Many camps have begun to implement green practices, taking action to decrease their carbon footprint, and impart a positive environmental message to their campers.  Steps have included forgoing paper, plastic, and Styrofoam in favor of using reusable tableware and reducing non-biodegradable waste, using solar power for heating, providing campers and staff with environmentally friendly water bottles, changing light bulbs to reduce carbon emissions, and more!  Several camps have also planted gardens and are teaching their campers about healthy cooking and organics.

This summer a new, innovative, Jewish camp is opening that will make and teach environmentalism as a lifestyle.  Eden Village Camp is a pluralistic, co-ed, overnight camp rooted in the Jewish vision of an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually connected world.  The camp experience will include organic farming, wilderness trips, natural building and service projects, art, music, and sports.  Campers will have fun while deepening their appreciation for themselves, their communities, and the natural systems sustaining us.  Eden Village is one of six nonprofit overnight camps that will open in summer 2010 as a result of the Specialty Camps Incubator run by the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) and funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Much like its partners and associates, FJC strives to be, and helps its community be, more environmentally conscious.  At the biennial FJC Leaders Assembly, March 14-15, 2010, the Foundation is taking steps to be environmentally-minded.  From sending out invitations made with soy-based inks and printed on 30% post-consumer waste, to limiting the use of handouts, paper, and other materials.  In addition FJC has chosen a hotel that is mindful of being green, will not be handing out bottled water or providing plastic cups (instead, asking everyone to bring water bottles which were sent out in advance), is creating sustainable menus, using naturally grown food, and sourcing as much local food as possible, has been asking registrants what they are doing to help the environment, will hand out reusable bags made from recycled material, and is making recycling bins available all over the conference.

Of the dozens of sessions offered at the Leaders Assembly, one touches on the commitment to environmentalism. The Greening of Your Camp, will address how the treatment of camps and the earth affects campers’ overall summer experience.  It will explore how camps impact the planet, running a camp in a sustainable manner, and how camps can make even more changes than what they are currently doing.

Would you like to attend Leaders Assembly?  Join hundreds of camp staff, community professionals, lay leaders, and philanthropists March 14-15^th, 2010 at the Westin Jersey City Newport, in Jersey City, New Jersey for a singular experience filled with learning, sharing, and innovation.  www.JewishCamp.org/leaders