In Digital Age, Connecting Kids With Nature | Flathead Beacon

In Digital Age, Connecting Kids With Nature | Flathead Beacon
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/in_digital_age_...
Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center adds diabetes
program to summer camps: In Digital Age,
Connecting Kids With Nature
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In Digital Age, Connecting Kids With Nature | Flathead Beacon
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Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center adds diabetes program to summer camps
In Digital Age, Connecting Kids With Nature
Ravenwood campers explore their senses as if they were an assortment of animals around a pond at the
Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center.
By Myers Reece , 06-22-10
EAST OF CRESTON – With the rain letting up, Brett Holmquist led a group of children with type 1 diabetes out
of a teepee to a nearby pond, where he laid next to the water and sought a new perspective.
He wanted to see the world as a river otter does. One of the children wanted the perspective of a bear and
another, a raccoon.
In this dense forest near Strawberry Lake, new perspectives are constantly sought and consistently found.
Holmquist, co-founder of the nonprofit Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center, makes sure of this.
Since 2003, Holmquist has directed nature camps for children throughout the Flathead Valley. Today, his outdoor
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In Digital Age, Connecting Kids With Nature | Flathead Beacon
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learning center serves hundreds of children every year, both through schools and on an individual basis, along
with an increasing number of adults. The camps are held in multiple locations.
The Montana Environmental Education Association named Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center its “Business
of the Year” in 2009.
The learning center’s motto is: “Connecting people with nature, community and self.” In an age when most kids
are plugged in, nature gets tuned out. This is a tremendous loss in their lives, Holmquist feels.
“The world is so busy right now,” he said. “I think it’s important to let kids slow down, to let them be who they
are and give them permission to do it and encourage it.”
Holmquist used to be a third- and fourth-grade teacher at Bigfork Elementary School before he shifted his
educational focus from the classroom to the woods. He started the Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center with his
wife, who also works part-time as a wildlife tech for the U.S. Forest Service.
With obesity rates rising in Montana and nationwide, and kids getting diagnosed with an increasing number of
maladies, Holmquist believes a little perspective is in order – perspective, perhaps, like a river otter’s.
“As a society, we have to address that,” he said. “We can’t keep moving in that direction. We have to do
something and that’s how Ravenwood got started.”
On June 15-19 near Strawberry Lake, the Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center held its inaugural Type 1
Diabetes Wilderness Camp for children ages 6-12. The day camp is one of many different programs offered by
Ravenwood, but the first specifically focused on kids with diabetes.
Sherry Parmater, who started as Ravenwood’s executive director in February, said children with diabetes,
because they have specific medical needs, have a hard time participating in the regular camps. Hoping to better
serve these children, Ravenwood approached Kalispell Regional Medical Center about collaborating on a special
program.
“They were very enthusiastic,” Parmater said of KRMC officials.
Thus the diabetes outdoor camp was born. Two nurses from KRMC were present throughout last week’s camp
and a hospital dietician prepared the kids’ lunches and snacks. Eight kids signed up.
At other Ravenwood outdoor camps, up to 20 or more children participate, though Holmquist likes to keep the
numbers relatively low for more one-on-one interaction between children and staff. In addition to himself,
Holmquist has three staff members out in the field, while Parmater takes care of business matters from an office
in downtown Kalispell.
Holmquist doesn’t incorporate a curriculum or predetermined coursework in his educational model, instead
utilizing games, singing and dancing, all with an emphasis on interaction between the kids and with nature. The
first step is getting the kids to the woods. From there, the program adapts to them.
For instance, two girls showed an interest in plants, based mostly on sheer childhood curiosity. Holmquist
recognized this, encouraged it and eventually handed them a field guide, watching as the girls greatly expanded
their plant knowledge without consciously viewing the endeavor as research or learning. They were just having
fun.
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In Digital Age, Connecting Kids With Nature | Flathead Beacon
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By the end of the camp, the girls were making root beer from sarsaparilla roots to celebrate a birthday party.
Ravenwood staff members also lead kids on scavenger hunts, looking for different types of mushrooms, edible
plants and any number of nature’s offerings.
Parents might marvel at how much their children learn in a short time at camp, yet “the kids have no idea they’re
learning anything,” Holmquist said. By disguising learning through activities, Holmquist is able to package
wilderness survival skills, plant identification training and more into a single, laid-back outing in the woods.
Holmquist wants the campers to learn as much about themselves as they do about plants and animals.
“We like to encourage self-development through nature,” Holmquist said.
To learn more about Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center’s camps, offered throughout the summer, and other
courses, go to http://www.ravenwoodolc.org or call (406) 890-4326. Also, the Rockin’ for Ravenwood music
festival is scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Rocky Mountain Roadhouse outdoor stage.
Also, the Rockin' for Ravenwood music festival is scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Rocky Mountain Roadhouse
outdoor stage.
No comments have been posted for this article. Add a comment now.
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