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Photo submitted by Diana Drew. Putnam County children listen to a speaker at Ravine Gardens during Camp Common Ground.
Local students learned resiliency, teamwork and self-care through hands-on activities with a new Putnam County School District summer program.
This was the first year of Camp Common Ground, but district officials have already received positive feedback. There were 85 campers who participated, and volunteers helped put on the four-day summer camp June 26-29, district officials said Monday.
Activities revolved around resiliency and the characteristics outlined by the Florida Department of Education, Camp Coordinator Diana Drew said. Activities included using art as an outlet to learn mindfulness, learning how to use cooking as a calming outlet and incorporating physical activities to help with self-care, among other activities, according to Drew.
“We had very positive feedback,” she stated in an email. “Some of our parents and students surveyed already indicated they would attend again next year if we have the camp again.”
The students, who ranged from third to eighth graders, took a field trip to Ravine Gardens State Park in Palatka to learn about pollination and how to garden. Guest speakers included a school psychologist, the Palatka Junior-Senior High School band director and other district employees.
The district partnered with the Education Foundation of Putnam County, an organization of county residents who help provide students with educational opportunities to further school district goals, according to the organization’s website. The foundation is separate from the district.
Cathleen Holzknecht, the executive director of the foundation, helped district officials apply for a grant to create Camp Common Ground.
She wanted to help form the camp after hearing about recent crime in the area she felt could be solved through communication skills Common Ground aimed to teach, such as empathy, problem-solving, self-management and honesty. The camp was created through a state grant aiming to teach students about resiliency.
Now, Holzknecht said, officials from Putnam are being contacted by other agencies because this county received the biggest resilience grant.
“It’s been a good experience for us,” she said. “We just did what we could, put our heads together and it was very successful from an attendance perspective.”
Holzknecht said the foundation plans to help get the camp going next year.
“We’re excited about it,” she added, saying the foundation could also make the camp available for older students.
Holzknecht said she didn’t learn some of the skills students learned this summer until she was already in the workforce. She feels some of these skills aren’t taught as much in schools at a young age.
Drew, too, commented on the skills students learned. She said she had many favorite moments from the camp, especially seeing how much the students enjoyed using art as a self-care outlet.
“They really enjoyed making sculptures from clay,” she stated.
On top of all the activities, volunteers received more than 250 service hours during the camp, Drew said.
“It was heartwarming to see the kids get excited about spending time with student volunteers from various high schools in the county,” Drew added.
