Project Front Yard Launches Summer Camp Pilot

Project Front Yard, in partnership with Lafayette Consolidated Government’s (LCG) Parks and Recreation Department, is launching a pilot of its first environmental camp this summer at Girard Park. The camp is an environmentally-focused and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) based camp that engages and inspires youth to take an active, hands-on approach to making Lafayette a better, safer and cleaner place to live.

Camp ECOSTEAM is a six-week long summer camp program which provides engaging and exploration-based activities for kids focusing on litter prevention, recycling, environmental ecosystems, placemaking, robotics and civic engagement. This summer camp is also a supplement to Project Front Yard’s environmental education curriculum “Rocksey’s Toolbox.”

“Project Front Yard believes that if children are taught to be environmentally conscious now, then we can expect them to grow up with that expectation for the community in which they live,” stated, Skyra Rideaux, Project Front Yard Coordinator. “This is a great opportunity to teach them to think differently about the way our community looks and their role in making it better.”

The summer camp is taking place June 11 – July 27 in coordination with local and regional partners including: Bayou Vermilion District, CGI, Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act, Lafayette Parish School System, Lafayette Science Museum, LCG’s Environmental Quality Division, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, McComb-Veazey Neighborhood Coterie, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ecology Center. Project Front Yard is working with these organizations to coordinate weekly themed activities-based curriculum.

“We are excited to pilot this environmentally-themed camp at Girard Park,” stated Royal Hill, LCG Recreation Centers Manager. “We believe that this initiative will be the first of many at our five summer camp locations to offer different types of enrichment for our campers. We look forward to a successful, fun-filled summer program.”

Camp ECOSTEAM offers weekly environmentally-themed topics including:

·       Environmental Stewardship and Civic Responsibility

·       Litter, Recycling, Zero Waste

·       Watershed, River, Storm-Water, Raingardens

·       Planting, Farming, Harvesting, Cooking

·       Wildlife, Wetlands, Ecosystems

·       STEAM, Placemaking, Robotics

For more information contact Skyra Rideaux, Project Front Yard Coordinator, at [email protected] or 337.291.8306.