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The camp, located near Grantsburg, WI, has had an incredible
impact on many northwest Wisconsin young folks and the natural
environment. Campers are paid minimum wage working full-time
with the Department of Natural Resources. In addition, each
evening campers participate in environmental and natural
science curriculum. Local school districts support the camp by
rewarding the campers with science or elective credit that can
be used towards high school graduation.
Over the years the positive life-changing decisions made by
previous campers have proven the remarkable influence of the
camp. There are countless stories of teens, who seemed headed
for bleak futures, that instead graduate from high school and
college, find fulfilling careers and even inspire family
members. In fact, the youth that attend the camp have a higher
graduation rate (86.8%) than Wisconsin’s general population
(85.8%), proof that the camp has an incredible influence on
the kids, especially considering that over 95% of the campers
are labeled “at risk.”
Curriculum
Each summer a new
science and nature education curriculum is developed. Nearly
all programs focus on the process of inquiry. Inquiry is an
approach to learning in which the participant can explore the
processes within the material and natural world, which leads
to asking questions and making discoveries in search for new
understandings. Program are very hands-on and interactive,
many included games, debates or building.
Some of the
curricular highlights from the past include:
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Predator and Prey relationships
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Birds
of Prey and attracting owls
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Building pendulums to learn the scientific method
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Paper
airplane science
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Engineering popsicle stick bridges
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Critical thinking the mystery of saquatch
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Bats
and the construction of bat houses for camp
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The
hidden life of bears
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Extracting DNA from foods
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The
story behind heredity and genetics
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Water
quality sampling and "critter" survey & study
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Using
GPS and the art of "Geo-caching"
Engineering and Creative Design which included:
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Egg drop baskets &
parachutes dropped from a fire tower
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Building structures
with straws and pipe cleaners
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Engineering cantilevers
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Weight-holding bridges
made from spaghetti noodles and gum drops
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ASSESSMENT
Camp staff spent
considerable time working individually with students to
increase skills and attain work-readiness goals that had been
set for them by NWCEP, Inc. staff. The results were very positive, 100% of campers met and achieved their goals!
The skills
addressed correlate very closely to the Secretary’s Commission
on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), these skills form the
foundation for contextual learning in the classroom or on the
job. Skills assessed
were:
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RESPONSIBILITY
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TEAMWORK
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PERSISTENCE
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SENSE
OF QUALITY
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LIFELONG LEARNING
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ADAPTING TO CHANGE
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PROBLEM SOLVING
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SYSTEMS THINKING
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INFORMATION PROCESSING
In
addition, each camper is individually evaluated by the camp director
at the end of their camp session. During the face to face
evaluations, each camper is assessed on the following criteria:
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DEPENDABILITY
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COMMITMENT TO TASKS
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MOTIVATION & INITIATIVE
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QUALITY OF WORK
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COOPERATION
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JUDGMENT
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ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK
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COURTESY & FRIENDLINESS
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STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
The evaluations
give the campers insight into how their personal work skills
can and will translate into their future world of work. They
learn about strengths, weaknesses and ways to improve.
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