Carrots!
By Sarah Schluep, Outdoor Education Specialist
A hand shot up near the front of Pine Lodge, and a small, eager voice exclaimed, “We got to harvest zucchini and pull carrots out of the ground!”
I smiled to myself. Usually, when campers are asked, “What was your favorite part of the day?”, responses consist of “the pool,” action option, pool time, occasionally worship, and more pool time. Especially for Harvesters, a camp that focuses on learning about creation, environmental stewardship, and farm-to-table, the campers’ schedules looks a little different, and that pool time on a hot July day is prized. So, hearing that this little camper’s favorite part of their day was tending the garden felt like a victory. There is nothing wrong with pool time, but knowing that campers are finding joy and seeing God in the other activities that we do gives a sense of purpose to summer.
Each day, this camper would ask if the carrots had grown yet. If it had rained the previous day, we had to check to see if the carrots were longer. And indeed, the rain did cause the carrots to grow.
Later that week, we wrapped those carrots and garden zucchini, along with some potatoes, onions, and sausage, in foil and roasted them in a campfire. Picture this: smoke gently rising from hot coals, with the aroma of home-grown vegetables and delicious sausage filling the air. Hammocks swinging gently from tall pine trees as campers splash in the creek, their laughter ringing as they catch crayfish and other critters. We ate our fill, including those precious carrots, surrounded by God’s creation, then spent rest hour, typically called flat-on-bunk, “flat-on-hammock.”
This is not what a typical day at summer camp looks like, but Harvesters tries to embrace a slower pace. Less hurry, more intentionality. Less programming, more presence and play. Less doing-things-for, more doing-things-with. We learn, we grow (both growing vegetables, and growing as people), we laugh, we play, we search for critters and ask questions and get curious. I love getting to experience wonder and see things through new eyes as campers engage in the day’s schedule. This kind of camp may not be for everyone, but, balanced with typical camp activities, those campers who take a risk and try something new find joy, rest, and walk away hopefully having learned something new about the natural world.