Earth Camp 2023

Friday, June 30: The Earth Is in Our Hands

“God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” –Genesis 1:28

As human beings, we have been given a responsibility like no other creature in creation. We have been gifted with the skills and intelligence to manipulate air, earth, water, and fire in ways that are totally new in creation. What does it mean when God tells us to rule over creation? What does a good ruler look like? Often this verse has been used to justify destroying the planet in humanity’s self-interest, but that does not a good ruler make. Rulers, leaders, governments are tasked with looking out for the best interest of all they oversee, and our task from God is the same. How can we, in our blessed humanity, better live out our calling to this divine responsibility?

It takes many people to make Earth Camp successful. A big thank you goes out to the staff and volunteers devoted to our kids.
During the week, campers make up several cheers. Here, they remind themselves the world is in their hands.
Teacher-learner relationships build on common interests.
The boys who dubbed themselves “The Blob” became buddies and made an impact.
Teachers might recommend kid-friendly books to help campers explore their interests further…
or to remind themselves that they are loved, they are talented, and they can act to make a difference for Planet Earth.
The salmon study concludes with one last roll of the dice.
Kids in class act as predators, eating the crackers representing fish lost to predation.
But, depending on how the environment is doing, salmon have a remarkable capacity to replenish populations.
On the final day of camp, classes often end with applause or hugs…
and teachers might send kids off with reminders about what’s important. Be Kind!
After a week of fun, it’s time to say goodbye to friends.
Many campers and teachers have already said they’ll be back in 2024 for another Earth Camp. St. Francis will be around to welcome everyone!

Thursday, June 29: Fire and Re-Creation

“And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.” –Acts 2:3-4

Of all the elements of creation, none might be as polarizing as fire. When we think of fire, we first think of destruction, or maybe even hell. Yet fire also provides us with warmth and light. Fire is powerful, and that great power can cause immense destruction if things get out of balance. But fire is also the element of re-creation. Sometimes forests need to burn to fertilize the next generation of life. The mythical fire-bird, the phoenix, symbolically is reborn from the ashes. Genesis says that God at one point flooded the earth so that it could have a fresh start again. What power do we wield, then, with our tongues of fire, to shape the future of the world? What needs to have warmth and light shed upon it? What needs to be burned down to make way for the future God is leading us toward?

It’s a fire maze. How do you make it through the forest safely when a wildfire breaks out?
Earth Camp kids know to rely on the help of their friends, who have made it through before them.
Throughout Earth Camp, guides accompany the children from station to station, assisting teachers and campers alike.
If your kids play with their food after Earth Camp, maybe they’re investigating whether the seeds on their plates are dicots (like this lima bean) or monocots.
Even at the end of the day, kids remain filled with curiosity and questions.
Even during a fire, worms continue their work of breaking down organic material in the soil beneath the flames.
Gently, a camper reaches out to hold a red wiggler, one of the worms that helps decompose compost piles.
Day by day, survival can become harder for the salmon, because they are connected to so many elements in multiple ecosystems–from the ocean to the forests.
While some salmon populations are hurting badly because of limited access to clean, cool water, others like the salmon in Group F are managing very well.
A wildfire has erupted in the mountains or a volcano explodes as Mt. St. Helens did. What are the repercussions for salmon?
Campers watched live footage of the Toutle River, path of a destructive lehar following the Mr. St. Helens eruption. Water temperature rose quickly, making it impossible for salmon to survive the event.

Wednesday, June 28: Living Water

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” –John 7:37-38

Water is essential to life. The Biblical writers knew this, which is why water is one of the most commonly used metaphors in scripture. Water is everywhere—humans are about 60% water, and the Earth’s surface is about 71% covered in water. Yet, water is in crisis in our world. Too many people do not have access to clean drinking water. Underwater ecosystems are in shambles due to pollution and overfishing. Water levels are rising due to melting ice caps. A patch of garbage floats in the Pacific that is two times the size of Texas. Jesus calls himself the living water; what can we do then, as followers of Jesus, to restore life to the waters of the earth?

Camp Director Kyler Vogt welcomes everyone to the third day of Earth Camp, when the theme is living water.
Each class in the salmon study with Isaac Brocker rolls the dice to see how their salmon are faring.
Today, the Salmon A group saw a big decline in their salmon population. They have only 300 salmon (100 for each cheddar cracker) remaining.
Eight-year-old Mari Copley is one of the residents of Flint, Michigan who lobbied hard to inform President Obama what was happening in her city.
Are there people in our country who lack access to clean water? Two teachers addressed water challenges.
Well, the boys in class were tempted, but no one actually drank the glass of water containing debris from the environment.
Students learn all about aquifers and learn some new vocabulary.
Rain replenishes our aquifers as campers observe in this interactive model.
Kids enjoyed painting shells for their own living water environment.
What fun! Glue mixed with sand looks a lot like concrete.
Before the kids arrive, teachers admire their table covered with various mosses.
Not all mosses look alike. There are red ones, puffy pin cushion ones, and even some that look like they need a haircut.
Kids devoted to protecting Planet Earth are determined make a difference and take notes!
Each camper creates an individualized moss garden to take home and tend. Instructions included.

Tuesday, June 27: Resting with the Earth

“Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animals of the field may eat. –Exodus 23:10-11

There is so much wisdom hidden just below the surface of the ancient Hebrew law above. One in seven years they were called to stop profiting off the land—even the land they owned—and let it feed the humans and animals who needed it. One in seven years they were called to let the land lie uncultivated, growing as it pleases, because even then they knew that land needed rest. It needed Sabbath. When it rests, the land will restore itself, replenish itself, and renew the delicate underground balance that we are only now beginning to understand through chemistry. What’s more interesting: nowhere in Scripture is it recorded that this ordinance was followed—not even once. What can we learn from the failures of our spiritual ancestors to take better care of the earth? What can we learn from the natives who were so in touch with the land that they knew for hundreds of years what we are only now learning about it? What can we learn from the land about our own needs for a rhythm of rest?

Liz Hardy introduces a class of curious kids to a wide variety of mosses.
Does moss rest? Do tiny creatures rest in moss?

Campers rotate among six classes daily, with plenty of time for snacks, play, and games, too!

A year ago, this 60-year-old sequoia measured 169 inches in circumference; this year it’s 187 inches.
Michelle Sinn explains the significance of the pinecone and the pineal gland, the eye to the soul.
A camper in Isaac Brocker’s class illustrates how salmon rest in the shadow of trees fallen into a stream.
Could something like soil need rest? Becky Vogt explains why it needs to!
Meet Stumpy, the surprising tree that revealed its secret when it fell in the woods.
Pat Christiansen shows campers how Stumpy was once refuge to a growing family of woodpeckers.
In art class with Susan Werner Reiser, kids decorated “When God Rested,” a poem by Bret Hesla with images of cats, rocks, insects, and more–all things that rested after they were made by God.

Each day at Earth Camp ends in the Sanctuary of the Firs where everyone comes together for worship, music, and skits.

Monday, June 26: Wind, Breath, and Spirit

“then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” –Genesis 2:7

Breath in. Breath out. There is a special connection between us and the air we breathe—so special that the ancient Hebrew teachers believed the moment we first breathed was the moment we first became alive. The oxygen in the air gives us life. The carbon dioxide in the air sustains our tree friends. Though we cannot see it and we only feel it when it moves as wind, a couple deep breaths can change our entire state of mind. Our connection to the air is only becoming more apparent as we face its challenges: decreasing oxygen levels, increasing levels of carbon-based pollutants, and even how the air carries infectious diseases. What is the importance of clean air to our bodies, our spirits, and all our earth kin?