Earth Camp Commitment

Before coming to Earth Camp, I was aware of very few habits to reduce my Eco Footprint. The habit that I practiced the most was recycling and walking to school. During this expedition, I was introduced many little smooth and noble ways to be eco-friendly that I had seen before, but never really took into consideration. Some of them were using reusable water bottles and cloth napkins instead of plastic water bottles and paper napkins. After putting these conducts to use during the journey, they became more of a routine to me and so I decided to take these strategies home with me. From now on, my family and I will be using cloth napkins. The use of plastic bags will also take a huge cut. The way I will be doing this is buying or making my own shopping bags to use when going to the grocery shop. These might sound as little or to nothing ways, but they all really bundle up and count. Once the people around me see that I am trying to make a difference, they will soon be motivated to pick up the same friendly habits. I realized that these minor customs put to use in our daily routines can make a difference, that is, a moral difference.  

The object that I will use to remind myself of my commitment is a wrist band bracelet that I made with Raffia. When crafting this bracelet, I had a hard time learning the rhythm and process of twisting, turning, and pinching with both hands. It was a very tricky rhythm, but once I began to practice the little movements, I grasped the concept. After a long time of doing this (and my fingers being sore), out came a beautiful detailed bracelet.  Just as it took me quite a long time to get my fingers used to the repetitive process, I know that using cloth napkins and reusable shopping bags will not be easy for my family and I to get used to. It will take patience, time, and commitment. However,  just as it turned out to be a beautiful detailed bracelet that is now wrapped around my wrist, I know that staying true to my  commitment will have a same outcome.

Questions & Answers

What did you think camp would be like and did it turn out that way or differently?

Coming into this camp, I had no idea of what to expect. My visual of Earth Camp was a strict school based camp where we would have to harshly adapt to the wild environment. I thought we would have to hike for hours and hours and eat horrid food. I also assumed that I would not be able to make it through these past two weeks. Well, all of my assumptions were wrong. It turned out to be a very amusing and enthralling type of class where we had visual and hands on projects that made me comprehend the concepts thoroughly. I visualized that we would eat dry and nasty camp food but, it turned out to be delicious finger licking food that I had never before eaten. I probably ate more food and appetizers during the river trip than I’ve ate at my house. The scenery and places we explored were just unexplainably gorgeous and eye catching! Moreover, I thought that camp would focus only on one subject but it wasn’t. It touched a variety of thought-provoking subjects such as the importance of water, constellations, geography and formation of landmarks, petroglyphs, animals, plants(native and nonnative), and much more!