Summer is beginning to wind down, at least for kids who are facing the mixed emotions of the back-to-school bell, so we thought it appropriate to piggyback on our Aug. 14 entry and offer some final thoughts on the pilot Riverweek program at Van Cortlandt Manor, which ran from Aug. 4-8 and was organized by Danielle Fontaine, HHV summer camp guru (shown above).

Danielle said she found it particularly rewarding to work with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization, which centers around a boat built by folksinger Pete Seeger in the 1960s to bring attention to pollution and environmental degradation plaguing the Hudson.

Riverweek wasn't the first time these two organizations partnered on projects. Danielle is a long time volunteer for Clearwater and had worked with Clearwater educator Dan Einbender on past projects such as the Summerweek program at Sunnyside.

After several brainstorming sessions between HHV Program Director Ross W. Higgins, Van Cortlandt Manor Site Director Althea Corey, and Clearwater Director Jeff Rumpf, the team of Dan and Danielle created the program that would become Riverweek's. With the addition of Camp Director Christin Creary and the talents of HHV's interpretive staff, Riverweek came to life.

A true blend of both organization's missions and educational programs, Riverweek featured a split day: mornings being spent in the early 19^th century with the Van Cortlandt family and other residents of the manor, with students studying how the Hudson and Croton Rivers shaped our history.

The afternoons were spent learning about the environment, ecology, and our effect on the future of our rivers. Campers built their own boats, prepared a lunch featuring Van Cortlandt family recipes for river fish, tied nets, studied the Hudson River School of painting, and made hand crafts of sailors past such as scrimshaw, knot work, and sailor's valentines. Students also spent  time studying aquatic life, examining the food web through games, and testing the waters of the rivers.

One entire Riverweek day was spent at Croton Point Park, seining in the Hudson River, collecting fish, and taking water samples. Students got to learn how they, as stewards of the river, can protect the waterways for future generations. Each day at lunch, there was a moment of silence, providing a chance to just listen to the surrounding environment and feel a part of nature, rather than just watching it on a screen.

Campers wrote their own song parodies and designed story boards with their own photographs, reflecting on what they learned during the week. They presented the end results in a concert for parents on the final day.

Danielle says by all measures the program was a huge success.

"After reviewing comments from campers and the written responses from parents, we are very hopeful that Riverweek will become a permanent part of Historic Hudson Valley's summer program offerings," she said.

From HVBLogger's perspective, any program that gets kids outside and thinking about the implications of man's footprint on the environment is a good thing, indeed. Bravo to Danielle and the entire crew for making it happen.

Greetings HHV Members: It's your old orange friend, BlazeBlogger. You might want to check your e-mail. There's something glowing in there.

HVBlogger has just learned of some interesting new additions to the more than 60 children's book authors and illustrators who will be taking part in Celebrate Children's Book Day at Washington Irving's Sunnyside on Sunday, Sept. 28.

Joining an already impressive roster of expected attendees will be Brian Selznick. He is the author/illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, for which he won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for 2008.

The Caldecott is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. It was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Together with the Newbery Medal, it is the most prestigious American children's book award.

Two other late-breaking additions to Book Day are Howard Whitehouse, author of The Island of Mad Scientists, and Maria Carluccio, author/illustrator of The Sounds Around Town. Both will be participating in the event for the first time.

It's definitely going to be a can't-miss event for children's book fans.

Greg Clary wrote an outstanding piece in today's Journal News about the Historic Hudson Valley Youth Conservation Corps. The piece, which ran on the front page of the "Your World" section, comes complete with great photos, too.

With the seven-week program ending this Friday, the article is perfectly timed to be a great memento for the participants. Kudos to all the students who took part this summer!

Read Greg's piece here.

 

"Riverweek is the best camp on the Hudson."

A strong claim, indeed, but it's straight from the mouth of a young environmentalist who recently took part in Historic Hudson Valley's Riverweek summer camp at Van Cortlandt Manor.

A new program launched this year, Riverweek was designed by HHV's camp gurus to complement the organization's existing Summerweek programs, which are for children ages 9-11 and take place at Sunnyside and Philipsburg Manor, as well as Van Cortlandt Manor.

Riverweek, however, which is dedicated to the history of the Hudson and Croton Rivers as well as modern lessons about conservation and preservation, is for the 11- 13-year-old set.

"So many of our students who stay with us for three years in Summerweek asked us for a camp for older kids that we just had to respond," said Danielle Fontaine, camp manager. "They wanted something that was different and challenging but still featured the historic immersion experience that defines Summerweek."

This year's pilot Riverweek program, a collaboration with Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, was by all measures a huge success, said Danielle, who you can see in the top photo (she's the one with the ponytail.)

In an exit survey, a whopping 100% of the campers (yes, that means all of them) said they would want to return and repeat the program next year and would highly recommend the program to their friends.

Now that's impressive!

Activities ranged from the artistic (like creating the brightly colored carp shown above) to the crafty (like building wooden boats, also shown above).

More on Riverweek to come...