Solar Youth

Trudy the Turtle

2007-10-20T14:10:00.000-04:00

25 Days of Summer Camp Blogs

2006-08-16T16:45:00.000-04:00

Here listed is the entire summer's worth of blogs from the Citywide Steward Program. Check it out! There are funny videos, great photos, and blogs from youth, interns and staff.

Introducing...CSP!
Day 1 - Getting to Know You
Day 2 - Rotation Nation
Day 3 - Long Island Sound Challenge Day
Day 4 - Rotation Nation
Day 5 - Challenge Course at Camp Laurelwood
Day 6 - Outer Island
SPECIAL REPORT: Ort Down to Half a Pound! (aka The Day Miss Hanifa Shaved Her Eyebrows)
Day 7 - Rotation Nation with Guest Educator Brandon Ballengee
Day 8 - Rivers of New Haven Challenge Day
Day 9 - New Haven Watershed Tour
Day 10 - Eli Whitney Museum and Swimming
Day 11 - Hammonasset State Park
Day 12 - Grow Hartford and Trash Museum
Day 13 - Water Pollution Challenge Day
Day 14 - Canoeing the Quinnipiac
Day 15 - YouthWalk on the Green
Day 16 - Whitney Water Center and Swimming
Day 17 - Preparing for the CSAP
Day 18 - Preparing for the CSAP Some More
Day 19 - Quinnpiac River Team CSAP
Day 20 - Mill River and West River Team CSAPs
Day 21 - Whitney Water Center Visits Us
Day 22 - Preparing for the PEF
Day 23 - Public Education Forum
Day 24 - Camping Day 1
Day 25 - Camping Day 2

CSP Daily Blog #25 - Camping Day 2

2006-08-16T15:20:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like sunlight for an alarm clock.

Gammy staying warm until the fire is built

Staff were awake first (of course) on a morning that dawned very chilly at the Great Mountain campsite. Hanifa (Camp Director) braved the cold to build a fire, after which other staff and youth ventured out of their tents. It took some time for everyone to wake up and fully recover from a long night.

Joanne leading the Morning Hike

Joanne led a Morning Hike through the trails, showing the youth jewelweed, red and white oak, late summer/early fall flowers, striped maple and other forest inhabitants. Although the youth were tired, every single one went on the hike.

Upon return from the hike, youth dove into a smorgasboard for their breakfast. In record time, bagels and cream cheese, fruit, snack bars, pretzels and juice disappeared from the table. After breakfast, it was time to break down camp, which was done at a decent rate. Youth packed out their things and staff brought down the tents while the youth played kickball. Once everything was set, the entire camp congregated for one last meeting.

Water time!

We had a camp-wide Appreciation Circle. Everyone talked about a memorable moment and thanked someone for something special they did. There were laughs and hugs. Afterwards, campers finally found out the final standings of the River Teams. Quinnipiac came in third, the Mill finished second and the West, proving that their chant "The West is the best, we're better than all the rest" was true, at least for this summer, took first place.

After a 30-40 minute hike down to the bus, youth settled in, had some lunch and we were off, back to New Haven, this time with little incident. Youth led songs on the bus, making the staff very proud. This is some great youth leadership!

We arrived home safe and sound. Everyone said goodbye to each other and then...camp was over.

Thanks for a great summer everyone!

CSP Daily Blog #24 - Camping Day 1

2006-08-16T14:31:00.000-04:00

So the adventure begins!

Around 1pm, all the youth congregated at Clarence Rogers School with varied forms of sleeping bags, blankets and bookbags. After some strategic packing, we were off to Norfolk, CT! It's about a two hour drive, but we managed to get lost, get lost again, then get lost some more, so we made it in 3 hours. Maybe 3 and a half. Some youth learned why, sometimes, you just have to use nature's bathroom.

Hiking to the campsite

When we finally arrived after a short hike to the campsite (Great Mountain), we got to work setting up tents. Surprisingly, the girls camp was up much faster than the boys camp. Actually, that doesn't surprise any of the staff. The girls were very organized and had everything just so. Although, to the boys' credit, they did have to put up one dysfunctional tent, take it down, and set up a new one. The camp cook, Dawn (the mother of Randall, one of the campers) started grilling the several pounds of hotdogs we cooked up. Youth were very hungry and gobbled down tons of hotdogs, potato salad and fruit.

Setting up tents

After some down time, youth sat around the fire as the sun went down, roasting marshmallows and telling stories. It just so happened that a meteor shower was occuring that night, so youth looked for shooting stars. When it was dark enough, the youth set out on a Night Hike with Joanne (Executive Director) and Rosana (Assistant Camp Director). Youth saw how Lifesavers Wintergreen mints sparked when crunched (because of the wintergreen oil and sugars in the mints rubbing against each other). They also learned a little bit about how a camera works by creating a negative on the film. They were asked to stare at each other and close their eyes once they saw a flash. They could still see the other youth with their eyes closed because the flash made the image on their retinas. They also stared at each other in the dark until their partners' faces "ghosted" away. Try all of these tricks, because they are definitely awesome!

At the end of the hike, the youth had the choice to walk a short way alone in the dark to reach the campsite and the intern on the other side. Many youth took on the challenge and felt proud of themselves for doing it. Once we got back to camp, the youth had half an hour to get ready for bed.

Roasting marshmallows by the fire

Of course, no one actually fell asleep when they were told to stay in their tents. Youth played games (Uno was a favorite), told scary stories (although we asked them not to), chatted and generally goofed off.

Adult staff slept around the fire, but the noise didn't die down for hours. I wonder what the kids will feel like in the morning?

CSP Daily Blog #23 - Public Education Forum

2006-08-16T14:10:00.000-04:00

Public Education Forum

At the Mill River Team station

At 5pm on Thursday, August 10, the doors opened to the Peabody Museum Auditorium. Inside was a Solar Youth bonanza! Youth manned tables of their River Teams, telling family and friends all about their CSAPs and other camp activities. Videos made during Challenge Days and other footage was screened on one wall. A slideshow of the summer camp was running on another. Brandon Ballengee, one of our guest educators for the summer, brought two live turtles and a frog, which fascinated youth and families alike.

At the Quinnipiac River Team table

At 6pm, the presentation began. Each River Team sang an original song and received awards for participating in the Citywide Steward Program. At the end, interns led a camp classics sing-along. It was a great way to wrap up a great summer.

But wait...aren't we going camping?

Yes, we are!

CSP Daily Blog #22 - Preparing for the PEF

2006-08-10T10:38:00.000-04:00

KIDS TEACH!

On Thursday evening, August 10, 2006, from 5:00 to 7:00pm at the Peabody Museum on Whitney Avenue, Citywide Stewards will be presenting about their summer. Each River Team worked very hard on Wednesday (8/9) to prepare an exciting and interesting program about their summer. Come and support the youth as they present about their summer, their Community Service Action Projects and all the things that make Solar Youth summers so unique!

STAY POSTED...
...for pictures and blog from the PEF (Day 23)
...for pictures and blog from the Great Mountain camping trip (Days 24 & 25)

CSP Daily Blog #21 - Sikai, Paule-Ann and Adisa's Days

2006-08-07T19:59:00.000-04:00

August 7, 2006 – CSP Day 21
Sikai, Paule-Ann and Adisa’s Days

CSP participants creating a map of how water travels to our houses from the reservoir

Sikai’s Day
Favorite food: Ice cream
Current school: Worthington Hooker

A lady named Lisa came from the Whitney Water Center and we made a big model out of pipes and straws and paper and a big carpet. The model represented the water entering our homes from the pipes. Way later we went swimming at Wilbur Cross.

Paule-Ann’s Day
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite TV show: The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
Favorite sport: Soccer

A lady named Lisa came from the RWA to tell us how water gets to our house from the lake, from the reservoir. She told us that the water was cleaned before it gets to our houses; it doesn’t come directly from the lake. We made a model of pipes and houses in the neighborhood to show how water gets to from the lake to our house.

And later on, we ate lunch. The lunch wasn’t from the New Haven Schools. I liked it.

Then we went swimming at Wilbur Cross. Some people were playing Marco Polo, but I didn’t play. I was swimming in the deep end. Then we got on the bus to come back to home base.

Adisa’s Day
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite subject in school: English

Today we stayed in the Solar Youth home base. The lady named Lisa came to visit us from the RWA center which we visited last week. She told us that water came from underneath somewhere. She decided to tell us to draw our dream house and then she laid out a map about where we live. She gave us pipes labeled with street names and she told us where to direct them on the map. After, she gave us a maze but we didn’t complete it. We told her thank you when she left.

After she left we ate our lunch, which Miss Hanifa and Nicole provided for those who didn’t bring their own lunch.

A photo taken by Shanice (a camper) of the youth that went to East Rock Park instead of swimming (Shanice made sure to pose the other youth!)

When we were done we went to Wilbur Cross swimming pool. There was six of us, including me, who didn’t go swimming because I wasn’t feeling that good. So Rose and Dontae and Jody took us to East Rock Park across from the Wilbur Cross High School. We played different games including tag and we went on the swings also. Sometime later after we were all stressed out, Jody showed us some of the pictures on her phone. Shanice and I thought that Jody smiles too much and takes too many pictures of herself, but really, she is very beautiful. We also saw pictures of the staff. Finally, Shareece and I went back to tell the other kids it was time to go back and leave.

We went back to the swimming pool and picked up the other kids. When we arrived it was reflection time which was drawing what we built as a group today and labeling it. After all, today was a great day for me. Everything was fun. I love Solar Youth.

CSP Daily Blog #20 - Mill and West River Team CSAPS!

2006-08-07T07:41:00.000-04:00

August 4, 2006 – CSP Day 10
Mill River and West River Teams CSAPs

Wintergreen Brook Clean Up
Mill River Team CSAP

This morning, at 10:30am, the Mill River Team CSAP began!

Watershed model the Mill River Team built out of recycled materials

The group started with a presentation to explain the significance of cleaning up Wintergreen Brook, which flows into the West River, which supplies part of New Haven’s running water and flows into the Long Island Sound. The group explained that by cleaning up the brook, we were reducing the amount of non-point source pollution that eventually would end up in the Atlantic Ocean and affect North and South America, Europe and Africa. The group also presented their recycled art model of a watershed, specifically the watershed area that includes West Rock State Park and the brook.

From there, we hiked up the hill to Westville Manor and behind the Solar Youth office. Three groups descended upon the litter in the brook and one group painted signs that read “Conserve Water,” “Don’t Litter,” “Save the Wintergreen Brook” and “Save the Fishes.” These signs will be added to the area around the brook to encourage residents to keep the brook clean. The clean up crews moved out along the brook and took things out of the stream, as well as the area around it.

Solar Youth CSP Program with all the trash we picked up!

Litter We Picked Up: Barbie Jeep, stereo in several pieces, television, boot, milk crate, bike wheel, shelf frame
TOTAL: 10 bags of trash!

It was a great time and everyone helped to make our watershed a cleaner place!

Pick Me Up Mailing Party
West River Team CSAP

This afternoon at 1pm the Pick Me Up Mailing Party began!

The West River Team created postcards about non-point source pollution with the slogan “Join the PICK ME UP TEAM and KEEP IT CLEAN. Spread the word!” and organized a mailing party to get all the postcards addressed, stamped and signed.

The party started with games outside, one being a game that youth created during a Challenge Day. Then the group moved inside and it was time for the focal point of the party: the mailing!

Youth competed in their river teams to complete as many postcards as possible, including stamping, addressing and signing the cards. The team with the most completed postcards won points to add to their team jar.

After the hard work was done, the youth relaxed with music and refreshments. There was a dance contest, where many of the youth cut loose after a hard week of planning and executing CSAPs.

It was a great time all around! Good job West River Team!

The Gimp Outbreak

It’s inevitable. Once one person brings gimp into a camp or classroom, it spreads and everyone has gimp in their hands. A glimpse of some of our gimp creations:

CSP Daily Blog #19 - Quinnipiac River Team CSAP

2006-08-07T06:55:00.000-04:00

August 3, 2006 – CSP Day 19
Quinnipiac River Team CSAP

H20 Patrol
Quinnipiac River Team CSAP

Natasha from the Q River Team facilitates Water Conservation Jeopardy

The Quinnipiac River Team was challenged to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation by creating recycled art and a public theater-type activity.

The youth created slogans and facts, accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations to put on recycled fans made from the paperboard lunch trays in the packaged lunches the campers receive through the New Haven Board of Education. The youth decided they would give out the fans on the New Haven Green during the heat wave, presenting the public with both facts and a handy way to cool down.

The West River Team explains how much water ordinary household activities consume to the public on the Green

For their theater-type activity, the youth decided on two strategies. One would be to have two of their group (Christian and Trevon, plus A'chan at last minute) dress up as clowns and lead the other two river teams around the green with banners, fans and stickers talking about water conservation.

Bernice and Natasha playing Water Conservation Jeopardy with a passerby

The Q River Team would also have a stationary booth with Water Conservation Jeopardy(a Solar Youth creation), a game they themselves played to learn a little about water conservation. They added a new category to the game (Public Use and New Haven Rivers), also writing the questions.

JJ, a Solar Youth veteran, cools down with Whitney's Water donated by the RWA

The public played for candies and everyone was offered a free bottle of water (donated by the Regional Water Authority!) to cool them on a hot day. The booth also had fans and stickers to hand out. The stickers were donated by the staff of the Whitney Water Center, the educational arm of the RWA.

Everyone had a blast and after awhile, the heat didn't feel so hot. The youth feel that the public really listened and got some knowledge from their project.

The Mill River Team marching around the Green with a H2O Patrol banner, handing out fans and doing a water conservation chant

Water conservation messages on the recycled art fans:

Turn off your faucet, it’s not hard
You’re wasting water from Lake Gallard!
Brushing your teeth with the water on wastes 10 times more water than if you shut off the tap.

Washing your dishes by hand is good
I’m not saying you must, I’m saying you should.
Washing dishes in the dishwasher: 20 gallons of water
Washing dishes by hand: 10 gallons of water
You do the math!

Water: it's not made to waste,
It's made to drink, it's made to taste!
1% of all the water in the world is freshwater that everyone must share, including humans, animals and plants.

Please don't have your sprinklers on all the time,
Taking water from the fishes is just a crime!
Having your sprinkler system on more than necessary wastes water.

We also raised $86.86 through donation given to be put toward our end of camp trip, an overnight at Great Mountain camp.

SCA Interns Borrowed from ECPC

Mira and Liz, SCA Interns from ECPC

During the hot (105 degrees) weather this week, our friend, Ilisa Kelman from Elm City Parks Conservancy (ECPC) called us up and asked if her Student Conservation Association (SCA) interns could work with us, instead of roasting outside. We said sure, so Liz and Mira joined us for the last few days. Mira worked with the Mill River Team and Liz joined the West River Team.

We’d like to thank them for helping out and we hope they had a great time!

CSP Daily Blog #18 - CSAP Reports and Gammy's Day

2006-08-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

August 2, 2006 – CSP Day #18

River Team CSAP Reports

Today the River Teams continued to work on planning their CSAP Projects. Teamwork, hard work and organization were the catch phrases of the day. Everyone worked very well together and got a lot of the work done!

Mill River
Reported by James and Sikai
Our title is the Mill Wintergreen Brook Clean Up. It will be behind the Solar Youth office [at 54 Wayfarer Street]. The date and time is August 4, 2006 at 10:30am. (See more about the Mill River Team’s day below with Gammy’s Day)

Quinnipiac River
Reported by Natasha and Adisa
For our project we are handing out fans on the Green. We need you to help people come to the game show part. You will march around and sing the watershed song. People will answer questions and we will give them candy. Trevon and Christian will be the clowns. Natasha is the game show person.

West River
Reported by Naomy, Jaymiah and Niamke
For our CSAP we are doing a mailing party. Everybody here is invited. This is not just a party, it is a challenge. Each team will have a chance to do the task of putting stamps on the postcard and also putting the address on it. Whoever has the most cards done wins the special prize. To have this party we also need your help. We have made a list of food that we would like to have. If you are able to bring anything put your name near the food you will bring. You may also bring CD’s for us to listen to at the party. Just have them in by tomorrow so that Nicole can make sure that there is nothing bad on there. And we need your games from the Challenge Day.

Gammy’s Day

Gammy, our second-year (almost) Public Ally, reports about what his team did today!

This morning for the Morning Cruise activities I instructed the campers to draw a picture related to water. I encouraged them to use the scrap papers from their previous projects to add to their drawings. I then led the campers in a team building game called Moving.

It was then time for the campers to go into their different teams in order to prepare for their Community Service Action Project. My team project is to organize a clean up of the Wintergreen Brook and to build a model of a watershed. We did more exploring in order to decide on a final location for the CSAP. So we hiked up the hill to the Westville Manor Housing Project, home of the Solar Youth office. There we went into the woods and took a walk along the brook.

We came across a number of littered objects and other items in the brook that did not belong there such as a bicycle and toy truck. We then hiked back to the camp home base where we spoke about what we saw. The campers then decided that among the three locations that the Westville Manor area of the brook was the best area for the clean up. We then began to draw up a plan for the watershed model. I then showed the campers an example of a human watershed in order to show them what a watershed should consist of. We then played an ice breaker game called AH SO KAY.

After lunch we then did some more planning and then started to put the plan into action. The campers made mountains, houses and trees from card board and twigs for their watershed model. The team then had to present the project to the rest of the camp and tell them about our planning process and about the project itself.

It was then time to call my brother, the Snack Magoo, who is a character who gives the students snack and sings a song to encourage them to eat healthy and to not litter at the end of the day.

SOLAR YOUTH EVENTS SCHEDULE

H20 PATROL
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Noon to 2:30pm
New Haven Green
Join our youth as they raise awareness about the importance of water conservation and test the knowledge of citizens about water and water conservation. You can locate us by asking any Solar Youth camper (bright yellow shirt or singing the New Haven Watershed Chant). Come try your luck at Water Conservation Jeopardy!

MILL WINTERGREEN BROOK CLEAN UP
Friday, August 4, 2006
10:30-11:45am
Behind the Solar Youth Office (54 Wayfarer Street)
Youth and staff together will clean up the Wintergreen Brook behind the Solar Youth office in Westville Manor. Come along if you’d like! Extra hands means less work all around. They will also be presenting a watershed model at our Public Education Project. Direct activism will give the youth a sense of pride and ownership and let them know that KIDS HAVE POWER!

MAILING PARTY
Friday, August 4, 2006
1:00-3:00pm
Gymnasium at Clarence Rogers School (199 Wilmot Road)
The West River Team has created a couple postcards discussing non-point source pollution. On Friday, the entire camp will get together and address the postcards, accompanied with a party to celebrate all the hard work we have done all week! Want to help with this advocacy event? Come along!

PUBLIC EDUCATION PROJECT
Thursday, August 10, 2006
5:00-7:00pm
Peabody Museum Auditorium (2nd Floor)
It’ll be a multimedia extravaganza—youth-created songs, video and art—as well as reports from the three River Teams about their Community Service Action Projects, all they have done and all they have learned this summer of Watersheds!

VIDEO SPECIAL: FASHION SHOW!
In a fit of giddiness, some of our youth who didn’t eat breakfast attacked a box of fabric (provoked by Assistant Director Rose and Intern Nicole) and dressed up. This prompted the infamous twins (Natasha and Naomy) to coordinate a fashion show. Taylor and Abby participated and that's Sikai, rambling on about fish gill pills (a running camp joke). Check it out (I love how creative the youth are!)!

CSP Daily Blog #17 - Natasha, Niamke and James' Day

2006-08-01T18:18:00.000-04:00

August 1, 2006 – CSP Day 17
Natasha, Niamke and James’ Days

Today teams began to plan their Community Service Action Projects (CSAP). This is the final team challenge for the summer, requiring teams to utilize the teamwork, communication and creative skills they have been acquiring during the Challenge Days.

Quinnipiac River Team Challenge: Use theater and recycled art to promote using less water. The recycled art (fans with water conservation logos and slogans) will be handed out in a public place, accompanied by the theater piece.

Natasha from the Quinnpiac River Team: My CSAP project is about water conservation. Today we tried to get ideas to create a fan to pass out to people. We’re making the fans from lunch trays. Our design is about not wasting water and rhyme about it. We have four facts and pictures. We had fun today.

West River Team Challenge: Design a postcard about how non-point source pollution affects the New Haven watershed and have a mailing party.

Niamke from the West River Team: My CSAP project is to make postcards. We’re going to tell people about non point source pollution. I hope we get a response back. We have the postcard design on the job list. We did different designs.

Mill River Team Challenge: Organize a clean up of Wintergreen Brook and build a model of a watershed to educate others.

James from the Mill River Team: My CSAP project is about a clean up and cleaning up Wintergreen Brook. It’s on the corner of Brookside and Westville Manor. We have gotten done our list of what we’re going to do and our jobs. We looked at some stuff that we’re going to be picking up, up and down streets. We built our model telling people about the watersheds. We used cardboard and that’s all.

CSP Daily Blog #16 - Crystale's Day

2006-08-01T18:07:00.000-04:00

Crystale with her microscope at the Whitney Water Center of the RWA!

July 31, 2006 - CSP Day 16
Crystale's Day

Wintergreen Magnet School Student
Favorite Food: Pepperoni Pizza
Favorite Trips this Summer: Ropes Course at Camp Laurelwood and Youth Walk
First I went to breakfast. Then got my bag and water bottle so if I got hot I can drink it. We used the bathroom and got on the bus and off we were to the Regional Water Authority Learning Center. My favorite part there was looking at the bugs under the microscope. I learned how to use a microscope like a REAL scientist. The water we explored was from the Mill River!!! After that we ate lunch at East Rock Park and played games with Gammy. Finally we went swimming. I really like swimming.

CSP Daily Blogs #15 - Taylor's Day

2006-07-28T19:00:00.000-04:00

Solar Youth Citywide Stewards walking on the New Haven Green for YouthWalk

July 28, 2006 – CSP Day 15
Taylor’s Day

YouthWalk is an event coordinated by the Citywide Youth Coalition and sponsored by the Regional Water Authority, Hot 93.7, News Channel 8 (UPN 9), Empower New Haven, New Alliance Bank, ConnCAN and the City of New Haven. The event is for youth to raise money for their individual organizations, as well as raise public awareness about the need for youth programming in the city. Here’s Taylor’s Day:

We went YouthWalk on the Green. We played games; we played Cat and Mouse and the game where you can’t touch the bottle with your hands. I saw many people from my school and my cousins and stuff like that. I saw the people from 93.7, Miss Yo, and I got her to sign my poster. I got donated ten dollars. Overall we made $250 dollars for the camping trip. We walked around and we ate lunch and we saw people dancing. We saw the Boys and Girls Club dancing and Newhallville Summer Camp. My favorite part of the day was when Crystale [another camper] was up there dancing.

CSP Daily Blogs #14 - Cecily's Day

2006-07-28T18:50:00.000-04:00

July 27, 2006 – CSP Day 14
Cecily’s Day

Today, the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association took us on a marsh tour and canoeing on the Q River, completing our tour of the three rivers of New Haven.

Today we went on a marsh tour at Quinnipiac Meadows. There were a lot of bugs but it was a lot of fun. There were like little traps on the floor. It smelled like saltwater. We went to an island where the Indians used to live and go to eat oysters. She also showed us a shotgun cap and that there was a lot of poison ivy. We saw fiddler crabs; the male has the big claw but the female doesn’t. The male had the big claw to fight with another male to fight for a female. We went to the osprey nest. Then we ate lunch and we went canoeing. At first I was scared, but then I knew I wasn’t going to fall into the water because I had a life jacket. There was a boat that had nobody on it, there was just shoes on there, in the water. It had two pairs of sandals in it. Me and the instructor had to keep turning the boat around to help other people. The instructors kept on laughing because everybody kept getting stuck. The other instructor had two boats and he was in front of us. Abby and Claire was stuck all the way in the back. Then we got back we went to where we had started at. We all got on the bus and did our reflection, came back and had our snack.

CSP Daily Blogs #13 - Shanice's Day

2006-07-27T07:22:00.000-04:00

July 26, 2006 – CSP Day 13
Shanice’s Day

Today we did a video challenge. My challenge was to do anything you want. I did it gangster-style with Cecily. I taught about non-point source and point source pollution. It was kinda hard but I had fun doing it. First we couldn’t figure out what to do, then we just took it back to how we live.

Next we did the game challenge. Everyone was sharing their ideas. I thought that was a good game. Our game was called Pollution Relay. You have to have two teams, non-point source pollution and point source pollution and you have NPS and PS cards at the end of the relay. Whatever team you’re on you have to get the card that matches the kind of pollution you were assigned to. The first one to get all their card back or fastest wins.

Next we did the song challenge. We really weren’t working together. We could have done better on that, on teamwork. We came up with something at the last minute. But we pulled through and we finished it. The name of it was Water Solution. We recorded it with Dontae and Hanifa. At first we didn’t do so good, but then Trevon helped us. His idea was to slow the song down and it sounded better.

Then we went golfing with Dennis. He taught us putting, which is a short distance swing. I did horrible because I was hitting it too far. He told us that next week he would teach us how to use the big club.

Overall my day was fun, exciting. Lunch was good. I love camp.

CSP Daily Blog #12 - Christian's Day

2006-07-25T22:00:00.000-04:00

July 25, 2006 – CSP Day 12
Christian’s Day

Today we went to the farmer’s garden, Grow Hartford. Shannon split us up into three groups. Two of the groups picked for weeds and my group, Quinnipiac River Team, had to dig up dirt and put it in wheelbarrows and bring it over and dump it in the plant bed. Then, after that, we came back to the place that we started, under the shady tree. We ate lunch. After we we were done, we checked that everything was cleaned up, then we got back on the bus.

We went to the Trash Museum in Hartford. In the beginning there was a house of trash. We went through it and on the other side, she taught us about what kind of bottles they recycle, numbers one and two. You know that it can be recycled if it has a triangle with arrows going in the triangle. After we learned that, we went back into the house of trash and had a scavenger hunt. She asked us if we could find things that could have been recycled or reused. Then she told us to find the mice (they weren’t real). Then if the people didn’t see it, she told you to put your finger on your nose. She would tell you, 1, 2, 3, and everyone would point to it.

We went to a place with a gray rug. She asked, “What is it made of?” People had to guess and she told us it was made out of plastic bottles, number one and number two. We went upstairs and kneeled on a bench to look out the windows into the factory. You saw machines crushing up bottles and trucks unloading bottles. She showed us a model building of their building and she showed us where we are.

We went back downstairs and did a project of making pencil holders out of wallpaper, toilet tissue tubes and glue. When we were done, she told us to follow her and she showed us a truck that used to pick up all the bottles. She told us that it’s only a display now because they took out the engine and only the lights work. We had to leave after that.

I liked the Trash Musuem because we learned what kind of bottles can be recycled and we actually saw the factory.

Assistant Director's Note: Going to the Trash Museum made the staff realize that we need to make sure what the recycling laws and regulations are in New Haven, so we will be checking that out and hopefully posting that information here on our blog. Apparently, the information changes all the time. When our youth asked us about the rules for New Haven, we were unsure, so we will make sure to tell them, as well.

Remember: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!

CSP Daily Blog #11 - Claire's Day

2006-07-25T21:39:00.000-04:00

July 24, 2006 – CSP Day 11
Claire’s Day
We had Claire, the Yale counterpart of the Yale-China Association, blog for today!

Today we started a week of field trips with a day-long trip to Hammonasset State Park. Even though I’d been at Yale for four years, I’d never been to Hammonasset, so I was especially excited – plus, it was a beautiful, sunny, not-too-hot day, perfect for the scavenger hunts we had planned.

After a long bus ride, filled with songs and drumming, we arrived at the park and broke into two groups. My group started our scavenger hunt at the sandy beach; we were looking for a long list of sea creatures, including blue mussels, razor clams, whelks, and Irish moss (a kind of seaweed). The kids got a little discouraged at first, because there really wasn’t as much stuff as we thought there would be, but they persevered, and soon enough, every single one of them (even the ones wearing jeans and sneakers) were up to their knees – or even their waists – in the ocean, trying to get all the items on our list.

Before we knew it, it was time to switch with the other group and head to the rocky beach, which was separated from the sandy one by a rock jetty (a kind of pier made out of rocks that juts into the water) and a long stretch of rocks we had to climb over. We had a difficult scramble over the rocks over to the beach, though the staff had a markedly harder time with the waist-high boulders than the campers, who loved every minute of the “hike”. We made it, though, and got to explore that beach, where we had a bit more success. There were pink jellyfish everywhere, which the kids were alternately fascinated and repulsed by. We collected crabs and different kinds of seaweed, and some of the kids took the Seine net and practiced the skills Brandon taught them last week in the ocean. I was especially impressed that a few of the girls remembered Hanifa’s lesson about the osprey nest at West River Memorial Park and were able to identify one from very far off.

Then we headed back to the main beach using the much easier trail and ate lunch. And then…SWIMMING!

I missed a lot of the splashing about because Sara (another staff member) and I were being buried with sand higher up on the beach, but judging by the happy yelps I could hear, it sounded like a blast. When I emerged from my mummification, though, I needed to rinse off anyway, so I joined the kids in the cold, cold water. None of them seemed bothered by it at all, though, as they swam about playing Marco Polo or riding the waves or just swimming about.

We came back wet and tired, singing a few new songs on the bus ride back and a few old classics. And then it was time to go! I love field trip days; they allow me to see a lot of greater New Haven, and of Connecticut, that I missed out on while being so focused on my academics and extracurriculars on the Yale campus. I wish all Yale students could get a taste of all that greater New Haven has to offer, and with their guides as 30 (sometimes overly rambunctious, but usually perfectly wonderful) youth.

CSP Daily Blogs #10 - Rose's Day

2006-07-24T06:41:00.000-04:00

July 21, 2006 - CSP Day 10
Rose's Day
Today, the assistant director tells us about her day

Friday dawned pretty, but cloudy, cool, but with storm in the forecast. We planned to go to the Eli Whitney Museum and then swimming with the youth and nobody could bear to cancel, so we didn't. It did storm, but getting wet should have been the least of our worries, as the youth ended up soaked in two other ways.

At the Eli Whitney Museum, the youth made Swimmers, a project that used a propeller and rubberband to move a thin piece of wood through the water. The workshop was on a covered bridge over the Mill River, which the Mill River Team found exciting. We heard their chant over and over again ("M to the I to the double L, we're the Mill, so chill"). Visiting the museum after the New Haven Watershed Tour was perfect, since the youth hadn't had a chance to see the Mill, due to time constraints. There were ducks and waterstriders which the youth wanted to wade into the water and catch, but got even more distracted by their Swimmers.

The youth had total creative control once the base was built and we had Sikai's ambitious naval ship, Abby's beaver, Christian's alligator and many other beautifully decorated Swimmers. Interns helped the youth with ideas and execution. It was really nice to see the high school interns working so closely and animatedly with the youth. Nicole worked with her brother and his friends at camp. Sara stayed more towards the back with the group at that workbench. Jody floated around, as did Edward. They really worked hard to help the youth realize their vision for the Swimmer. I realize that we have a great group of interns this summer.

The fun part for the youth came when they were at the outdoor water lab. One tank had a wave maker, which the youth used enthusiastically, getting soaked by the waves overflowing right onto them. Another tank was built like a canal, which youth able to lift three different gates to propel more water through the tank. Another was a simple tank, which didn't attract much attention.

After at least an hour of play in the water lab, it was lunch time. We sat outside, for the storm that was coming had come and passed. After some more play at the water lab, we loaded in the bus and headed to Wilbur Cross High School, for our swim hour.

Five of our youth passed the swim test and were allowed to swim in the deep end. The others remained in the shallows. It was a fantastic hour of plain fun, which the youth had worked hard for.

Sleepy and chlorinated youth pulled up to Clarence Rogers School and, after snack, left us. I think the youth had a terrific day. The staff was so happy to have made it successfully through week two!

CSP Daily Blogs #9 - Shanae's Day

2006-07-20T17:22:00.000-04:00

July 20, 2006 – CSP Day 9
Shanae’s Day

It was a nice day. We went on the New Haven Watershed Tour. We went to the top of West Rock Mountain. We got sassafrass. We played games. We went to West River Memorial Park and we saw an osprey nest. We went to Long Wharf. We caught crabs and snails. We saw phragmites. We had sea lettuce.

When we came back we did art and played games. We had snacks. Then we went home!

New Haven Watershed Tour

Today the campers split into two groups to go on the New Haven Watershed Tour. One group went in the morning, another after lunch. They rode in a van piloted by Miss Hanifa, stopping at Common Ground Farm to check out the compost pile where the Meatless Ort ends up (left) and then driving all the way to the top of West Rock Ridge State Park. After some exploring there, the van headed to the convergence of Wintergreen Brook and the West River, near Blake Street in Westville. The youth stopped at West River Memorial Park and found an osprey nest. From there, they headed over to Long Wharf, for a good look at the Long Island Sound and some crab hunting. The New Haven Watershed Tour will continue as the youth canoe the Quinnpiac River.

CSP Daily Blogs #8 - Tyquan's Day

2006-07-20T07:16:00.000-04:00

July 19, 2006 – CSP Day 8
Tyquan’s Day

Today I had a great day. I had breakfast, I did a crossword puzzle and then the Video Challenge. One of our challenges was to make up a show about West River, Mill River and Q River. I was a gang of fish that liked to breakdance. I battled against another fish named Shareece and she had a vision that she was going to win the competition. After she won the money. She said, “It’s all about the seaweed, baby!” They said, “Let’s go party with the ospreys.” Then we had to do a skit in a language besides English. They used Spanish. I didn’t understand what they were saying. We had lunch. Then we played golf and I hit my ball the farthest because mine went into the bushes. Someone almost got it farther than that once. Then we had the Game Challenge. It was like Monopoly. There was three people in three groups. The three names of the groups were Mill, West and Quinnipiac. They have to roll the dice to see who gets the largest number to see who goes first. After that you have to roll the dice to see how many times you go. There were hooks that mean you had to go back to the starting line. There was a black hole that meant go backwards. There was a plus sign that meant go forward. There was a subtraction sign to go backwards. There was a seahorse that you have to ride until you see another seahorse. The first one to make it from Long Island Sound to their river wins. The next challenge was the Song Challenge. Our beat was the Smurf’s song. The song was:

Please pick up your trash in the West River
Or else you won’t be swimming here
So try your best to keep it clean there

CSP Daily Blogs #7 - Jody's Day

2006-07-20T06:54:00.000-04:00

July 18, 2006 – CSP Day 7
Jody’s Day
Today, we got an intern's point of view about camp

Today was really fun. The weather was perfect. We painted three different posters with three different groups. Most everybody painted the beach and the sky. It was fun to be in charge; I felt like a grown up, like I was older. It was just me and Edward. It felt good when the kids paid attention to me. I felt like I had the power in my hands to have the kids pay attention to me. It was fun working with Edward. We put our ideas together, like where to put the poster so they youth wouldn’t be in the sun. One time I got to rotate the kids to games and then to EE, and they were paying attention to me, although it was hot.

Yesterday Hanifa got to shave off her eyebrows and it looked funny. I have to be the next person in line to do something else crazy when they get half a pound or less of ort. I also gave the beads to Adisa. The beads are for somebody who was being really nice or kind or went out they’re way to do something generous.

I think the summer is going good so far because the kids are really nice. I feel like each day I get to know them the kids are better; I get more comfortable with them. I feel less shy about getting in front of the group—before I wouldn’t have done that.

VIDEO: Down in the Valley O!
Jody leads the group in a Solar Youth favorite

SPECIAL REPORT: Ort Down to Half a Pound!

2006-07-18T16:44:00.000-04:00

The Ort Report

To reduce food waste at Solar Youth Summer Camp, our Director, Hanifa Washington, instituted the Ort Report. Ort is wasted food and if the campers are able to get a pound of less of Ort in any given day for lunch, Hanifa promised she would shave her eyebrows. This motivated many of the campers to eat more of their lunch, turn down food they didn't really want and to be aware of others' waste production. Jerry (below, below) even collected several servings of unwanted bologna and stuffed them in his sandwich in an effort to lower the Ort levels.

Every day, after lunch, campers split their Ort into two categories. The Meatless Ort includes organics, such as fruit, juice, vegetables, bread from sandwiches and graham crackers. This Ort is collected throughout the week and then taken to Common Ground Farm on Springside Avenue. Common Ground has a huge compost pile and Solar Youth's Meatless Ort is returning to the earth to fertilize other crops. The Other Ort, which consists of animal products, is milk, meat and cheese. This Ort is simply disposed of, since it cannot be composted (see photo above, left).

Each day, Miss Hanifa selects a different group of youth to go out in the hall and prepare the Ort Report. Of course there is a song and a little dance that goes with it:

Ooh-ah the Ort Report
I said ooh-ah Ort Report
Shaky shaky now
Ooh-ah the Ort Report
I said ooh-ah Ort Report
Yeah!

The Ort Report for Days 1 through 7
Day 1 - 5 pounds
Day 2 - 3.5 pounds
Day 3 - 2.5 pounds
Day 4 - 1.5 pounds
Day 5 - 1.5 pounds
Day 6 - Ort was not reported
Day 7 - HALF A POUND!

The cheers went up in the classroom today, as many of the children were very excited about having Miss Hanifa shave her eyebrows off. Miss Rose did the honors (see video below). Hanifa promises that she will have eyebrows within four days.

The next challenge for the group? Half a pound or less and Miss Jody will wear underwear over her pants all day.

The youth think they can do it...tomorrow!

VIDEO: Eyebrows Begone!
Miss Hanifa losing her eyebrows

CSP Daily Blogs #6 - Shemar's Day

2006-07-18T07:35:00.000-04:00

Abby and Educator Brandon Ballengee at a tide pool on Outer Island

Outer Island
The Citywide Steward Program went to Outer Island on July 17th! We took the Sea Mist Ferry for a short tour of the Thimble Islands off the shore of Stony Creek, CT. They dropped us off at Outer Island, an island donated to Southern Connecticut State University for research, where Wendy, our trusty guide, showed the youth different kinds of seaweed (Irish moss, various colors of algae and a seaweed called dead man's fingers), went crab hunting (we found green crab, Asiatic shore crab and hermit crabs) and showed us several tide pools. We brought along Brandon Ballengee, an eco-artist and part-time educator for Solar Youth. He had his Seine nets, a few dippers, waders and a vast knowledge of different kinds of intertidal species. Youth were literally all over the shores of the island (the interior is a protected nature preserve and humans are not allowed in), looking under rocks for crabs, dipping their fingers into all the tide pools and humming "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to scared hermit crabs, coaxing them out with their voices. For some youth, this was their first time on a boat or an island. Although it was a hot and sticky day, we had a great time.

July 17, 2006 - CSP Day 6
Shemar's Day
We went to Long Island Sound. We were on Outer Island. We took a boat, the ferry. We went searching for hermit crabs, green crabs and shore crabs. We went and found snails, shells that was a type of mussel. I had a great time. We had lunch and then we went in the water for thirty minutes to look for types of crabs, shells, silver fish. We went back to New Haven from Long Island Sound and I’ve never been on an island. That was my first day on an island. The interesting part was the kind of creepy part when we used the bathroom there was a water bucket that you had to pour into the toilet to make it flush. Then you had to take the bucket then put it in the water. Then you put it in the bathroom so the next person can do the same thing. The exciting part was when we had use nets to catch fish and other types of stuff. It was hard to catch the crabs because when you lift up the rock the crabs run really fast and when you pick it up it pinches you. My group got a lot of crabs. We found small, tiny crabs, regular crabs and big crabs. When you pick up the snails you have to hum to it so the snail can come out of the shell. You have to hold it straight in your hand. If you move it around it will go back in. I had fun picking up the sea crabs and the snails.

The Inner Workings of CSP - Challenge Days
New this summer are the Challenge Days. CSAP teams (Quinnipiac, West and Mill River Teams) have three challenges throughout the day. During the Video Challenge, teams have forty-five minutes to come up with three thirty-second clips educating others on the theme of the week. For the Song Challenge, the teams are giving a different popular tune to create a song to. At the end of the forty minutes, the team records the song. The Game Challenge requires the team to make either a board, active or matching games. Three Challenge Days will occur three times during the summer camp, following the themes of the Long Island Sound, the three rivers of New Haven and water pollution. We want to encourage creativity, have youth-created curriculum tools for all Solar Youth programs and push the teams to work together.

There Was a Great Big Moose
An SY favorite

There was a great big moose
And he drank a lot of juice
The moose's name was Fred
And he drank his juice in bed
He drank his juice with care
But he got some on his hair
Now he's a sticky moose
Full of juice!

CSP Daily Blogs #5 - Naomy's Day

2006-07-18T07:11:00.000-04:00

Ropes Course
On Friday, July 14, the camp went to Camp Laurelwood for some team-building exercises. The camp has been divided into three river teams—Quinnipiac, West and Mill. The teams will work on a Community Service Action Project throughout the summer, as well as compete against each other in Challenge Days. To build teamwork, the teams participated in several rotations at Camp Laurelwood--teambuilding games, low ropes and high ropes. Teambuilding games required everyone to work together and formulate strategy, as did the low ropes, where youth had to pass their team through the Spideweb and cross the Wire. The Spiderweb was a web of rope that each team member had to get through to successfully complete the challenge, without using two of the holes twice. At the Wire, youth had to walk on a low wire, holding onto a rope. Two youth came from each end, then had to trade balancing ropes in the middle. At the high ropes, which was the overall favorite, youth had to conquer their fear and were belayed up nearly into a tree, then they pulled a cord that sent them swining back and forth. Overall, the youth had a fantastic day.

July 14, 2006 - CSP Day 5
Naomy's Day
On Friday we went to the Ropes Course. We go on the rope and go up into the tree. We had to pull a tiny rope and then we go swinging down. It felt fun and scared all at the same time. We need to rotate to the games. We had to work as a team to get the golf ball on the half pipes to the pit. We had to blindfold somebody and the other person need to lead you to a ball and throw it to the other person who was blindfolded. Then we rotate to the third station. There’s a spiderweb and we tried to get through without touching the web. We had to work with teamwork and communicate with each other. We went to the Wire and then we got a rope and tried to get across without touching the mud and pretend that there was an alligator. My favorite was the flying thing. It was fun.

VIDEO: Swinging on the High Ropes
A'chan swings from the trees!

CSP Daily Blogs #4 - Marshall's Day

2006-07-13T19:30:00.000-04:00

July 13, 2006 - CSP Day 4
Marshall’s Day

We talked about yesterday and how people weren’t listening. We played the little game where we we have to close our eyes and think of a beat in our head. Then we went outside did the CSAP thing. CSAP means Community Service Action Project. Then we made up the whole rhyme for the Mill [River Team]:

M to the I to the double L
You need to chill
Cause we’re the Mill
We’re ill
And we roll like a wheel
We’re going to chill
Your grill
Cause we’re the Mill
So meet us at the top
Of the hill.

For the Ort Report, we came in doing the “Lean with It, Rock with It,” it’s this hip hop from BET called the Franchise boys. It was my idea. After lunch we played Solar Youth Says, and then we went outside and played Hagoo and Mirror and then we went with Nicole and Jody. It was a game where you have to figure out the person that does the beats.

We came inside for snack and the Snack Magoo came out of the closet. And we watched a Spongebob movie when Gary liked Patrick pants because he had a cookie in his pocket. Then Spongebob started crying because he thought Gary didn’t like him anymore.

I think Solar Youth is fun because we do so much activities and go on field trips.

CSP Daily Blogs #3 - Jaymiah's Day (Plus Snack Magoo)

2006-07-12T18:15:00.000-04:00

July 12, 2006 – CSP Day 3
Jaymiah’s Day

My CSAP team is the West River Team. We did a video challenge. We had to do three things. We had to summarize a Solar Youth article. We did a puppet about polluting the Long Island Sound. Then we had a thirty second dance; we threw trash on the ground and then we picked it up. We also made a song called “The Ocean Blues.” That was fun because a lot of people were laughing. People put silly things in the songs but we put it in anyway and I fell out of my chair! We played golf. My partner was Naomy. It’s hard. If we had a competition Naomy would win. We did a game. It was about the Long Island Sound. There’s three people and they represent the three rivers. And the other people playing are the Long Island Sound. We called out categories, like your favorite color or what color shirt you had on. The people who fell into the category had to run across, from one side to another, without getting caught by the Rivers. If you got caught you had to link to the person that caught you. In the end, whichever river had the most people won. I made a lot of friends on my team and I know a lot of names now because of the teams. My team leaders are Nicole, Claire, Sonia and Sara supposed to be but she was filling in for Edward. When we were doing the song, our team was embarrassed so we had to do it like four times before we got all the words out. Wow. I have one more thing. When we were playing gold, Shemar accidentally let go of the club and made a hole in the gym wall. He did, I’m serious. If you go, you can walk and see it.

The Inner Workings of CSP
Snack Magoo

Every day at camp, around 2:50pm, the campers and staff invoke the Snack Magoo ("I'm not Mister Magoo!" he sings) to feed them a healthy afternoon snack. It's actually Mister Gammy, dressed up and fabulous! His song goes:

It's not Mister Magoo
It's the Snack Magoo
Come and get your snack
You won't get heart attack
It's snack time
It's snack time
It's snack time
So let's sing a rhyme
Eating is not a crime
Just wait your turn in line
And put the trash in a bin
All of the time

Solar Youth believes in a happy, healthy and successful youth, so we not only provide a creative and hands-on curriculum, but encouraging water-drinking (instead of sodas or sugary juices) and a giving the students a healthy snack, such as Nutri-Grain bars and Fig Newtons.

Besides, it's funny to watch Mister Gammy dress up and be silly.

CSP Daily Blogs #2 - Trevon's Day

2006-07-11T20:06:00.000-04:00

July 11, 2006 - CSP Day 2
Trevon’s Day

When I came here early I went with my friend Christian and we played basketball outside. I lost every game then finally, it was time for camp. We got a binder and then we pressed on the paper and we made a collage from the National Geographic magazines. We worked hard; we cut out the perfect picture to talk about us and what we like. After that it was time for breakfast. We had muffin, juice and milk. We told funny jokes, we laughed and we went back into the class. After we came back we had a few minutes to come and finish our collage.

Then it was time for three activities. I started off at Art and we had to rip up paper, then we put it in the blended and it didn’t work. So Nicole went to ask Gammy if he had another one, then he said that was the only one, so Rose said, “Is it the wrong plug?” So we plugged it out and put it in a different plug and then it worked and we got to see it. Pulp was nasty and gray and mushy and makes you want to throw up. So while Nicole was blending some more, we went outside and we saw blueberries and strawberries mushed all in the bags, then we poured it into different containers. Then we moved on and went across the bridge and we saw vibrating bugs. Whenever one wanted to the bug vibrated. We walked on all the way into the park. One of the girls in Rose’s group wanted to write a poem about flowers, so she took a picture and she started to write. Next I said, “I want to take a picture of the vibrating bug.” So Miss Rose said, “We’ll take a picture of the bug when we walk back from the park to the camp.”

So a few minutes later we started to walk back. I saw the water bug and I said, “I see it, let’s take a picture.” She gave me the camera and said, “Try not to drop it.” I tried to take a picture of it, but it was too fast. Rosie took a shot of it. Naomy tried and she finally got a shot of one of the vibrating bugs. After we wrote our poems but didn’t get to finish. We used the mushy pulp and strawberries and blueberries to make art!

We rotated from Art to EE (environmental education). We started off with a clean bucket of water filled with three water bottles. Miss Hanifa was talking about there was one percent of freshwater in the world. She said that some waters get polluted from the sewage treatment, from the lake—the water comes from the toilet and the sink and that is all freshwater. We talked about how the water gets polluted and we put stuff in [to represent pollutants], like beavers bite trees and it goes into the water. In winter leaves fall out and then go into the water. The farmer puts pesticides on the ground, but the flies could go eat it and die. And when it rains all the water comes puts all the pesticides into the river and that’s non-point source pollution.

Today we played games. I liked the one where you had to hold hands and you had to catch someone so they could join you. I liked the game where you had to figure out how the C’s get to the X’s and the X’s get to the C’s [called Traffic Jam]. You have to think with your mind, you really had to think with your head to figure it out.

CSP Daily Blogs #1 - Ashley's Day

2006-07-11T20:02:00.000-04:00

July 10, 2006 - CSP Day 1
Ashley's Day

So when I first walked in here, I thought I was going to be a little nervous. But then when it was time to eat breakfast I met this girl and her name is Jaymiah. When we started talking we had a lot in common; she was one of the first people I met. Then, when it was time for lunch and after lunch, I met these other two girls named Natasha and Naomy and I played a game of telephone with them and Jaymiah. We had a lot in common, we had fun. We thought today was not going to be very fun but we ended up making new friends. When we went outside, when we were blindfolded, I partnered up with a girl named Bernice and she and I had a lot in common so we became friends. When I came I thought I would be lonely and everyone else would know each other because some of the kids had been here before I had, but I ended up making quite a few friends and I was really happy about that.

I learned something new, I learned about water molecules and how they're formed. You need oxygen, you need hydrogen and convalent bonds and that forms a water molecule. My favorite game that we did today was the blindfold [Trust Walk] because that built my trust in getting to know other people and that will probably help for tomorrow because we might do the same thing. The partner that I had trusted me and we had a strong bond and that's how we became friends.

Introducing...CSP!

2006-07-11T18:36:00.000-04:00

Summer has fully arrived and that means Citywide Steward Program has begun! We have a diverse staff, with five adults and four high school interns. They are here, to tell you all about themselves in their own words:

Hanifa - Director
I've been with Solar Youth almost three years. I hail from Michigan, have lived in Texas, went to college in Wisconsin and took a road trip throughout the entire continental U.S. I worked at Nature's Classroom in Ivoryton, CT for two years, but found that teaching hands on environmental education to urban youth was my calling. This is my third summer program and I'm excited to get started. We're trying out some new curriculum and integrating media (video, audio, this blog) into camp. We have Challenge Days, Urban Adventures and will bring back the classic songs and games that make CSP so much fun! Stay tuned for some Solar-Youth-alicios enjoyment!

Rose - Assistant Director
This is my first summer program since coming on as Program Manager for Solar Youth in September of last year. I'm from Puerto Rico and came to New Haven to attend Yale. After graduating in 2003, I stayed in town because I just love this city. Previous to Solar Youth, I worked for Jumpstart throughout my college years and taught Headstart in Bridgeport, CT after graduation. I've been planning CSP for months, so I'm excited to put faces to the names on all the applications I've received. I'll be teaching art for the program and am ready to get the ball rolling!

Gammy - Educator
My name is Gamaliel Moses and I am originally from the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica. I am 21 years old. I came to Solar Youth as a Public Ally in the fall of 2005. I was responsible for being a Team Educator for the Neighborhood Stewards Teams at Hill Central School in New Haven, which is an afterschool program. I am now an Adventure Educator for Solar Youth's Citywide Steward Program, which is a five week long summer program with students from around the city. I am indeed excited and looking forward to a great summer working with the youth, exploring, doing and teaching.

Claire - Educator
I am originally from Berkely, CA, but I have spent the last four years at Yale University. I just graduated with a degree in English and I plan on becoming a writer. I am a special educator at Solar Youth through the Yale-China Association, which holds and exchange program I am currently participating in. I just got back from Hong Kong a few weeks ago, which I found to be a surprisingly environmentally-friendly place. I am looking forward to working at Solar Youth, and especially for all of our outings!

Sonia - Educator
I'm Sonia Kwan, 20, who came from Hong Kong which is an exciting and energetic city in China. In this summer, I'm joining Solar Youth as an Educator through the Yale-China Summer Community Service Exchange Programme. Solar Youth is a warm family with supportive and nice staff. Working with them definitely can teach me a lot! I'm so excited about this summer! In this camp, I hope I can know all of the kids well and give them an unforgettable summer in New Haven! As a Chinese, it is also a golden opportunity for me to explore the American culture and the environment! Here are some of my details and "secrets."
Name: Sonia Kwan Ching Yee
Place of Birth: Hong Kong
Family Status: Dad, Mom and Sis
Normal Hobbies: Reading detective stories (especially at night), swimming (in the evening), playing piano, hanging out with friends
Abnormal Hobbies: Love washing/cleaning the fish and meat before cooking them, love pink colour (everything is pink colour like glasses, pencil bag, t-shirt, files and binders, etc.)

Nicole - Intern
Hey, y'all. This is Nicole coming at you from Solar Youth. I'm here to give you the basic 4-1-1 on myself. All right, my full name is Nicole Dunnaville and I was born in Queens, NY and later came to live in CT. I am in the 10th grade at the Sound School in New Haven. I have been involved with Solar Youth for four years. I came and attended the Citywide Steward Program that I am interning at this summer. The next summer I attended the Solar Youth Internation program, where they took us to different environmental conferences. After that season, I became involved with the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) of Solar Youth and later became a board member. But before becoming a board member I got the chance to travel to JAPAN with another youth (Javaughn Harris) and the Executive Director, Joanne Sciulli. I can truly say that Solar Youth is amazing!

Jody - Intern
My name is Jody Ann Purcell. I've just turned 18 years old. I was born in one of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean, Jamaica. It's a very breathtaking place to go and visit. As for now, I'm living in the United States, whicher I attend Wilbur Cross High School. I've been going there for three years, since I was a freshman. In August I'll be going there to finish up my senion year. Wilbur Cross is a very interesting school to go to, especially if you're into diveristy, because you'll find it there. I first learned about Solar Youth through the Career Center at my high school. One day I was walking back and forth through the halls on my lunch period, because I didn't feel like sitting in the lunch room. Then I walked into the Career Center, and there I saw at least five girls filling out applications for this mystery job I had no clue about. I became curious and someone summarizeds what was going on. I started filling out an application, too. I worked during the fall season for the Neighborhood Steward Teams, then in winter and spring, too. I'll have worked for Solar Youth for a full year after this summer. I have met lots of nice people and really like my job.

Edward - Intern
Edward is the only intern this summer that didn't work for us during the spring. His charming ways and respectful demeanor got him hired for our CSP program. Although he just graduated from Sheridan Middle School, Edward has a maturity beyond his years. He loves to sing, worked on the school newspaper and has babysat his relatives for years. He'll be a freshman in the fall, with some work experience under his belt, a bit more environmental knowledge and a whole lot of songs that will never leave his brain ("I said a fried chicken wing!"). Although his closeness in age to the campers worries him, we know that his leadership skills will bring the youth to both like and respect him.

Sara - Intern
Hi, my name is Sara Torres and I am an intern at Solar Youth. I was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico fifteen years ago and today I'm interning at Solar Youth! I found out about Solar Youth in School. I go to Sound School. I worked last season at Hill Central School. The thing I like most about Solar Youth is the kids and how we play games. I love my job because the kids make me love Solar Youth and them. This summer I am working once again with Solar Youth as an intern.

Stay tuned for daily blogs from CSP campers!

Barnard Storm Drain Party 05-23/25-06

2006-06-01T11:32:00.000-04:00

by Hanifa Washington

It was a cool breezy Tuesday morning when the participants of our Hands-on Outdoor Learning Adventure Program (HOLA) ventured out to make a difference in their environmental community.

In collaboration with the Save the Sound project, the HOLA participants from Barnard Environmental Magnet School spray painted stencils near storm drains as a community outreach project. The signs invited citizens to be responsible about their litter. Youth also learned a song created by Solar Youth’s Public Ally Gameliel Moses about point source and non-point source pollution.

WATER POLLUTION

Repeat after me...

Point source pollution!
Non-point source pollution!

What we want is clean water
For the sons and daughters

Chemicals leaking into a lake!
Tell the factories that’s not great!

So don’t throw trash on the ground!
Cause it might end up in Long Island Sound!

Water pollution we don’t need!
Let the fishes continue to breathe!

Tatiana Teaches 05-17-06

2006-05-22T12:25:00.000-04:00

Tatiana, one of our interns, taught her first environmental education lesson solo last week. Here are her thoughts:

Hello, my name is Tatiana and I am an intern at Solar Youth. My job is to help lead hands-on environmental education activities for younger children. Last week, on Wednesday, I led my first session with the help of my team educator Brandon. It was easier than I expected. My lesson was on whales, specifically beluga and blue whales and the differences they have from each other, such as the way they breathe and how and what they eat. The kids seemed to enjoy it and they respected the fact that it was my first time teaching, so they didn’t give me any trouble. Overall it was a jaw dropping experience in a good way!

Intern CSAP Day 05-20-06

2006-05-22T12:24:00.002-04:00

Nicole Dunnaville's take on the building of Trudy and Friend:

Hey, everyone, this is Nicole Dunnaville reporting. I am an intern here at Solar Youth and I came to tell everybody about the recent Intern-Planned C-SAP (Community Service Action Project). Tragedy came upon the Solar Youth Family when we found out that our dearly beloved turtle, Trudy, that was constructed out of recycled goods by the SYI participants at the 2006 Youth Summit, had been found vandalized.

This shocking event spun our intern’s minds into thinking on how to repair our truly-loved turtle to be what we call “vandal-proof”. This means that we wanted to be able to build a strong and also move-able Trudy. After the tears, came the planning of the new and improved Trudy, but this plan was looking a little dry. We decided to make a friend so Trudy wouldn’t be alone. We made a fish to keep this turtle company.

Since this was an intern-based C-SAP, the interns were in charge of the whole process. Yeah, that means that we where the people doing everything. First we planed out the main things. We all decided to rebuild the recycled art at the original place, Edgewood Park in New Haven. The interns also thought that they should also set aside some goal that we would later use to measure our progress of our C-SAP. Next, we planned out the whole schedule and made sure that we had something to do with the kids at all times of the day so they wouldn’t be just sitting around doing nothing. Once we got the times and events we were going to do, one of the other interns (Tatiana) made plans with the bus company for the different pick ups to get all of our young artists to that day’s canvas. The Game Master was Jody-Ann and her job included leading the games.

For the most part we were working, but once in a while I would sneak away with some kids and go to the basketball court. Yes I confess, but they thought that they could school me in basketball. So we played a game, the interns and staff against all the youth that wanted to play. Of course, we (the interns) won. That was a fun game, except the part when I broke a nail (LOL).

But other than that we go a lot done that day and we came out with Trudy the Turtle and Rudy the Fish. It was an amazing day where everybody had fun!

Excerpts from Youth Feedback Forms

Some things youth learned and liked about the trip:
Art is important.
Use the bathroom before you go to the trip or you'll have to walk a long way.
A fish has a hole in the back to poop and pee.
[I learned] how to work as a team.
Do not paint your hands
Art is a good way to show you care about something.
Recycle!
I can make things out of trash.
My favorite part was making the eyes [of the fish because] it was fun and...it was cool getting to see how it came out.

New Team at Wintergreen! 04-24-06

2006-05-02T16:52:00.001-04:00

April 24th was a happy day at Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School (WIMS)--Solar Youth has begun a new Steward Team program there! With the school's proximity to Lake Wintergreen, it's established gardens and ample greenspace, the new partnership between Solar Youth and WIMS is ideal. The school is excited to offer this new program for it's fourth and fifth graders and Solar Youth is excited to work with a new partner school. Kim, SCA intern, and Jody, a seasoned high school intern (this will be Jody's 4th new team in two semesters!) are facilitating the group. They have plans to work on the school gardens, build the group's sense of teamwork, play some fun games and teach the youth about their environment. The youth will be attending their first Solar Youth field trip on May 6th, to the Yale Garden, so they will also have a chance to meet all the other Stewards from all over New Haven. It's bound to be a great semester!

Dinner and Theater 04-25-06

2006-05-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

After an intense April vacation during the Youth Summit, we thought it'd be nice to give our interns and YAG members a treat--dinner together, followed by taking in some theater. Although it was a little adventurous for some youth's taste buds, we chose to eat Thai food, at Bangkok Gardens on York Street. The ordering of food was spearheaded by Brandon and Miss Joanne, choosing a wide variety of dishes for everyone to pick and choose. The coconut soup wasn't very popular, but the chicken skewers and shrimp were.

After dinner, we walked across the street to the Yale Repertory Theater to see Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. The youth decided that the second act, with the loud boom of the cannon and more interesting plot points, was better. Overall, it was a night of trying new things and late bedtimes.

Youth Summit 04-18/19/20-06

2006-05-02T16:49:00.000-04:00

During April vacation from public school, Solar Youth held it's annual Youth Summit, focusing on The Wisdom of Native Americans. It was three days of fantastic weather, fun, games, learning and adventure!

Day One
On our Kids Explore Day, the youth, from Neighborhood Steward Teams based around the city, participated in an interactive tour of Edgewood Park in Westville, New Haven, CT. The youth were divided into four groups and were led by an intern-adult pair. During their hike, youth were given a scavenger hunt of specific species of trees and plants in the park, which they photographed. They cleaned up several bags of trash on their travels and stopped at four workshop stations along the trails.

There was a Nature Sit, where youth first heard poems about nature by famous poets, then other youth. Then they tried their hand at writing nature poetry, several to much success. At another station, youth learned about Native American foods and had a snack of cornbread and flatbread. Youth played a Native American game called Throwing Stick at another station. Papermaking was set up along the trail as well. At the end of the day, members of the Mohegan Tribe performed for our group at the sundial in the park.

Day Two
During the Kids Do Day, we separated into two groups, rotating between building Trudy the Trash Turtle from all the trash and recyclables collected and putting together an album of photographs from the previous day, information about each plant or tree, and copies of everyone's nature poems. The youth had a great time making art from trash to show others how much trash is littered in the park.

Day Three
For the Kids Teach Day, youth practiced speeches about different species of plants and trees they had photographed in the park, some rehearsed their poems, some memorized bits about Trudy the Trash Turtle. Then, around 3pm, the youth presented what they had learned during the summit at the gazebo in the park, then leading their audience of friends and families into the clearing where Trudy resides. Several of the youth acted out Hanifa's, the Director of Education, narration of a turtle myth and then explained the purpose of Trudy. After a little BBQ, we sent the Summit participants on their way, after a long and successful three days.

Jalana Kelley discusses the creation of Trudy the Trash Turtle

Photo in the New Haven Advocate of Trudy the Trash Turtle

Hill Central C-SAP 03-29/30-06

2006-05-02T16:47:00.000-04:00

by Gamaliel Moses, Public Ally Intern

During the spring season of Solar Youth’s Steward Team after school program, the students decided to plant flowers and clean up an area behind their school as a Community Service Action Project (CSAP). They were indeed excited to see that the tulip bulbs that they planted during the fall were now growing into plants. They wanted to beautify the area even more through their spring project. As a team we developed an action plan through which we delegated tasks and organized the flow of the day. We then sang the C-SAP song to the sound of drums and percussion. Yes, it was C-SAP time again, a time to have fun and to also do something helpful for the environment and community.

On C-SAP day it was a bit rainy, but we were fully prepared with our ponchos. First we did a clean up of the area by picking up litter and leaves. We dug up the soil and added compost, organic manure and more soil. We then added a little water for moisture. After an explanation and demonstration on how to plant the flowers, the students jumped right in and began planting. Team work was in full effect, it was happening, students working “side by side” singing repeat-after-me songs and working towards a common goal.

The flowers were all transplanted into a full bed and it was now time to water the plants. We did not have a watering hose but had a bucket and a watering can. The team turned this task into team effort by creating a water line, where the bucket was passed from one person to the next until it reached the bed of flowers. The project was now done and the students were very proud of what they had accomplished. They had now cleaned up the area, maintained flowers they planted last year and planted a new bed of flowers. It was indeed a beautiful site.

The students can now look down from their classes and see the difference that they made through doing their Community Service Action Project.

Astronomy Trip to Bethany 03-25-06

2006-05-02T16:46:00.000-04:00

Photo Courtesy of Daily Astronomy Picture featured on February 10, 2006

For more information about the Astronomical Society of New Haven, click here.

YAG in Boston 03-18-06

2006-05-02T14:59:00.000-04:00

Cheryl King Fischer (Executive Director of NEGEF), Shakila, Mary Ann, Javaughn, Joanne with award

Road Trip! YAG members Shakila McKnight, Mary Ann Calo and Javaughn "JJ" Harris, packed up their things into Miss Joanne's car and the four of them set out for Boston on March 17, 2006. They were hosted by a personal friend of Joanne's when they arrived after dark outside of Boston.

Bright and early the next morning, the group of four headed out to the New England Grassroots Environment Fund conference, together with the Toxics Action Center, Environmental Action 2006. JJ and Shakila went to a workshop entitled, "Live Consciously, Buy Wisely and Join with Others to Make a Difference," while Joanne and Mary Ann attended another workshop about environmental action.

At 11:45am, the group convened to present for a workshop about "Up and Coming Activists: Young People Making a Difference." The YAG members discussed the CSAP (Community Service Action Project) process and some CSAP's that have been conducted by Solar Youth participants in the past. Did you know that Solar Youth participants have completed 105 CSAPs since 1999?

After another workshop session, the group joined the rest of the attendees for the day's wrap up. At the reception, NEGEF and the TAC presented awards to various groups for their work in the field of environmental activism. Joanne, JJ, Mary Ann and Shakila were surprised when Cheryl King Fischer (Executive Director of NEGEF) was talking about an organization that sounded an awful lot like Solar Youth. Yes, it's true! Solar Youth received an Outstanding Activism Award "for engaging youth as leaders and environmental stewards in their community."

"We won a Grammy," JJ joked. Everyone was very proud of the recognition Solar Youth received for all the hard work the staff, interns and youth do, all year round.

And the road trip? Ended with the four tired travelers winding their way down the I-84, then I-91, to arrive in New Haven, safe and sound.

Sleeping Giant Reunion Hike 03-11-06

2006-05-02T13:54:00.000-04:00

On March 11, 2006, a bright and slightly breezy spring day, Solar Youth Steward Team participants and alumni, plus Solar Youth alumni from the 2005 Citywide Steward Summer Program and 2005 Hands-on Outdoor Learning Adventure (HOLA), came together for a trip to Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, CT.

After lunch, the group started out, led by Joanne, the Executive Director and one of the founders of the organization. The easily sloping trail gave way to a steep rocky climb that some youth were sure they couldn't complete--but they were wrong! Every youth made it to the very top, where the castle stood. Feelings of pride and enthusiasm flowed through the group.

Rushing to the top floor of the castle, youth looked out at a spectacular view of New Haven County and the Long Island Sound. After some rest, the youth split into two groups--the Rigorous Hike and the Take It Slow Hike. The two groups departed and wandered down. The Rigorous Hike group took a trail covered in rocks, requiring dexterity and preserverance. The Take It Slow Hike stayed on a winding wide road to the bottom of the mountain.

Once at the bottom, the youth loaded up on the bus, heading home. Many of the youth said they had fun and were proud of themselves for making it to the top. Way to go!

First Day of Community Food Pantry 03-21-06

2006-03-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

Our new Westville Manor Food Pantry has finally started! Our first day went great. We helped to feed over 170 people. We gave out basically all of the food with the exception of some of the onions and carrots. All in all, it went great. We only had a problem with people trying to come back twice and with people taking to much of certain items. I think it went great because we fed a lot of people they were all happy that something like this was finally happening in the community. They said that they couldnt wait until the next month!

Spring Arrives in Westville Manor 03-22-06

2006-03-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

Joanne Sciulli and Kim Barnes with Westville Manor youth at "Eddie's Garden"

March 22, 2006 was a day off for public school in New Haven, CT, but in Westville Manor, Solar Youth had fantastic plans to engage youth in a community beautification project. With a little help from Patricia Bender, who donated Japanese irises, day lilies and lamb's ear to the project, and a little knowledge from Solar Youth's resident farmer and Student Conservation Association intern, Kim Barnes, youth helped plant flowers in their neighborhood. Afterward, several of the youth joined Brandon Ballengee in a hike to the West Rock Nature Center.

Youth were eager to participate. The event was not set to begin until 1pm, but youth knocked on the door of the Solar Youth office all morning, the youngers ones asking, "Is it one o'clock yet?" Everyone in the office took turns telling the youth to wait just a couple more hours, another hour, another half an hour, just another ten minutes...until one o'clock arrives and we opened the door to a group of energetic and enthusiastic youth.

Kim Barnes and a Westville manor youth splitting day lilies in preparation for planting

The youth were split into two groups: the planters and the painters. The planters first had to split the day lilies from their bunches, find ideal planting locations, clear the ground and finally, plant. The painters were responsible for creating signs that would make others aware of the planting project, and hopefully prevent the vandalism of the flowerbeds, as well as encourage others to water and care for the flowers.

In the winter, a neighborhood youth was shot and killed. A memorial appeared on the corner of Wayfarer and Level Streets. In an effort to create a more permanent place of remembrance for Eddie, the youth scoping out locations for flowerbeds suggested they plant a garden on that corner. The planters set to work, and a youth from the painter group, Khalil, said, "I want to make the sign. Eddie was my friend."

Elvin Santiago holding up a flower in transit to Eddie's Garden

At the end of the day, Eddie's Garden was planted, the pieces of the former memorial incorporated into the bed, decorating around it. Other flowerbeds were planted and plenty of signs were painted to remind others to mind the plants.

And now no one will ever forget Eddie, every time the flowers bloom.