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Well, we are up to year four. This summer, we have close to 400 campers heading to another 12 national parks. I know you were expecting more camps this summer, but it turns out there are only three months in a school summer. We are adding three new national park sites to our repertoire: Grand Teton (GRTE), Assateague Island (ASIS), and Mount Rainier (MORA), and we couldn't be more excited. So what does this mean to us? Well, Steve and I both love national parks, camping, and family. We have decided to spend our work time helping others make memories, supporting educators, and doing it all together. We are also adding another family camp this year, building on the success and joy of last year's family camp at Acadia. (Hopefully you will meet Oliver, Lincoln, and Tony in a few years at one of them.) Next year, 2025, will be year five for us. We have lots of fun stuff planned, but I can't tell yet (and you know how hard that is for me). But rest assured, we will keep our mission of connecting, collaborating, and creating at the forefront of our work. We are so thankful for those who helped us begin this work and those who have stayed with us. We aren't perfect, and we have made some mistakes, but hopefully, we have grown from them. When will we end this? We don't know. Right now, we are keeping our eyes focused straight ahead. As Mary Oliver says, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Our answer is that we plan to keep on keeping on. In Micah, it says God wants to see in us: justice, kindness, and humility. That. We plan to do that.
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Can we do it again? Would there really be enough people to try again in 2023? Again, with the math. Eight camps were a lot, but Steve said, "Let's do all the camps that ask us." Well, that was 12. Yes, you heard it. Twelve STEAM in the PARK camps. We quickly realized that we couldn't do this without help, so thankfully, our campers stood up again, and we were able to bring 33 ambassadors with us in 2023. It's not just about the actual week of camp; there are months beforehand that we utilize for building community. We needed people who believed in our mission, supported us, and wanted to move forward with us. So we set out to plan 2023. This time, we didn't need to worry about finding parks. They had heard about us and were reaching out to us. We were heading to Great Smoky Mountains (GRSM), Mammoth Cave (MACA), Cumberland Island (CUIS), New River Gorge (NERI), Hawai'i Volcanoes (HAVO), Redwood (REDW), Jimmy Carter NHP (JICA), Acadia (ACAD), Rocky Mountain (ROMO), Olympic (OLYM), and Voyageurs (VOYA). On January 1st, we opened up applications again, and this time, there was no panic. Applications from around the country poured in, and we were overwhelmed with the goodness that came out of them. This summer, we decided to try something new. We invited educators to Acadia National Park and allowed them to bring their families. It sounded a little scary to have tiny humans in the tidepools, but what could go wrong? It was an amazing summer, one of our best, and at the end of year three, we knew we had started something that just couldn't end. The experiences of salamander hunting, waterfalls, sea turtles, dragonfly surveys, volcano searching, python hunting, banana slug searching, celebrating Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, tidepooling, horseback riding, Salish canoeing, and chasing loons would be our best yet. 2024? Continued tomorrow.  After our incredible experience at Acadia, we came home, unpacked, and slept for a few days. Then we thought, "We can do this again." While doubling our camps for 2022 would have made sense in the world of math, we decided to host eight instead. Was it hard? Yes—because even with a working model, we still had to convince national parks to allow us to come during COVID. We reached out to multiple parks, and eight of them said yes (one agreeing just a few months before we went). We began meetings with each park to plan on a grander scale, working through logistics for food, travel, lodging, programming, supplies, and more. But it worked—it really worked. All of the rangers were extremely excited to make this happen. We made plans for Niobrara National Scenic River, Bryce Canyon, New River Gorge, National Mall, Acadia National Park, Mammoth Cave, Crater Lake, and Great Smoky Mountains. We designed our website, advertised the parks, and on January 1st, we opened up applications. Within two weeks, we only had about 25 applications, and I was crushed. But we hung in there, and by February 10th, we had over 250. There were a few roadblocks. My goal was to make sure that everyone could afford camps, so we priced them lower than they actually cost. This was a great idea, but it caused us some problems later on. No matter the obstacles, we had a wonderful summer. We welcomed 197 campers to STEAM in the PARK 2022. We encountered canoe trips, prairie dogs, paddle boarding, Potomac cruising, tide pools, cave tours, volcano swimming, and salamanders. It was another magical summer. I think we are on to something. One of the most rewarding outcomes has been building up a community of humans who believe in our work. This incredible community is now helping us make this happen, providing support, resources, and encouragement every step of the way. Continued tomorrow. After accepting that DC STEAM in the PARK would not happen in 2020, we moved forward. In July 2020, we created Expeditions in Education and applied to be a 501c3 nonprofit. This happened much quicker than Steve and I had imagined. By the first week in September, we were approved, and we continued dreaming of a STEAM in the PARK adventure. We had a framework of what we thought it could look like but never imagined it would blossom into what we have now. In October 2020, we visited Acadia to film a National Parks Expedition Challenge. There we met Ranger Kate Petrie. A new friendship was born, and we fell in love with Acadia. In January, we called Ranger Kate to see if she would entertain a STEAM in the PARK camp at Acadia if the world began healing soon. We talked for a few months, and in March, STEAM in the PARK at Acadia began to form. We kept the same type of schedule that we had dreamed of in DC, with ranger talks, art activities, historical connections, and lots of fun. We reached out again to some educators we knew and began planning for this event. Of course, Ranger Jen was invited because she had sparked the idea on those steps a year before. With our thought partner, Susan, we created the most amazing adventure at Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park. In July, 32 educators from around the country joined us, and magic happened. We kissed crabs, chased the Milky Way, fell in love with porcupines, ate way too many s'mores, baked and decorated cookies, played in tide pools, and learned together. STEAM in the PARK became a reality. We are forever grateful to those 32 campers who showed up and showed us that this dream could become a reality. More tomorrow! Did you know that STEAM in the PARK actually began in 2020? It all started when Ranger Jen from the National Mall invited us to Washington, D.C., in January to film 5th grade students delivering their Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was a beautiful day, and the kids were absolutely incredible. This unforgettable experience happened just a few months before the world changed with the onset of Covid-19. After the students' inspiring performances, we stood on the steps of the memorial and discussed how amazing it would be to bring educators to the park for a few days of fun and learning. Right there, on those historic steps, the idea for STEAM in the PARK was born. When we returned home, we were filled with enthusiasm and immediately started planning for DC STEAM in the PARK. We created a Facebook group, invited 25 educators from around the country, held weekly meetings, and began to organize the event. Everything was moving smoothly, and the excitement was palpable. Then, Covid-19 struck. As the world grappled with this new reality, we continued planning for STEAM in the PARK, holding onto the hope that it would still happen. We persevered until the end of May, determined to make it work. However, when Georgetown University canceled our accommodations, we had no choice but to reluctantly cancel the event. Though disheartened, we knew this was not the end. Instead, we began to rethink and adapt to the reality of Covid-19. Our journey was far from over—more tomorrow... Stay tuned to hear how we pivoted and continued to bring STEAM in the PARK to life despite the challenges we faced. |
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