Kids to Camp is back!
As we approach our thirteenth “Kids To Camp” year, we are grateful to have seen our environmental justice project sponsor children’s attendance at Sheep Pasture Nature Camp grow and become a successful annual event. Over the years, members of First Parish have generously donated enough to send over 50 children to NRT Sheep Pasture Nature Camp!
Last year, of course, brought on a completely different world with no “in person” summer camp, yet engaging and fun virtual NRT summer camp sessions were held.
The Sheep Pasture Nature Camp personnel are currently working hard to determine the best way to modify and use their available space in creating and implementing a fun and safe in-person outdoor experience for campers this summer. Plans still need to be finalized and approved but we are very hopeful.
Environmental Justice is the place where concerns for the environment and social justice cross paths. It recognizes that the impacts on environmental damage often fall first, and most severely, on disadvantaged individuals and communities. Children from these communities often bear the brunt of environmental pollution. Their homes and neighborhoods may be in areas that lack green space for them to play. They may never take a family vacation at a lake, the beach or to the forest. “Kids to Camp” can change this for a small number of children for one week each summer, hopefully carrying the message of the importance of caring and protecting nature back to their communities.
Sheep Pasture Nature Camp, which is operated by the Natural Resources Trust of Easton, has 154 acres of farm, forest, meadows and streams that provide a perfect outdoor lab for children to learn about their environment and the important role that they can play in protecting it.
During the months of April and May, proceeds from the share the plate will fund this ongoing, worthwhile environmental justice project of the Green Sanctuary Committee. If you choose to write a check, please indicate on the memo line that it is for Kids to Camp. All contributions for this worthwhile project will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Green Sanctuary Committee