TEACHING CHILDREN THE SCIENCE OF LOOKING IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD: SEA CAMP SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS 2012

SEA CAMP 2012, SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS. Standing in Graham’s Harbour, the students and facilitators of the fifth annual Sea Camp stand in the shallow waters where they have the explored the sea grass beds.(photo taken from the BREEF Facebook page)

Hallelujah for this BEAUTIFUL EARTH and our CONNECTION to it! Some of us here in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, practice looking up at the sky when we exit a building because we want to see the clouds above shifting and changing shapes. We might even check to feel which way the wind is blowing and where the sun is in relation to the horizon. In our urban setting, we long to maintain our relationship with NATURE. It is this relationship to NATURE that makes us feel whole and healthy. How are children today forging their own CONNECTIONS with the GREAT and WONDEROUS NATURAL WORLD?

On the island of San Salvador, the farthest island on the Bahamian platform, the children are fostering their CONNECTION to NATURE by looking in their own backyard abundant with coral reefs and mangroves! Guided by their instructors and facilitators of San Salvador SEA CAMP 2012, these Sea Campers engage with their NATURAL ENVIRONMENT up close with hands on experience supported by classroom activities.

On the last day of July, I had the good fortune of hosting and interviewing my good friend Sandy Voegeli, one of the founders of San Salvador SEA CAMP, on her way back from the Bahamas to her home in Carmel Valley, California. She had just completed the fifth successful SEA CAMP at San Salvador.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH:  SEA CAMP takes place on the island of San Salvador, Bahamas, every July for one week. Please tell me in your own words what it is.

SANDY VOEGELI: SEA CAMP is a wonderful week-long day camp with San Salvador kids ages 8 to 13. It is a collaboration between Bahamian Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), San Salvador Living Jewels, and Gerace Research Centre.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: What do they learn there?

SANDY VOEGELI We teach them swimming and snorkeling skills along with marine conservation.

SNORKELING GEAR. Donning snorkel, mask, and vest, Sea Campers take a close look at sea life and identify what they find. (photo taken from the BREEF Facebook page)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Can you give me the story of how SEA CAMP came to be?

SANDY VOEGELI: The first SEA CAMP came to be after noticing that many local children could not swim or snorkel, which is not only a safety issue, but also a lack of familiarity with their own backyard environment. You can read about astronauts but never experience space. These children were surrounded by coral reefs and continued to only read about them in the classroom. The experiential learning readily available was not happening.

SAN SALVADOR CHILDREN INVESTIGATING THEIR OWN BACKYARD.  During the week-long SEA CAMP, children learn to appreciate flora and fauna that is literally in their own backyards. Here they are exploring the mangrove ecosystem and learning about its importance to the overall health of their environment. (photo taken by Sandy Voegeli)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: What is your relationship with the people of San Salvador?

SANDY VOEGELI: I had the unique opportunity to live on Sal Sal for eight years and consider it my second home. It gave me the opportunity to create life-long relationships there. My husband Vince was the director of the Gerace Research Centre, and our two children, Hans and Elyse, attended San Sal schools, providing us with even more connections. We slowly became a part of the local fabric.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: What did you learn about the children’s education that caused you to understand the need for science conservation studies?

SANDY VOEGELI: Few children knew of the amazing treasures found in their backyard that tourists and scientists travel miles and miles year after year to enjoy and study. Often what happens, is when there is a lack of knowledge, there is also a lack of appreciation and ownership much needed for stewardship.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: On your part, was there also a sense of urgency about protecting the environment of San Salvador that could be addressed by establishing the SEA CAMP?

SANDY VOEGELI: Yes. Witnessing the decline of these amazing resources concerned me greatly. For example, I watched a noticeable decline in the coral reef ecosystem, such as both fewer and smaller populations of grouper, conch, and lobster. These marine resources are vital to the San Sal economy because of the tourists they bring to the island. Without tourists, the local economy would be devastated. Clearly, these San Sal marine resources need to be managed for sustainability. The children are the future.

FUTURE CARETAKERS OF SAN SALVADOR'S LIVING JEWELS. San Salvador children see their world in a different way at SEA CAMP. They learn to snorkel and identify sea stars, fish, and coral that is in the water right along the major island road they use every day.(photo taken from the BREEF Facebook page)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: So based on understanding the educational needs of the San Salvador children, what was done specifically to make SEA CAMP happen?

SANDY VOEGELI: In 2007, San Salvador Living Jewels began pursing the idea of a science camp for local kids and obtained grant money from The Nature Conservancy, BREEF, San Salvador Living Jewels, and the Bahamas Education Culture and Science (BECS) Foundation. 


In 2008, the first SEA CAMP was offered to 38 lucky, local kids who were given a chance to learn swimming and snorkeling skills and to become familiar with their local environment. BREEF provided snorkeling gear and Bahamian expertise with onsite educators. Then Gerace Research Centre supported the local San Salvador community by providing trucks, food, and classrooms. For many San Salvadoran children it was their first time to ride on the big blue trucks that they had only seen college kids riding around the island on for years but never been on themselves.

THE BLUE FIELD STATION TRUCKS.  Children enrolled in SEA CAMP on the island of San Salvador are transported to their outdoor classrooms on their island by the Gerace Research Centre's blue trucks. (photo taken by Sandy Voegeli)

GERACE RESEARCH CENTRE CONFERENCE ROOM. San Salvador children learn many things during their week-long SEA CAMP program. Here, Dr. Thomas Rothfus,  the Centre's executive director, lectures on the history of the GRC. (photo taken from the BREEF Facebook page)

INTEGRATING MAPS OF HOME WITH FLORA AND FAUNA. This photo shows two kinds of maps that San Salvador Sea Campers worked with.MAPS OF SAN SALVADOR. Behind the facilitator is a wall of maps of the island of San Salvador. An activity during the sea camp was to take maps of San Salvador, identify the special habitats and what lives there, and cut out pictures representing them. San Salvador’s Living Jewels Foundation (SSLJ), a legal Bahamian non-profit grass-roots organization, is promoting the establishment of a national land and sea park to protect these special areas identified on the maps. This exercise helps the children get familiar with the wildlife living in their own backyard. For some of the children, it was the first time to look at a map of where they live on San Salvador and understanding the nature that surrounds them.

MAP FROM "THE MISADVENTURE OF MARIA THE HUTIA."  The map on the table, which the Sea Campers are coloring, is a special map of the Bahamas because it is an enlargement of the illustration from a book written about their island habitat and with the intention that they would read it to become better informed about it. Ron Shaklee, the author of this book about a lost hutia, is a geography professor who has been doing research and taking college students to San Salvador for close to 30 years. The illustrations, including this map, were done by yours truly--Hallelujah Truth, aka Ruth Schowalter. (photo taken by Sandy Voegeli)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Here it is the end of July 2012, and you just completed the 5^th  San Sal SEA CAMP. What has the outcome been?

SANDY VOEGELI: Overwhelming success. Many campers have returned each year. Two of our facilitators this year had participated in previous SEA CAMPS. Many past Sea Campers now have strong snorkeling skills and increased knowledge about San Salvador’s treasures, such as sea birds, iguanas, sea grass, mangroves and coral reefs. Our SEA CAMP has been so well received we turn kids away from enrollment in SEA CAMP each year. In addition, many campers have asked us to increase the SEA CAMP to two weeks because it is the highlight of their summer. And very excitingly, the word about science education is out, and many children from other islands want to participate in the San Sal SEA CAMP. In fact, we have had children from other islands participate already. We need one facilitator per four campers for water activities as required by the Ministry of Education. Each facilitator, who comes from abroad, donates their time and transportation costs. At the first SEA CAMP in 2008, we had all non-local facilitators, so it was pretty amazing to have two San Sal kids facilitate this year (2012.)

TWO YOUTHFUL FACILITATORS. Meghan Goffe and Tara Condon, back row, right to left, facilitated the camper group named the “Sharks.” Meghan participated in the first SEA CAMP in 2008. Tara has been a facilitator four years in a row, saving money each year to pay her way to the camp from Montana. (photo taken from the BREEF Facebook page)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: What creative ways have you found to convey accurate science information and make it fun?

SANDY VOEGELI: By using art, music, photography, acting, and film, we’ve engaged the children’s imaginations to express accurate science information about the environment in their backyard, and the importance of conserving it!

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Thanks Sandy! In another interview, I would like you to tell me more in-depth about the creative techniques you used in San Salvador's SEA CAMP classroom. That's Coffee with Hallelujah!

SANDY VOEGELI PHOTOGRAPHING A HAWKSBILL SEA TURTLE AT SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS (photo by Clare Cottreau)

ABOUT SANDY VOEGELI. Sandy is a divemaster, photographer, and teacher. Sharing the incredible underwater world through her photography, she has sold numerous cards of her work, shown her photos in exhibits in Georgia and Montana, and had her photos published on numerous publication covers. In January 2012, two of her images appeared in the new Bahamain marine stamp series. Her photos taken from around San Salvador provided inspiration to me Hallleluah Truth (aka Ruth Schowalter) for the illustrations I made for educational children's book by Ron Shaklee, The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia. Sandy enjoys sharing information with others through teaching, whether it be math, yoga, marine conservation, or photography. She recently moved to Carmel Valley in California with her husband Vince, and son Hans. Her daughter Elyse is currently studying through Tufts at the University of Ghana in Africa.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH (aka Ruth Schowalter) and SANDY VOEGELI 2012. Sandy Voegeli and I had the good fortune to visit in Atlanta following two important events. On Friday, July 27th, Ron Shaklee and I published the children's book, The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia on Amazon.com. Sandy concluded the fifth annual Sea Camp on San Salvador. She is the one responsible for getting Ron and me together to collaborate on an educational children's book that could be used in the classroom to teach conservation. Photo by Chiboogamoo

OTHER BLOGS RELATED TO SAN SALVADOR, EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH, AND MAKING ILLUSTRATIONS FOR THE MISADVENTURES OF MARIA THE HUTIA

January 10, 2012

BAHAMIAN MASTER WOOD CARVER: KENNY WHITFIELD OF SAN SALVADOR 


April 1, 2012

PALEONTOLOGIST BARBIE WILLINGLY SACRIFICES HER WINTER HOLIDAY TO DEEPEN EMORY STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPTS OF UNIFORMITARIANISM ON SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS AT GERACE FIELD STATION 

April 27, 2012:

COMING HOME AFTER JOURNEYING: THE LEARNING LIFE SPIRAL OF AN ILLUSTRATOR OF THE BAHAMIAN HUTIA 


June 13, 2012: 
UPON FINISHING A SOUL TASK: WHO AM I NOW AFTER ILLUSTRATING THE (MIS)ADVENTURES OF MARIA THE HUTIA?

June 22, 2012: 

ENLARGING ONE'S BEING THROUGH THE ACT OF CREATING: THE MAP OF MARIA THE HUTIA'S MISADVENTURE 

July 29, 2012: 

JOYFUL ACCUMULATION OF 15 MINUTES OF CREATIVITY EVERY DAY: THE PUBLISHING OF MARIA THE HUTIA!