Summer camps go green with environmental activities

For seven summers in a row, Anja Kenagy studied oboe at Long Island's premier arts camp, Usdan. By last year, she had mastered Handel's Concerto No. 8 in B-flat and Mozart's Quartet KV 370.

This year, the oboe stayed home. Anja, 13, plunges her hands into dirt and fertilizer, as she plants chicory and Swiss chard in Usdan's new organic garden. Summer camp is going green.

Across the country, archery and kayaking are being taught along with beekeeping, composting and renewable energy workshops. On the North Fork, Peconic Dunes is enlisting campers to study local ecosystems and to design an environmental management plan for the grounds. In Riverhead, the Dorothy P. Flint 4-H camp stopped using plastic utensils in favor of biodegradable ones made of cornstarch.

Camps across Long Island are teaching students about the value of saving energy, avoiding pesticides and buying locally grown food.

The programs are a response to demands from environmentally conscious teens and preteens, said Sean Nienow, a director of the National Camp Association, based in Minneapolis. "Gardening in general, and organic gardening in particular, is becoming more popular," he said.

Jill Tipograph, a New Jersey consultant who helps families find camps, says many of her Long Island clients request "green" activities for their children. "Living a healthier, environmentally aware lifestyle is popular," she added.

Several Long Island summer camps offered "green" programs before "green" was fashionable. The Flint 4-H camp, which has always run a 40-acre hay and alfalfa farm, has now set aside nearly an acre to grow vegetables that are served at lunch. "They go right from the garden to the table," said Don O'Callaghan the operations manager.

Last year, Peconic Dunes, also a 4-H camp, started bringing in a farmer to teach students how to use compost rather than commercial fertilizers to help grow crops. This year the camp is working with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to have campers study wetlands on the property and design a management plan.

The Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, in Wheatley Heights, is best known for its music and dance, including concerts and recitals at its 1,000-seat amphitheater. Participants usually specialize in a subject ranging from musical theater to fashion design, but this year, nine students also chose the new organic gardening elective.

Anja Kenagy said she was happy to take a break from intense practice of oboe and guitar this year to work in the garden.

"She was ready for a change, and she loves the environment," said her mother Biene Schaefer, of Dix Hills.

At the Friedberg JCC summer camps on the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds in Wheatley Heights, campers have started environmental programs, ranging from daily recycling and composting to experiments with wind power and lessons about renewable energy. The camps have a bus that runs on used vegetable oil, and they bring in a farmer to teach about the energy savings of locally grown food.

All this green camping has led to some interesting take-home lessons. After the first week of camp, Amy Connor of Northport said she was questioned by her 7-year-old twins, William and James.

"Where does food come from?" William asked.

"The supermarket," his mother said.

"But who sells it to the supermarket?" James persisted.

"I don't know."

"Well, it better come from a farm that's close by," William said.