ISEA: Day 10

After a morning chores, the participants got together with Sister Georgie Blaeser and Sister Margo Morris to write seven short one-sentence reflections about their experience here at Sprout Creek Farm. The participants then read their reflections out loud and compiled them into a book of poems. 

Later on, the participants read their reflections to the counselors and gathered for the closing fire. Around the fire, the participants sang their favorite songs along with the counselors and roasted marshmallows. 

Here is a video with all of the participants reflections:

Here is a link to ISEA's Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sproutcreekfarm/

ISEA Day 9

After morning chores the camp gathered once again for another field trip, except this trip was to the Greenway Environmental Service Service and the Hudson Bridge Walkway. The Greenway plant is a private company that is geared towards being a large scale composting company that works towards Zero Waste and Bio Filtration Systems (giant composting facilities). At the plant, Shabazz Jackson gave a tour and educated the participants on what exactly goes into a large composting plant and the politics that are behind making and sustaining one.

Once the tour had been completed, they all piled back onto the bus and drove to the Hudson Bridge Walkway. At the bridge the participants ate lunch and then took a stroll over the once railway bridge.

ISEA: Day 8

The participants broke into groups and took part in creating a Utopia. They created what they thought a sustainable society should look like, act like, and have. After creating their Utopia, the participants shared their Utopias.

Later on, the participants went on a Night Hike around different grazing fields to see the sheep and the dry cows. They also had the opportunity to see other grazing fields that were being regrown to graze.

ISEA Day 7

Upon completing their morning chores, the participants once again broke off into groups but this time they each read a different article about the environment and then presented them to the rest of the group as if they were newscasters.

After lunch the whole group got together and walked to the local blueberry farm to pick fresh berries for dinner and breakfast and they were "the best blueberries I have ever had" as one participant put it.

Eilish and Haley hanging out before leaving for the berry farm

ISEA: Day 6

Corn harvested during morning chore

After the participants finished their morning chores, they finished the compost projects (building worm bins, the new compost facilities, and painting the signs for the market). The participants then went on a Burma Shave walk.

The Burma Shave walk helped the participants enjoy the beauty of nature and learn new things about it. The Burma Shave signs were posted all around the farm and each sign was a guided reflection. After the Burma Shave walk, the participants watched their Six Word Memoirs Video.

Six Word Memoirs are little anecdotes that are only six words and they sum up what participants did every day.

ISEA: Day 5

All day In between chores, all of the Green Teens and Network participants were split up into seven groups to create outfits for a fashion show runway made ONLY of recycled materials.   Each group got to have one of seven materials to make the base of their outfit. Then, the groups got to pick two more smaller materials to help bring the outfits together and make then unique. 

"fashion show was fun!"

"great way to relax and be creative"

"was really fun, excotong, and earth friendly"

Costume made from grain bags and bubble wrap

Costumes made from cardboard cereal boxes and garbage bags

Costume made of a cat food bags, inspired by the cute kitties on the farm

Costume made from newspapers

Costume inspired by Mardi Gras and European fashion made from the ads in the newspaper

Tribal costume made from garbage bags

One of two costumes made of paper bags

Second of two costume made from paper bags

ISEA: Day 4

After completing chores this morning, the participants once again worked on the new compost system and taught the day campers about how worm bins can be used to reduce waste and create great soil for gardens.  Many loved teaching the day campers about the worm bins, especially.

Then, for the afternoon activity, a woman from Cornell brought two large barrels and other supplies to teach the participants how the create rain barrels.  Rain barrels are use to collect rain water that falls from the sky and off of roofs, which can be used later on to water plants in gardens.  First of all, the best and most nutritious water for plants is that which falls from the sky, unlike the water from the pumping system which usually contains chemicals to kill off things harmful for human consumption.  By saving water for plants in a rain barrel, one can reduce use of water from a pumping system, while giving their garden a healthy drink!  One participant mentioned, "Rain barrels would totally work at home and be a great thing to use.  They could possibly save money on water bills since rather than using drinking water from a faucet for plants, one would have the ability to utilize nature's awesome qualities."

ISEA Day 3

Upon completing their morning chores, the participants split up into three groups, of which one helped make worm bins, one buit the new composting facilities, and another painted the new signs for the Farm. These groups will then rotate for the next two days.

Buildingof the new compost system

Painting signs that label different sections of the new compost system

After lunch, the students chose from six different group activities which included making beads out of newspapers, designing pouches, learning how to mend ripped socks, knitted bath matts, designed kites, and making decorative paper out of items from the garden. "I had never thought of designing a kite out of old grain bags and tree branches" explains one participant.

Knitting a bath mat out of recycled tshirts

Sewing pouches

A kite made from tree branches andf recycled grain bags from the cows and goats

ISEA: Day 2

Today, paparticipants took part in morning chores, which include cooking in the kitchen, gardening, taking care of animals on the southside of the farm (chickens, turkeys, young goats, and pigs), practicing showing with the cows for the Dutchess County Fair (basically a dog show for cows), milking cows, and milking goats.


Cow showing chore



Goat milking chores

 After morning chores, the participants reflected on what they felt a proper community entailed. Through this exercise they brainstormed the defining attributes of a modern day society.

Then the students listened to the Green Teens presentation on proper composting procedures. These included a 1:30 ratio of Nitrogen to Carbon, maintaining a damp environment, the organisms needed in a compost pile are Fungi, Bacteria, and Invertibrates, and making sure there is plenty of oxygen by turning the pile.

Compost presentations by the Green Teens group



5 different parts required for composting


After evening chores and dinner the participants watched the film Wasteland, which depicted the story of the artist Vik Muniz as he took portraits of the workers in the Rio land fill in Brazil. Following the film they separated into groups and went through other peoples garbage and discussed what waste could have been avoided.



Sorted garbage from one group



ISEA: Day 1

On the first day of ISEA, the Network students and the Green Teens arrived and participated in "ice-breaker" games, which helped them to get to know each other. Most of these games involved remembering each other's names, learning where everyone came from, and something unique about each person. 

After "ice-breakers", the participants went on a tour of the farm. The farm hands and counselors took them to many different areas of the farm such as the animals in the barn, the chicken coops, the turkey tractor, the baby goat barn, and the pig pen.  Participants described the opening tour of the farm as "great", "new", and "exciting".

Adventures on the farm begin.