Snap. A digital camera captures a tranquil moment in the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge, located about 15 miles from downtown Portland. Behind the camera, a young student reviews the scene she’s just captured—her very own creation. She’s never been to the refuge before, but she won’t soon forget this visit.
The trip is just one of the summer camp offerings at Camp ELSO, the Portland-based organization that supports black and brown youth to experience life science outdoors and foster a sense of belonging out in nature.
This week, the theme for the summer camp, called Wayfinders, is photojournalism. Next week, campers might visit Primate Lab at OHSU, the tide pools of the Oregon Coast or the heights of Mount Hood. The summer camps are adventurous, affordable and tuned in to the specific needs of the youth that Camp ELSO serve.
To lead the summer camps, ELSO trains older youth of color who are emerging as promising leaders in the fields of science and natural resources. They call them Camp Guides.
With support from the Gray Family Foundation, Camp ELSO conducted leadership development workshops for the Camp Guides, many of whom didn’t grow up hiking, kayaking, or doing much of anything out in nature—let alone leading younger kids to do these activities.
“It’s about developing their confidence and capacity to lead kids outside,” says Sprinavasa Brown, Executive Director of Camp ELSO.
“We came into it with the intention of trying to build a really awesome summer camp and educational experience for kids, and we quickly found ourselves really engrossed in all of the challenges of the environmental field,” Sprinavasa says.
One of those challenges is the stereotypical image of a scientist as white and male.
“We’re trying to intentionally shift our mindset around who a scientist is, because we’re all coming to it with a certain assumption or experience.”
Through group discussions, some planned and some off-the-cuff, the Camp Guides talk about what it means to be a scientist and an educator, and how they can approach STEM education in a way that is relevant and personal.
The Camp Guides also meet with community members of color who work in the sciences and natural resources to help give them a bigger community context for how you can connect with the environment.
In 2019, Camp ELSO had 90 summer campers, and they hope to double that in 2020. Wayfinders is just one of Camp ELSO’s many offerings throughout the year for K-12 youth and families, with the goal taking a multi-cultural approach to STEM education, rooted in environmental justice and cultural history.
With the summer camp program growing in capacity and reach, Camp ELSO can count on more and more kids saying those magic words: “Can I come back next week?”