天堂鸟先生

Green Project Camp (GPC), an annual summer program by the Patton College of Education鈥檚 Stevens Literacy Center, aims to empower kids and educate them about environmental conservation and climate change.

From water testing to constructing upcycled art, campers learned how small actions can make a big impact. Activities sparked curiosity about the environment while fostering teamwork, confidence and critical thinking.

The camp also partnered with faculty and students from the Russ College of Engineering and Technology鈥檚 ISEE team, who hosted campers for interactive STEM demonstrations during a special visit to Stocker Center.

Faculty and students from University College and the Patton College took active interest in organizing and running the camp.

Teaching to save the world

A second-year counselor at GPC and fourth-year literacy ambassador through the Stevens Literacy Center, English major Molly Norman observed how spreading awareness of the environment through community outreach made it obvious that people should support the camp鈥檚 objective. The counselors at this camp benefited just as much as the campers did, Norman said. 

As a counselor, Norman鈥檚 role was to work with a small group of campers and create an environment that benefited them educationally and socially to make it fun to learn about helping the environment. Norman said a core belief of the Stevens Literacy Center is making learning easily accessible and impactful.

Dezer茅 Martin, a doctoral student who is the lead coordinator of GPC, follows the same mentality.

鈥淪ummer after summer, Green Project Camp is always an exciting place to see kids grow and learn about the environment and their community,鈥� said Martin. 鈥淐hildren really are the future, and watching the way they care so much about our planet fills me with hope.鈥�

The backbone of GPC

GPC plants more than seeds of environmental knowledge; it nurtures leadership, creativity and agency in its participants. For the Patton College of Education, the camp exemplifies how place-based education and student-led teaching can build meaningful community ties while shaping future leaders.

University College and Patton College students are embedded in every aspect of the camp, from curriculum planning to leading daily activities. Martin and recent graduate Valerie Lock (B.S., 鈥�25) helped design this year鈥檚 programming, while undergraduate and graduate team leaders mentored campers and facilitated hands-on sessions. 

Locke has served as a GPC leader for the past two years, she was responsible for creating a daily curriculum, which included:

• Relevant readings
• Interesting and interactive activities
• Connecting back with the community

Locke said she reviewed previous activities, identified elements that the campers found enjoyable, and came up with methods to either expand on them or use them in fresh ways.

In addition to teaching about actual problems impacting the world today, GPC gives campers agency. Locke said campers leave with the knowledge that their decisions have an impact and that they have the power to change the course of history.