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

Imagine Magazine - March/April 2008 Contents Letters Big Problems Big Picture In My Own Words Putting E-Waste in Its Place Big Juice Making Waves What Does "Green" Mean? Into the Woods Swimming with Whale Sharks Crash Course in Costa Rica Selected Opportunities & Resources Hooked on Logistics Off the Shelf Word Wise Middle Ground One Step Ahead Exploring Career Options Planning Ahead for College Students Review Creative Minds Imagine Sudoku Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

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