Wednesday, July 4, 2018

2018 Water Journeys are complete - Thank You!

Water Journeys--Drink! Campers at Kaposia Landing
Water Journeys-Rain! Campers at the Native American Medicine Garden

The Water Journey's - Rain! and Water Journeys-Drink! Camps are complete for 2018. You can get a glimpse into the campers' adventures by by viewing the campers' story in the GIS Story Maps for each week (see other website tabs), looking at prior blog posts on this website, and by visiting the exhibit at Institute on the Environment this summer.

Parents, please note that the two featured photos from your campers are included the GIS Story Maps and exhibit, and the rest of their journey photos will be posted under the Images tab on this website in July. 

Thank you to our wonderful campers this year! You were all a joy to spend time with, as we explored water together and its connections to the Mississippi River. Your pictures, artwork, stewardship planting, and story help inspire others to follow your lead to care for water and learn its hidden stories.

And thank you to our wonderful team: the camp counselors, Madeline Harpell, 2018 Lead Teacher, and camp team: Jess Foor, Najma Ali, and Vu Dang. A very special thank you to our tour guide partners, essential to the camp experience: Cathy Abene, Principal Civil Engineer for University of Minnesota, with additional thanks to Madeline and Shawn from her team; Abby Olson, Park Ranger, National Park Service, Rena Weis, Environmental Engineer Intern, from Wenck, educating on behalf of the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission; Jodi Wallin, Alex Rossow, and Jeremy Erikson from St. Paul Regional Water Services; and Nick Voss, Education and Outreach Coordinator, from Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization.


Finally, thank you to Camp Program Coordinator, Venessa Fiedler, University of Minnesota Recreation & Wellness Summer Youth Program, to Institute on the Environment Sustainability Education Group, for hosting the camp and additional camp support, and to Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund which development of the camp possible.

Sincerely,
Jonee Kulman Brigham and Beth Mercer-Taylor, Camp Coordinators

Initial Funding for developing this project and implementing it in 2016 was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.