2008 Woodie Awards
Winter school vacation camp brings students to enjoy outdoors at URI
Chris Curtis
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: News
02/15/08 - As an institution of higher learning, it is expected that the University of Rhode Island deal primarily with students between the ages of 18 and 22. What many may not expect is for the university to have a hand in the education of elementary and middle school children.
The Winter School Vacation Camp at URI's W. Alton Jones Campus teaches 9- to 13-year-old children ecology and outdoor skills in a format designed to be both educational and entertaining.
"We're trying to teach them in a way that they don't realize they're learning," said John Jacques, manager of the Environmental Education Center. "It is their education after all."
Located in West Greenwich, the W. Alton Jones Campus comprises 2,300 acres of forest, fields, ponds and a 75-acre lake. While it offers no traditional classes, the campus is a frequent research site for university students studying the natural sciences and is home to the Environmental Education Center. A regular destination for elementary and middle school field trips, the center seeks to instill in its young visitors an appreciation for the natural world.
"The goal is for them to gain an appreciation for the environment and to make friends, have an outdoor adventure," Jacques said. "Our goal is always to get kids outside to enjoy the environment and learn a little about it and just to have a good time."
Organized by the Environmental Education Center, the camp will run from Feb. 19-22, with campers spending three nights in group cabins and eating at the center's dining hall. Campers are served three meals a day with special events such as a "backwards lunch" and "pirate dinner."
Among the activities offered by the program are snowshoeing, ice skating, a night hike, stargazing and broomball, a hockey-like game played with brooms instead of hockey sticks. While many of the scheduled activities are dependent on favorable weather conditions, the camp also offers enough activities that can continue regardless of weather, including ecology lessons and arts and crafts. The camp schedule is not entirely at the mercy of the elements, Jacques said.
The Environmental Education Center has been offering the program for almost 40 years, and the camp typically attracts between 40 and 70 children. Currently, 60 students have pre-registered for the camp, and registration will remain open until the first day, Feb. 19.
The program is entirely self-sustaining, with no state or university funding. Operational costs are covered by the per-child participation fee, $320 for those registering before Dec. 31, with a $25 increase after Jan. 1.
The Winter School Vacation Camp at URI's W. Alton Jones Campus teaches 9- to 13-year-old children ecology and outdoor skills in a format designed to be both educational and entertaining.
"We're trying to teach them in a way that they don't realize they're learning," said John Jacques, manager of the Environmental Education Center. "It is their education after all."
Located in West Greenwich, the W. Alton Jones Campus comprises 2,300 acres of forest, fields, ponds and a 75-acre lake. While it offers no traditional classes, the campus is a frequent research site for university students studying the natural sciences and is home to the Environmental Education Center. A regular destination for elementary and middle school field trips, the center seeks to instill in its young visitors an appreciation for the natural world.
"The goal is for them to gain an appreciation for the environment and to make friends, have an outdoor adventure," Jacques said. "Our goal is always to get kids outside to enjoy the environment and learn a little about it and just to have a good time."
Organized by the Environmental Education Center, the camp will run from Feb. 19-22, with campers spending three nights in group cabins and eating at the center's dining hall. Campers are served three meals a day with special events such as a "backwards lunch" and "pirate dinner."
Among the activities offered by the program are snowshoeing, ice skating, a night hike, stargazing and broomball, a hockey-like game played with brooms instead of hockey sticks. While many of the scheduled activities are dependent on favorable weather conditions, the camp also offers enough activities that can continue regardless of weather, including ecology lessons and arts and crafts. The camp schedule is not entirely at the mercy of the elements, Jacques said.
The Environmental Education Center has been offering the program for almost 40 years, and the camp typically attracts between 40 and 70 children. Currently, 60 students have pre-registered for the camp, and registration will remain open until the first day, Feb. 19.
The program is entirely self-sustaining, with no state or university funding. Operational costs are covered by the per-child participation fee, $320 for those registering before Dec. 31, with a $25 increase after Jan. 1.