By Henry DiRocco One of the most enjoyable summer vacations I have ever had included being part of a Forestry Institute for Teachers summer camp. To introduce myself, I am Henry DiRocco, currently an interpretive naturalist, trainer, vegetative manager, and a Reserve Park Ranger for Orange County Parks. I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in the 2011 Camp McCumber FIT session, located in the Lassen National Forest, just outside of Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. Not only was the Forestry Institute summer camp a whole bunch of fun and excitement, but it was probably also one of the most valuable opportunities for professional development I think I have ever attended. FIT, as it is called, is all about helping educators understand how our California forest ecology works and how forest science and knowledge can be integrated into a wide variety of educational curriculum. Think of it as a weeklong outdoor science camp for adults, and attendance is free! FIT is sponsored by a number of organizations, including The Forest Foundation, The Society of American Foresters, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the US Forest Service, and the University of California Cooperative Extension. Teachers chosen to participate receive all of their lodging, meals, on-site tour and instruction at no cost, which includes enough take-away materials, books and handouts to stuff a suitcase. Participants only have to arrange for travel to and from the camps and the organization picks up all of the rest of the costs. For those desiring continuing education credits, that is also available through the UCCE program. Participation is open to educators of all different types and kinds. I consider myself to be a non-traditional educator. Back when I attended, I was working as a volunteer Docent Naturalist at a nature conservancy in southern California, providing wilderness activities to a wide spectrum of public program attendees. Others at my camp were traditional teachers from public and private schools, ranging from Kindergarten through high school. Hopeful FIT campers must submit an application form, and camp acceptances are given in plenty of time to plan your summer. While being at a FIT summer camps is in hot demand, there are often cancellations, and those on waiting lists often have last minute chances to attend. In addition to learning about forests and forest ecology, a wide variety of other environmental sciences are presented. Curriculum from popular environmental programs such as Project Learning Tree, Project WET, and Project WILD are presented. Campers also are given the chance to make up their own minds on critical issues and concepts. Numerous guest presenters provide unedited perspectives dealing with forest ecology. The campers are able to decide for themselves how they feel about different forest issues and how they could present them back in their own workplaces. And while the camp content is geared around forest ecology, it was surprising how much of what we experienced was easily able to be translated to my urban Southern California activities. Of course, no summer camp would be complete without great chances to relax and socialize, and FIT is no different. There are nighttime campfires, sing-alongs, as well as opportunities to take side-trips into the local area. At Camp McCumber, which sat on a forested lake, an afternoon canoeing session gave us a chance to see osprey and bald eagles fishing and flying about the treetops. The 2014 schedule for the four FIT camps run during the last two weeks of June and the first few weeks of July. Applications are still being accepted. Camps are held in Humboldt, Plumas, Shasta and Tuolumne counties. For further information please explore the FIT website, http://www.forestryinstitute.org. Comments are closed.
|
NAI Region 8Serving Southern California and Clark County, Nevada Post Categories
All
Post Archives
April 2023
|