Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
David Yetman Trail Field Trip
In addition to the curriculum and resources available on the ranch, the mentors work to bring the campers off the the property on a couple occasions in order for them to experience nature away from civilization. During the first week of the camp, the mentors lead the campers around the property, getting them familiar with the surrounding wildlife. The second week of the camp however, the mentors take the campers on a 4-hour hike of the David Yetman Trail & Stone House in West-Tucson.
Session One:
Zack Mongomery and Adrien Shelby peer out over the Yetman Trail.
Mizam Ragibov talks with Mentor Beau Furst at the Stone House.
Josh Grijalva at the top of a mountain on the Yetman Trail.
Josh Grijalva, Karim Ragibov, and Mentor, Ethan Joy, at the Stone House.
Mentors Ethan Joy, Beau Furst, and Clay Gibson.
Mentor, Ethan Joy, tells the Session Two campers about the history of the Stone House.
Roegena Rodriguez and Walker Weiss at the Stone House.
(Top) Anika Pasilis and (Bottom) Cydney Pasilis at the Stone House.
Mentor Mandy Millen at the Stone House.
Session One:
Zack Mongomery and Adrien Shelby peer out over the Yetman Trail.
Mizam Ragibov talks with Mentor Beau Furst at the Stone House.
Josh Grijalva at the top of a mountain on the Yetman Trail.
Josh Grijalva, Karim Ragibov, and Mentor, Ethan Joy, at the Stone House.
Mentors Ethan Joy, Beau Furst, and Clay Gibson.Session Two:
Roegena Rodriguez at the Stone House.
Roegena Rodriguez at the Stone House.
Mentor, Ethan Joy, tells the Session Two campers about the history of the Stone House.
Roegena Rodriguez and Walker Weiss at the Stone House.
(Top) Anika Pasilis and (Bottom) Cydney Pasilis at the Stone House.
Mentor Mandy Millen at the Stone House.What we do.
SUMMER 2009:
Session One: June 1 - 12
Session Two: June 15 - 26
Curriculum included:
• Creative Construction (Adobe / Other Natural Resources)
Through adobe building the campers are physically engaging in the same practice as the Native Americans who, located in Southwestern areas, mainly constructed their homes from adobe brick (sun-dried bricks of clay, mud, and straw). The campers begin to understand that the innovation of these effective and sustainable materials are revolutionary in affordable green design. They learned that adobe is both free and widely abundant in desert areas. The building of adobe retreats from the developing Western ideals of imported goods and external help, and rejuvinates independence in the knowledge of vocational skills. It's practicality displays the pure act of relying entirely on the earth to provide building materials for a sustainable structure.
Session One camper, Mizam Ragibov helps build a bench out of adobe.
• Desert Awareness
• Outdoor Ethics - Leave No Trace Priniciples
Throughout the session the campers became familiar with Leave No Trace principles and were seen utilizing these traits when necessary. Our hope is that they take something away from this experience and that they are able to enlist in aspects of the rest of their lives. We believe that our environment is of the utmost importance, and that it is necessary to understand and care for it. The campers have displayed a great amount of empathy and respect towards their environment. While working outdoors, the campers learned essential Leave No Trace principles in order to have an enriching environmental awareness. Some of the principles we taught consisted of:
✓ Plan Ahead and Prepare
✓ Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack it in, pack it out. )
✓ Leave What You Find
✓ Respect Wildlife
✓ Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Session One campers make it to the top of the mountain on the David Yetman Trail.
Session Two campers made it too!
• Gardening Techniques (planting, transplanting, harvesting, cooking)
On the second Thursday of each session, the Campo de Oeste campers and staff get together for a BBQ in celebration of our organic food.
Session One Camper Kayla Detwiler holds pesto pasta made with Basil from our garden!
Mentor Ethan Joy prepares food for Session One BBQ.
A tomato picked fresh from our garden!
• Multiple Composting Techniques
Session One campers Alicia Stutz and Lexi Martel using one of our three composts.
• Equine Therapy
• Animal Care - "Jobs of the Day" (feeding, grooming, mucking, etc.)
Campo Urbano is always alive and well with an array of animals and events. Currently the ranch is home to five horses, seven chickens, three goats, and two kittens.
• Riding Horses
• Sustainability / Healthy Lifestyle
The campers developed a certain set of skills necessary for a healthy, productive lifestyle; and also established an awareness and practice of sustainable ideas useful to their home and community. Each day the campers were encouraged to discover new creative ways to enact these ideas in their daily lives. During Session Two of Campo de Oeste, camper, Harold Stombaugh produced an idea that he was able to bring into reality.
In a conversation we had with Harold, he explained his inventive idea for a water-harvesting bird-feeder, "...you'd hang a bird feeder on a balcony of wherever you live, and when it rains don't put anything in it, and the rain will go into it to save water and feed the birds." Harold drew out his design with plans of installing at home. He concluded by saying, " I think every house should have one of these."
Session Two Campers Harold "Bud" Stombaugh and Anika Pasilis.
• Water Harvesting/Conservation
At Campo de Oeste, the campers learn about water conservation - essential for Sonoran Desert residents as without this change Southern Arizona could easily be without a sufficient water supply within 30 years. The campers were key in our water conservation project.
A Session Two camper, Walker Weiss, noticed the difficult aspect of sustaining your awareness and work ethic in the daily routine at Campo de Oeste. He mentions that the sustainable actions such as water conservation and/or water harvesting practiced at the Campo are unlike his at-home experiences. "...at home we use the sink and don't think much about the water going down the drain, but here at camp we use the washing station* ...so sometimes I forget and I use the sink..."
Session Two Camper Walker Weiss at the Washing Station.
* One example of daily water conservation is our washing station. It is a simple design of merely a bucket of soap and water, demonstrating a sustainable example of reducing our water consumption, reusing it daily, and finally recycling the water supply onto nearby plants. The campers earn "Extra Sustainability Points," when enacting an efficient example of sustainability throughout the daily routine.
Session One: June 1 - 12
Session Two: June 15 - 26
Curriculum included:
• Creative Construction (Adobe / Other Natural Resources)
Through adobe building the campers are physically engaging in the same practice as the Native Americans who, located in Southwestern areas, mainly constructed their homes from adobe brick (sun-dried bricks of clay, mud, and straw). The campers begin to understand that the innovation of these effective and sustainable materials are revolutionary in affordable green design. They learned that adobe is both free and widely abundant in desert areas. The building of adobe retreats from the developing Western ideals of imported goods and external help, and rejuvinates independence in the knowledge of vocational skills. It's practicality displays the pure act of relying entirely on the earth to provide building materials for a sustainable structure.
Session One camper, Mizam Ragibov helps build a bench out of adobe.• Desert Awareness
The campers expanded their vocabulary of the desert wildlife through many hands-on activities, multiple excursions on and off the property, and also through working in the unpredictable Tucson desert.
Session One campers at the Arizona/Sonora Desert Museum.
Session One campers at the Arizona/Sonora Desert Museum. • Outdoor Ethics - Leave No Trace Priniciples
Throughout the session the campers became familiar with Leave No Trace principles and were seen utilizing these traits when necessary. Our hope is that they take something away from this experience and that they are able to enlist in aspects of the rest of their lives. We believe that our environment is of the utmost importance, and that it is necessary to understand and care for it. The campers have displayed a great amount of empathy and respect towards their environment. While working outdoors, the campers learned essential Leave No Trace principles in order to have an enriching environmental awareness. Some of the principles we taught consisted of:
✓ Plan Ahead and Prepare
✓ Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack it in, pack it out. )
✓ Leave What You Find
✓ Respect Wildlife
✓ Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Session One campers make it to the top of the mountain on the David Yetman Trail.
Session Two campers made it too!• Gardening Techniques (planting, transplanting, harvesting, cooking)
On the second Thursday of each session, the Campo de Oeste campers and staff get together for a BBQ in celebration of our organic food.
Session One Camper Kayla Detwiler holds pesto pasta made with Basil from our garden!
Mentor Ethan Joy prepares food for Session One BBQ.
A tomato picked fresh from our garden!
Session One campers Alicia Stutz and Lexi Martel using one of our three composts.• Equine Therapy
• Animal Care - "Jobs of the Day" (feeding, grooming, mucking, etc.)
Campo Urbano is always alive and well with an array of animals and events. Currently the ranch is home to five horses, seven chickens, three goats, and two kittens.
• Riding Horses
• Sustainability / Healthy Lifestyle
The campers developed a certain set of skills necessary for a healthy, productive lifestyle; and also established an awareness and practice of sustainable ideas useful to their home and community. Each day the campers were encouraged to discover new creative ways to enact these ideas in their daily lives. During Session Two of Campo de Oeste, camper, Harold Stombaugh produced an idea that he was able to bring into reality.
In a conversation we had with Harold, he explained his inventive idea for a water-harvesting bird-feeder, "...you'd hang a bird feeder on a balcony of wherever you live, and when it rains don't put anything in it, and the rain will go into it to save water and feed the birds." Harold drew out his design with plans of installing at home. He concluded by saying, " I think every house should have one of these."
Session Two Campers Harold "Bud" Stombaugh and Anika Pasilis.• Water Harvesting/Conservation
At Campo de Oeste, the campers learn about water conservation - essential for Sonoran Desert residents as without this change Southern Arizona could easily be without a sufficient water supply within 30 years. The campers were key in our water conservation project.
A Session Two camper, Walker Weiss, noticed the difficult aspect of sustaining your awareness and work ethic in the daily routine at Campo de Oeste. He mentions that the sustainable actions such as water conservation and/or water harvesting practiced at the Campo are unlike his at-home experiences. "...at home we use the sink and don't think much about the water going down the drain, but here at camp we use the washing station* ...so sometimes I forget and I use the sink..."
Session Two Camper Walker Weiss at the Washing Station.* One example of daily water conservation is our washing station. It is a simple design of merely a bucket of soap and water, demonstrating a sustainable example of reducing our water consumption, reusing it daily, and finally recycling the water supply onto nearby plants. The campers earn "Extra Sustainability Points," when enacting an efficient example of sustainability throughout the daily routine.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Horses
Many "ranch hands" contribute to Campo De Oeste community, but it is the four legged team members that often get the most notice. There are currently five horses that call Campo Urbano home. Each horse has a distinct personality and all have an interesting story to share. All of the horses were rescued and most have come from pretty tough environments. Through patience and gentle learning techniques, each horse has settled into their new home and now enjoys being a representative of Campo Urbano.
Within the first week the Session One Campers
have become responsible for all of the regular "jobs of the day" working on the ranch. Each camper participates in a variety of jobs ranging from milking the goats to feeding the horses to watering the garden.
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