Earth Camp Commitment

Hi, my name is Ella and my commitment is to find a way to harvest both rain and grey water, so I can conserve water and help the planet.   The experience that inspired my Earth Camp commitment was, visiting Brad Lancaster’s house.   Seeing all his basins that collected gallons and gallons of rainwater was amazing.   And also to see how he uses the leftover water from his washing machine, to water his desert friendly plants.   Water is so important to everyday life, and in the desert, with limited water, we have to find a way to conserve it.

The symbol that will remind me to accomplish my Earth Camp commitment is a picture of a raindrop.  This will be attached to my mirror to remind me daily to conserve water everyday.

Questions & Answers

Tell me about a time at camp when you saw someone else demonstrate great leadership qualities. What did they do?

I saw someone demonstrate great leadership qualities by always volunteering and helping around camp.  This person was always kind to everyone, when they weren’t always nice to her.  She always had everyone’s best interest in mind.  Whenever everyone was tired and cranky she was kind and happy.  She makes me want to be an overall better person like her.  All her great qualities make for an amazing leader.

What did you do during camp that demonstrated your own leadership qualities?

I demonstrated my own leadership qualities by suggesting ideas when we were trying to solve a problem.  I also tried to include everyone in my group and people who weren’t in my group.  I also tried to be brave in scary situations that I wasn’t always comfortable with.  I persevered and in the end it taught me how I can conquer almost anything.

In what ways did Earth Camp help you think about your future, e.g. careers or higher education?

Earth Camp helped me think about my future, and how I am going to change my lifestyle to help the environment.  I’m going to conserve water and other resources.  I’m also going to use renewable resources instead of other  resources.  I’ll also start to recycle, reuse, and reduce more.

Now that you have experienced Earth camp, how do you view water in Tucson and how will that affect your future actions and choices?

My actions and choices concerning water will now be to collect both grey and rain water, take shorter showers, and don’t let the water run.  I will also plant plants that are adapted to the desert and don’t need a lot of water to survive.