BEING IN NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA: THE SUPERLATIVE FOR ICHNOLOGISTS

PALEO ART.  In the Earth Sciences building at Memorial University, spectacular art celebrating fossils greets the curious visitor! (photos by Hallelujah Truth)

HALLELUJAH for BEING and INFINITY. Hallelujah for education, science, and ways of knowing about BEING. Spending concentrated amounts of time with paleontologists is pleasurable and life-informing. Spending time with paleontologists who interpret behavior from the trace fossil record--ICHNOLOGISTS--is even more mind expanding and dazzling!

FOSSIL SPECIMENS EXPRESSED ARTFULLY

PALEO ART IN SITU WITH SPECIMENS

I, Hallelujah, went with international ichnologists on a JOURNEY in Newfoundland, Canada!  The field guide writers describe our ODYSSEY into the Ediacaran and Cambrian in superlatives--we are going to see "the most important stratigraphic boundary in Earth history"..."the  most important and spectacular Ediacaran  fossil assemblages in the world"...and "the most beautiful coastal areas in Canada"! Hallelujah!

Our first day began at the Earth Sciences building on the campus of Memorial University in St Johns. Paleontologists from Japan, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Poland, the UK, and the United States gathered to greet one another, get field guides, and look at some of the fossils on display. I was pleasantly surprised to see several large pieces of art gracing the lobby walls, celebrating fossil images, science and art merging to amplify one another. We then boarded a yellow school  bus and left St Johns.

CHIBOOGAMOO, MASTERFUL ICHNOLOGIST, AND ME, HALLELUJAH TRUTH.  My brilliant husband and I posed with the yellow school bus in front of our hotel at Grand Bank on the Avalon peninsula of Newfoundland.
Our first field trip stop was at Harbour Main in Conception Bay to see the sediments that express so much information about what occurred in this area hundreds of millions of years ago. We looked at diamictites, laminated mudstones, and slump deposits--all remnants of glaciers and a period  of time when the Earth was thought to be encased in ice, a time scientists describe as "Snowball Earth." And, of course, at some point Snowball Earth began to thaw. Melting from its frozen state caused all kinds of things to occur, one of them being the precipitation of limestone. At this Harbour Main stop, we looked at rocks that express this time in the Earth's history, the limestone bed as evidence of the rising temperatures that occurred after an ice infinity.

HARBOUR MAIN. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)  
ICHNOLOGISTS LOOKING AT THE LIMESTONE CAP. (photo by Chiboogamoo)
DIAMICTITES. (photo by Chiboogamoo)
The day's explorations concluded with Grand Bank so we could see some early Cambrian trace fossils (Cambrian and Ediacaran periods to be explained in day 2 of our fieldtrip.). Fortunately, for all of us, the sun came out to brighten our afternoon. We walked to a stone beach  from the Grand Bank Methodist Church parking lot through town,  passing by small cottages whose inhabitants were using the good weather to hang laundry and do yard work. The clouds feathered  out over our heads in an intensely blue sky, as we walked along the cliffs with green meadows extending up and away from us. 

WALKING ALONG A GREEN MEADOW NEXT TO THE SEA

ICHNOLOGISTS IN NEWFOUNDLAND.  Our group paused for this photo before scrambling down the cliff face to find the trace fossils that documented a more complex behavior than those in those in the Ediacaran period. You can see the town of Grand Bank in the background. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

After a group photo, we climbed down the cliffs to find Treptichnus, a fossil burrowing trace. These tiny marks in the rocks show that at a certain point in time, organisms developed more complex behaviors and began going beneath the surface of the sea floor seeking food.  Chiboogamoo said that this site had many examples of Treptichnus and other trace fossils, and that he was delighted at the abundance. 

READING THE ROCKS. My Chiboogamoo and his German colleague, Dirk, discuss Treptichnus. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

A GLUT OF ICHNOLOGISTS. As the sun sets on our first day of the field trip in Newfoundland,  I watch over (top right, next to sun)  my beloved ichnologists who are earnestly examining the rocks in a deep and meaningful way. Wow! (photo by Chiboogamoo)

TREPTICHNUS. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

I had fun looking for these marks in the rocks jutting out over the beautiful deep blue Atlantic Ocean. The air was cool. The sun was warm. The ichnologists were enthralled. And, I, Hallelujah, learned about some of our earliest origins.Hallelujah for learning about the flow of LIFE, for the Paleontologists that can read the rocks and tell us about the succession of events that brought us into BEING!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks to our wonderful field trip facilitators, Liam Herringshaw (author of the blog, "OLD LOST SEA")and Jack Matthews (author of the blog "Jack J Matthews:Musings geological, political and anything else-ical")! Their knowledgable explanations and kind responses to my questions were greatly appreciated. And, as always, gratitude goes to my boon companion Chiboogamoo.

MOOSE ART AT GOOBIES. Lunch was eaten standing in the rain. Two of us huddled next to the moose art in front of the gas station convenience store to get shielded from some of the drizzle. I'm in the purple jacket, and Tony's colleague from Poland is sitting under the moose. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

FOR THOMAS WITH LOVE: THE HUMMINGBIRD AND DIMETRODON

FOR THOMAS WITH LOVE (art by Aunt Hallelujah Truth)

I lost my nephew Thomas one year ago today, and as I approached the anniversary of his death, I started feeling like a dinosaur was sitting on my head. Since I have the tendency to think and feel in visual terms, I accepted this particular image and began drawing it to articulate more of what I was feeling. 

This image that I drew today for Thomas is my fourth image expressing "a dinosaur is sitting on my head." But the hummingbird person represents Thomas, and he has a Dimetrodon sitting on his head, which any paleontologist will tell you is not a dinosaur!

What does this series of images mean? And what about Thomas?

This is what I can tell you. We can imagine and re-imagine ourselves and others. Even though Thomas is not physically here on Mother Earth with us, I can sense his presence in those he has left behind and in my heart.

THE SYMBOLIC VALUE OF AN IMAGE

Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds know a lot about flowers and how to extract the essence from them. They are fast flyers and can fly backwards, hence becoming a symbol of reflection. Hummingbirds are also playful and independent. Ultimately, these fascinating nectar drinking birds can teach us about how to find the miracle elixirs in our lives.

Dimetrodon
A Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur even though it is often confused with one. It is more closely related to mammals -- you and me--than a reptile. In this image with the hummingbird, the Dimetrodon has symbolic value because of this confusion of thinking something is one way but finding out it is something altogether different.


So this morning, I spent time with Thomas and his essence and made this image to speak to him about life, both its joys and its confusions. 

THE ART OF TEACHING SCIENCE CREATIVELY: SAN SALVADOR SEA CAMPERS LEARN TO BE CONNECTED TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT BY HAVING FUN AND USING THEIR IMAGINATIONS

SAN SALVADOR GUARDIAN ANGEL OF THE NURSE SHARK. Barry Johnson painted himself as a guardian angel in the first San Salvador SEA CAMP on the Gerace Research Centre (San Salvador, Bahamas) in 2008. I, Hallelujah Truth (aka Ruth Schowalter) taught the art component of SEA CAMP and took the students step by step in this activity that resulted from my own painting and collaboration with Sandy Voegeli and her photography.(Scanned by Ruth Schowalter and Sandy Voegeli)

Parents, teachers, museum educators, city officials, and community members all ask the same question: 

How can we engage children in learning about SCIENCE so that they are excited, invested, and become dedicated life-long learners! 

Serious environmental issues like global warming, habitat destruction, and the imminent extinction of vast numbers of animal and plants need our children’s attention, for today’s children are the EARTH’S FUTURE CARETAKERS.

Why not make SCIENCE fun and meaningful? Sandy Voegeli, one of the instructors at the annual SEA CAMP taught on the island of San Salvador, Bahamas, does just that! On the last day of July 2012, I interviewed Sandy about some of the CREATIVE SCIENCE ACTIVITIES she has been using at the San Salvador ("San Sal") SEA CAMP.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: How did you go about making SCIENCE interesting to SEA CAMP students?

SANDY VOEGELI: First of all, singing is a huge part of Bahamian culture, so we decided to present a conservation message to the children using song lyrics.  Ron Shaklee, a geography professor and musician who has been coming to San Salvador for more than 25 years, wrote a song for San Salvador’s children. The song, “The Living Jewels of the Land, Sea, and Sky,” includes eight species on San Salvador that are endangered.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: It has a very catchy tune, and the animal characters have rhyming names that make them easy to remember: Myrtle the Sea Turtle, Rupert the Nassau Grouper, Lana the Iguana, etc.

SANDY VOEGELI: Yes, after you hear the song, you remember the conservation message because it sticks in their head. (Sandy sings a phrase) “My name is Myrtle. I’m a sea turtle swimming over the reef. If I can’t lay my eggs on a quiet beach soon there won’t be any more of me…” (Listen to the song below)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: The song was so popular that its use went beyond the classroom walls of San Salvador, isn’t that right?

SANDY VOEGELI: “Living Jewels of the Land, Sea, and Sky” was recorded by Ira Storr and the Spank Band, a popular Bahamian band, along with some children from San Salvador at Nassau. Afterwards, it was played throughout the Bahamas and became part of The Bahamas National Trust.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: The song’s conservation message about habitat and endangered species was almost like a public service announcement, wasn’t it? And it is a lot of fun to sing along with! What other ways do you make science engaging to the children?

SANDY VOEGELI: At the first SEA CAMP in 2008, we decided to have the children make art to express their connection with their environment, since art isn’t in their school curriculum.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: That’s where you brought me in! I had been inspired by your photographs of the marine life at San Salvador and had begun a series of ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDIAN ANGEL paintings. In these images, I was clothing the GUARDIAN ANGEL in the pattern of the marine life, for example, the spotted eagle ray (see Sandy’s photo and my painting that resulted).

SPOTTED EAGLE RAY.  At the first San Salvador SEA CAMP in 2008, Sandy Voegeli and I made many copies of her photographs to put on the tables in the conference room of the Gerace Research Centre to provide the Sea Campers with real images of animals to look at. In addition to Sandy's photos, we had the children also using the Reef Set, three volumes about the marine life of Florida, Caribbean and Bahamas, by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach. It was exciting to see them looking up habitats for the creatures they were interested in. (photo by Sandy Voegeli)

GUARDIAN ANGEL OF THE SPOTTED EAGLE RAY. I  painted this altar piece to the spotted eagle ray on a 2 x 4 piece of wood. My intention on the bottom part of this painting was to capture the spirit of the beautifully patterned ray that Sandy had photographed and to put it in context of its environment. On the top part of the painting, my intention was to create a sacred space for the Guardian Angel of the spotted eagle ray and to dress her in the same pattern. Sandy loved this idea and thought that we should incorporate this idea into teaching the children of San Salvador to think more about their environment and what role they could play in protecting it.(photo by Ty Butler)

You liked that idea of merging SCIENCE and SPIRITUAL GUARDIANSHIP in a creative product like a painting and thought we could use this as an activity to impact the San Salvador children in the SEA CAMP classroom.

SANDY VOEGELI: So we made this ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDIAN ANGEL project a weeklong project. Sea campers personified themselves by becoming a guardian reef angel protecting a chosen plant or animal of the sea. Each camper became an expert on his or her animal, its habitat, and one thing they could do to protect that animal.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Interesting to combine SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION with RELIGION! What role does RELIGION play in the Bahamians’ attitudes towards conservation?

SANDY VOEGELI: Christianity is a foundational part of Bahamian life. Therefore, stewardship of God’s creation is extremely important. An angel was a familiar concept to the kids, and it was empowering for them to envision the role they can play in preserving their environment.

SAN SALVADOR SEA CAMP ART LESSON.  Sea Campers examine and discuss options for drawing their Guardian Angels. Jacq Marie Jack and I, Hallelujah Truth, had prepared these teaching examples in Atlanta, Georgia, before I went to San Salvador.(photo by Hallelujah Truth, aka Ruth Schowalter)

KEVINYA' S GUARDIAN ANGEL HOVERING OVER THE SEA. 

DEONTAE'S GUARDIAN ANGEL OF THE LOBSTER.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH:  Sandy, because you understand the Bahamian culture, you were able to choose both fun and meaningful ways for the San Salvador children to connect with the SCIENCE in their own backyard.

SANDY VOEGELI: You can see that in the following pledge that we facilitators ask the children to say each day of SEA CAMP:

Sea Camp Sea Keepers Pledge

I ___________________, pledge to Protect, Preserve and Conserve the sea and all of its creatures.

I will do all that I can encourage others to protect our marine environment.

I will respect the environment, which God created and do my best to keep it as beautiful as he intended.

SANDY VOEGELI: The pledge provides structure and fosters the idea that we are not separate from our environment, but a part of it. We are stewards of what’s in our backyard. If everybody would take care of his or her own backyard, the whole planet would be vibrant for future generations.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH:  In addition to using songs and fostering stewardship by having the children make environmental guardian angels, what are some other IMAGINATIVE activities you have used to teach SCIENCE in SEA CAMP since 2008?

SANDY VOEGELI: In the following SEA CAMPS, we have used map exercises, Jeopardy, photography, and short films.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Tell me about what you have done with photography.

SANDY VOEGELI: Just this summer (2012), each kid became a nature photographer. They learned photography tips throughout the week, snapped photos on both land and sea, and chose their favorite photo of the week to submit and compete in a photography contest. Because of this activity, each child learned how to look at his or her surroundings with new eyes.

SEEING THEIR BACKYARD WITH NEW EYES.  San Salvador Sea Campers took photos during their week of  studying their environment. (photo taken from BREEF Facebook page)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Did any of the Sea Campers’ photos surprise you?

SANDY VOEGELI: Absolutely! The kids took amazing photos and improved their photography skills throughout the week. My personal favorite was one photo taken of the old dock illustrating the compositional rule of thirds they had learned in the classroom and showing interesting colors and textures.

FOLLOWING THE RULE OF THIRDS. This image of the old dock on San Salvador is a favorite of Sandy Voegeli's taken by a San Salvador Sea Camper who used one of the techniques from Sandy's photography PowerPoint lesson. Sandy asks the students to think about the following: 1) What catches your eye (color, shape, texture) 2) What is in your picture (composition) 3) Placement of subject (rule of thirds). In addition, to these tips, she introduces the concept of Fibonacci Numbers, so students get a chance to explore how these numbers appear systematically in nature.

SAN SALVADOR SEA CAMP PHOTO COMPETITION. (photo by Sandy Voegeli)

PHOTOGRAPHY WINNERS AT SAN SALVADOR SEA CAMP. Sandy Voegeli,  left, presented the three winners of the SEA CAMP photography contest with prizes.(photo taken from BREEF Facebook page)

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: How did you use film?

SANDY VOEGELI: Last year in SEA CAMP 2011, each SEA CAMP group made a public service announcement about the importance of sharks. Students learned the role that sharks play in the ecosystem and their economic importance for tourism. In the past year, the Bahamas passed legislation to protect all sharks being the global leader in that area.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: So San Salvador Sea Campers were making movies about current conservation issues in the news and learning how to express that information in film. Wow!

SANDY VOEGELI: This year we had the Sea Campers work together to make one public service announcement to promote the establishment of a national land and sea park at San Salvador. They learned about the special animals and their habitats and why they should be protected for future generations.

HALLELUJAH TRUTH: Sea Campers have had the opportunity to get hands on experience studying these areas that will be protected by a national park—Pigeon Creek, Graham’s Harbour, and Green’s Bay. That’s great. [This public service announcement will be posted when BREEF finishes editing it]

What else do you have in your creative teaching bag for making science fun and meaningful at San Salvador SEA CAMP?

SANDY VOEGELI: I am extremely excited about the book you illustrated about an endangered animal called a hutia-- “The Misadventure of Maria the Hutia.” This book was written by Ron Shaklee and based on the animal characters in his song and beautifully illustrated by you, Hallelujah Truth (aka Ruth Schowalter).

THE MISADVENTURES OF MARIA THE HUTIA. This book was written and illustrated because of Sandy Voegeli's insistence that children needed stories to be told about endangered species in the Bahamas. Therefore, Ron Shaklee's  Living Jewels song grew into an extended story about a little brown furry rodent previously thought to be extinct in the Bahamas but was found to be living on several remote Bahamian cays. As the wife of a scientist (Tony Martin) who does research and teaches classes on San Salvador, I became friends with Sandy and her mission. I agreed to illustrate Ron's book because of my own commitment to educational scientific outreach. We now have it for sale here. We plan for every child on San Salvador to have a copy. In addition, are donating 10 percent of the profits to the nonprofit organization Living Jewels that will support San Salvador's marine park once it is established. (photo by Ron Shaklee)

The need for conservation and sustainability is shown through the animal characters’ plight for survival and provides the Sea Campers with an empathetic glimpse of these special animals. The children become closer to these animals and come to understand we are all part of this planet, and we affect one another.

In addition to reading “The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia,” and coloring images from the book, I can see Sea Campers possibly acting out a play using excerpts from Maria the hutia’s journey.

COLORING THE MAP OF MARIA'S JOURNEY.  Sandy brought some enlargements of my illustrations from The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia for Sea Campers to see and color if they liked while listening to lectures. Here you can see the inset of the island of San Salvador on the map of Maria's journey from Wax Cay up to Nassau and back again. San Salvador is so far out on the Bahamian platform, I couldn't place it on the map with the chain of other Bahamian islands. However, I wanted to be sure San Salvador was on the map because it was the reason for writing and illustrating the story of Maria the hutia.(photo by Sandy Voegeli)

MARIA THE HUTIA ILLUSTRATION. San Salvador Sea Campers pose with an enlarged illustration from The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia outside the conference room on the Gerace Research Centre. They had fun in SEA CAMP coloring it and reflecting on Maria's journey to find her home island, which was not yet destroyed by humans. (photo by Sandy Voegeli)

ABOUT SANDY VOEGELI. Sandy is a dive master, photographer, and teacher. Sharing the incredible underwater world through her photography, she has sold numerous cards of her work, shown in exhibits in Georgia and Montana, and been published cover photos in numerous publications. In January 2012, two of her images appeared in the new Bahamian marine stamp series. Her photos taken from around San Salvador provided inspiration to Ruth Schowalter in the illustrations she made for 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. 

PHOTOGRAPHER, MASTER DIVER, TEACHER. Sandy Voegeli teaches what she knows how to do. She has a keen eye, sharp mind, and creative way to teach children how to understand the world that surrounds them. (photo by Clare Cottreau)

Read another San Salvador SEA CAMP blog entry that I wrote:
Teaching Children the Science of Looking in Their Own Backyard: Sea Camp at San Salvador, Bahamas 2012

Other Hallelujah Truth blog entries about San Salvador:

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 

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD: I AM A SMALL PIECE OF THE BIGGER PICTURE

STEPPING OUT TO WHAT IS NEXT: I am a seed growing into my TREE OF LIFE. As I emerge from the darkness of not knowing myself, I see the that "I am because you are; you are because I am." How wonderful it is that we are all connected in this vast universe of a gazillion possibilities! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

PILGRIMS--NOW. BE HERE NOW!  And know that each of us is a small piece of the larger fabric of life and that what we do at this MOMENT really matters! One of the best movies of 2012, "Beasts of the Southern Wild," has this message as a major theme. 

In the community of coastal Louisiana called Bathtub, six-year-old Hushpuppy learns how she fits in this vast universe by the movie's end. At first, she thinks she is responsible for breaking something both on a miner scale (her father's life) and something on a really huge one (the earth with its rising flood waters engulfing her home located offshore from New Orleans and surrounded by levees). "I broke it," she repeats again and again. 

Ironically, her dying father keeps emphasizing "I'm in control," something his daughter doubts at a gut level. After surviving a cataclysmic flood and the death of her father, Hushpuppy realizes that she is only a small part of a large world but that each individual action matters. 

Mark Nepo in "The Book of Awawkening" quotes a phrase from African culture, "Ubuntu." It is translated to mean this: 

I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE;YOU ARE BECAUSE I AM.

Fellow SOJOURNER, we are meant to LIVE our LIVES now. What  are YOU waiting for? I need you to BE the individual SOUL that is your DESTINY'S CALLING. The more each one of us ENGAGES in NURTURING the TRUTH of our SEED, the sooner we all will benefit from the FRUIT of our  loving labors! 


I can't help but think that if we are taking care of our SOULS that the resulting HEALTH allows us to expand our CARETAKING to the EARTH. If we learn how to take care of ourselves, we will know how to CARE for MOTHER EARTH.


If you haven't seen "Beasts of the Southern Wild," you are in for a visual feast and a SPIRITUAL experience. And you will better understand "Ubuntu":

I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE;YOU ARE BECAUSE I AM.

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! Soul Blog with me and let me know what is your SEED's MISSION, what are you waiting to bring to FRUITION? What is your JOURNEY like? How are you healing yourself so you can heal the EARTH?

JOYFUL LOUNGING WITH DINOSAUR ON MY HEAD. I am here relaxing because I, HALLELUJAH TRUTH, have met the BEAST of my SOUTHERN WILD. I a PILGRIM of the state of Georgia, USA, have completed a four-year project by publishing, along with Ron Shaklee, "The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia." Illustrating this story had seemed like an impossibility four years ago, but I met MY SOUL and SHE ANSWERED with this: NOW! DO THIS WORK NOW. And I have and HALLELUJAH...I have borne FRUIT of the SPIRIT! I am ready for what is next, NOW!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Clarissa Pinkola Estes for her lesson on Late Bloomers in her Dangerous Old Woman series
Jeffrey Kiehl and his lesson on "souling" that I wrote about in a previous blog.

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!