By Steve Scarpa, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
Camp Cedarcrest is located only a few minutes outside of New Haven, but it might as well be on the other side of the world. The bustle of the city gives way to the loud traffic on Derby Avenue. Turn into the camp onto Mapledale Road in Orange and the sound softens. It’s just the wind through the trees, a running brook, and kids playing. The camp is green and lush and dotted with small cabins, white lights strung from the trees, and a stone amphitheater in the woods.
When you envision a summer camp in your daydreams, you probably envision something like Camp Cedarcrest.
Over the course of July, LEAP New Haven provides 900 New Haven children the chance to wander those woods, skip rocks in a stream, and sleep in a tent outside. The Yale Peabody Museum is there alongside LEAP’s counselors to introduce a bit of learning about the natural world into those carefree summer days.
LEAP’s summer children’s program is available for children ages 7 to 12 who live in one of five New Haven neighborhoods: Dixwell, Newhallville, Fair Haven, The Hill, Dwight-Kensington, and Quinnipiac Meadows. Thirteen- to fifteen-year-olds are part of LEAP’s Leaders in Training program. In addition to a visit to the Peabody, each LEAP group visited other cultural institutions, including Eli Whitney Museum and the Yale Center for British Art, broadening their exposure to science, history, and the arts.
“Through our partnership with Camp Cedarcrest and the Peabody Museum, LEAP is offering New Haven youth a safe, local, and enriching outdoor experience. From nature exploration to hands-on learning, campers are building confidence, making memories, and gaining skills all while staying close to home in a supportive environment,” said Nikilia Reid, LEAP’s director of programs.
Healing Nature
Video by Andy Melien
The partnership with LEAP is part of the museum’s deep commitment to scientific education.
“We want to encourage kids who don’t get to see a lot of green space in their daily lives to feel comfortable outdoors, to know a little bit about the environment around them,” said Andrea Motto, the museum’s assistant director of public education & outreach.
LEAP’s first year at the camp is a lot of work for the adults, but the kids are ecstatic. They sing each other camp songs and coax visitors to dance with them. There are basketball games, talent shows, and campfires – everything a kid might need to have a great time outside.
On a recent Monday afternoon, nine-year-old pals Lai’ana and Harlem were happily getting a nature lesson from Peabody educators when asked about their favorite part of the trip. S’mores, for sure. Oh, yes, and the bunk beds. They both like the top bunk, so maybe they’ll sleep together. “This is my first-time camping,” both kids yelled.
“Being outside is healing,” said Summer Choate Lewis, LEAP’s director of curriculum and training as she watched the children play. “Learning about this other important part of the world that’s outside of the city is important. We want to give kids the opportunity to be free, be outside in nature, and just have fun.”
A short distance from a nature trail, the Peabody team talked about the “Layers of the Forest,” one of two interactive stations they created for the camp. Gina Impronto-Rodriguez, the museum’s lead educator for K-12 programs, said the students learn about life in the woods and then take their own nature walk. “We want to get the campers into the mode of thinking like a scientist and observing nature,” Impronto-Rodriguez said.
The kids walked down a short trail and came up on a brook. Some of them walked into the water. Most skimmed rocks, with Peabody team members giving them some tips. Everyone, kids and adults alike, are sweaty and smiling. There’s not a screen in sight.
“Kids spend a lot of time inside with technology. Even in the museum, you are looking at all this content through a glass case. Here we can explain information to them as they are seeing it. Right now, they are over there looking at a waterfall. They can look at specimens in their natural habitat. It’s a great experience for them,” said Peabody counselor Iman Rodican.
Between prior trips to visit the museum and the activities at Cedarcrest, the learning comes steadily but lightly. But it certainly does come. Children confidently identify animals and leaves (they all know what poison ivy looks like.) They talk to counselors about fossils they’ve seen at the museum. They built up a kind of knowledge about the outdoors that they are anxious to share. “This kind of learning really empowers you,” Impronto-Rodriguez said.
The overall goal of the museum’s participation in LEAP’s effort is simple and profound. “If we can encourage kids to sit in a field of grass, take a deep breath, and see the world a little differently, we will have done something worthwhile,” Motto said.